Tour of the famous St-Emilion, a UNESCO World Heritage site and centre of the best-known Bordeaux appellations. Then on to Château Beau-Sejour-Becot, producer of premier and grand crus wines, for a tour and tasting.

Bordeaux, with 247,000 acres, is a wine-producing area three times the size of Burgundy. Bordeaux is the largest fine wine-making region in the world, as well as the most legendary. More than half the fine wines of the world come from France and about half of these are from Bordeaux.

Although the reputation is built mostly on red wines, especially those from the Médoc, St-Èmilion and Pomerol districts, the region produces the entire gamut of wines, including dry and sweet whites, and rosés.

What is hotel barging?

Despite the growing popularity of cruising, especially on large river vessels, hotel barging is still a little known niche concept. Most hotel barges started life as cargo vessels but have since been painstakingly converted to offer luxury boutique accommodation for small groups of up to 20 passengers.

This is cruising, but in a very different style to ships plying the big rivers or oceans. The pace is slow, with a 6 day cruise covering maybe just 50 miles along a rural canal. Passengers can walk or bike the towpaths as their floating hotel glides gently along. Guests enjoy an intimate atmosphere, high levels of personal service and immersion into the culture, history and gastronomy of regions of Europe such as Burgundy, the Midi, or the Italian Veneto.

Every day there is an excursion, perhaps to a chateau, a vineyard for a wine tasting, or some other ‘off the beaten track’ location. About half of European Waterways’ bookings are for whole boat charters, ideal for families. Otherwise, clients book a cabin to join other like-minded people. A ‘slow boat’ European Waterways barge cruise offers the ultimate in experiential travel. A truly unique experience!

European Waterways offer luxury hotel barge cruises on the beautiful canals and rivers of Europe, such as through Burgundy, the Midi, Alsace, the Po Valley, Holland and the Scottish Highlands.

The exclusive collection of hotel barges accommodate up to 20 passengers who may charter a whole barge with family or friends, or join a small group of like-minded travellers on an individual cabin basis.

Each barge is fully crewed with a Captain, chef, hostesses, deck-hand and tour guide. The 6-night cruises include gourmet meals, fine wines, open bar, excursions and the use of facilities such as bicycles and spa pools.

Comments are closed.