The 8 passenger L'Art de Vivre started life as a Scottish munitions carrier and survived long enough to be transformed by a team of skilled crafts-men into a floating celebration of the Burgundian "good life". Your crew of four comprises Captain, Tour guide, Master Chef and Hostess, all with a love for the Nivernais canal, and all secure in the knowledge that their vessel represents L'Art de Vivre itself.
The region simply oozes charm and the cruise is a journey back in time along a magical waterway. The Upper Nivernais remains an undiscovered region, well off the beaten track on the edge of the Morvan hills. The sleepy hamlets, white grazing Charolais cattle, woods and forests are typical of the scenery we cruise through. During the summer months we visit the Valley of Sardy, a canal section with smaller locks, where time seems to have stood still for over two hundred years. The hand-swung bridges are a delight and we pass old logging sites which are now almost forgotten memory for the local people. This is the original home of luxury hotel barging and yet today, a barge is a rarity, welcomed by all, and every journey is a great event.
Tour Itinerary:
Day 1, Sunday: You will be met at Ampere Villiers Hotel in Paris at 1.30 pm and transferred by coach to hotel Barge L'Art de Vivre docked in Baye. The crew are onboard to meet you and join you for a Champagne Welcome. Dinner on board
Day 2, Monday: Leaving the Etang de Baye, aboard the L'Art de Vivre we pass through the 'Les Voutes de la Collancelle' marking the highest point on the Nivernais Canal. At either side of the Etang de Baye, flights of locks were engineered 250 years ago to enable the barges carrying the wood to cross the peak of this wild countryside and to enable the Haute Nivernais Canal to be fed with water. These tunnels mark an important period in the history of the 'flotteurs' and the neighboring villages of today, showing feats of engineering skill and tragic suffering. Disembarking after at the end of the tunnel on for a hike that takes us along the towpath to base of the flight of the sixteen locks at Sardy les Epiry, where the barge will be moored in the evening.
At this point we leave the canal and head off in a North Westerly direction towards Mondain and in to the woods. The path will bring us to the Etang de Vaux past a farm and back to the Etang de Baye. Crossing a bridge that separates the Etangs, we briefly go back in to the woods of Vaux before rejoining the Etang de Baye's western woody banks. We end the walk at the southern end of the Etang where a little café is a welcome sight. Here you will be met by the minibus and taken back to the barge to freshen up for cocktails and aperitifs served on deck. Dinner aboard. Walk: Round circuit 13.25 miles (21 km). Yellow route
Day 3, Tuesday: The 8 mile walk of the day takes us through the villages and countryside that inspired the literary minds of the day, who wrote of the lifestyles and experiences of the inhabitants of the Morvan. Lunch onboard. Continuing our literary theme, we leave for the 12th Century Chateau de Bazoches. This was the demure of Marechal Vauban and has remained in his Walking for 400 years. Though best known for his military feats and engineering prowess, he was a man ahead of his time and a writer too; whose love his Morvan roots can be seen in his writing. Leaving the Chateau on foot we depart on the Roman Road which leads to Alesia, the birth place of 'France as a nation, for a 6 mile walk through the surrounding hills, where your knowledgeable Burgundian guide will point out historical landmarks and interesting features in the landscape as we retread paths taken by Richard the Lion Heart and other great historical figures.
Day 4, Wednesday: This morning we take a walk through the neighboring villages, admiring the local Chateaux that date from 12th Century Gothic through to the build-up to the 18th Century Revolution. Our walk finishes in Tannay where your thirst will be quenched at a wine tasting. Here you can sample wines, which are truly unique. Tannay produces some fantastic wines, employing growing techniques from times gone by to complement the now very rare yet traditional grape of the area, the Pinot-Droit.
We return to the barge for lunch aboard In the afternoon we cruise through the Dirol to a picturesque region of the Morvan, where there are enchanting canal side villages and two Van Gogh style swing bridges; which are energetically wound by members of the crew to enable the barge to pass. Dinner ashore in a local auberge.
Day 5, Thursday: This morning we leave Tannay through the double lock and cruise on to Asnois where we briefly stop for a browse around 'Le Bouc qui Fume' or 'The Smoking Billy Goat'; a chapel based antique-curiosity shop. Rejoining the barge we continue on to the enchanting port of Villiers sur Yonne where you can really step in to the shoes of the French and enjoy a game of 'boules' or 'petanque' before lunch. Today's walk plunges us in to history taking us back to Pagan Times on the banks of the lively River Cure, passing through St. Pere sous Vezlay, the original ground of the church that became a Basilica.
As we climb the great 'Colline Eternelle' or the 'Eternal Hill' we tread the footsteps of pilgrims and Crusaders alike. The road to the top has many shops of interest and classic French cafes; which are best resisted until after the tour of the Basilica. At the summit, standing proud, is the Mary Magdalene Roman Basilica of Vezlay, whose crypt dates back to the 800's and is an architectural celebration of life, folklore, astrology and all things pertaining to life in the 11th and 12th Centuries. Dinner aboard
Day 6, Friday: The mornings cruise takes us gently past a canal side chateau and pastoral land to the village of Chevroches, which climbs majestically to its peak that holds a commanding view over the valley at the foot of the Morvan hills; well worth the climb. We leave the banks of the canal to walk through woods and valleys of the Morvan Forest, which has supplied Paris and most of France with timber for the building of the, L'Hotel de Ville, the Sorbonne and the Pantheon to mention but three. The history of the Yonne is deeply tied up with the logging trade, which came to an end at the beginning of last century. The Morvan is sparsely populated with 300-year-old sleepy villages creeping in to view every now and again. The combination of barging and walking enables you to gain a deep understanding and thorough knowledge of the Morvan.
The 20th Century passed the villages and villagers by in the sleepy hamlets you explore along your path. Many villagers are descendants of those who built the houses when the logging trade was in its infancy. The villages along the River Yonne were built by the 'flotteurs' who floated the wood down the river to Paris, a dangerous and thankless task. This stubborn love for a land, which does not lend itself to being populated, has created the characters of its inhabitants, these past events are still important today. The hardy and proud yet generous and jovial people of the Morvan have an understanding and respect for their home that is unsurpassed and is apparent to all who pass. This becomes apparent as we walk you through the peaks of the Morvan story. Captains Farewell Dinner on board
Day 7, Saturday: After breakfast you will be returned by coach to Ampere Villiers Hotel in Paris at approximately 1 pm.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Price Includes:
- Open bar
- Free wines
- Gourmet cuisine
- Entry fees to excursions
Stateroom per person $3,990
Single supplement $1,500
Charter 6 passengers whole boat $27,100
Charter 7 passengers whole boat $28,300
Charter 8 passengers whole boat $29,500
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