Board the luxury hotel barge Renaissance and embark on a 7-day cruise through the rivers and canals of France. Cruise over Gustav Eiffel's famous aqueduct spanning the Loire River. Take some time to explore the beautiful village and canals of Montargis either on foot or bicycle. Take a leisurely breakfast of fresh croissants, baguettes, and assorted pastries as you visit Gien, home of the Faience pottery, renowned for its beautifully decorated and vibrant dinnerware. Visit the delightful, privately-owned Château de La Bussière, known as the ‘fishermen’s castle’, with its wonderful ornamental and vegetable gardens.
Highlights
Visit to the privately-owned Château de la Bussière
Cruise across the aqueduct built by Gustave Eiffel over the River Loire
Involves minimal physical effort and is typically associated with leisurely activities. Activities are low-intensity or last less than a few hours each day.
Guests are met at the meeting point in Paris and transferred by private chauffeured minibus to the spacious Renaissance where a Champagne welcome with canapés awaits you to meet the Captain and crew. You might have some time for a walking tour of the pretty village of Montargis before dinner on board.
This morning, you will embark on your first cruise through the Loire countryside, with great towpath walking and cycling opportunities, to moor at Montbouy. After lunch on board, you will visit Château de Fontainebleau, a national museum and UNESCO World Heritage Site. To walk through this magnificent palace is to walk through the history of France. It is the only royal and imperial château to have been continuously inhabited for seven centuries and every French royal family added its own architectural style and features when in residence. Dinner on board.
This morning you will visit Château de Sully-sur-Loire. The castle originally belonged to Georges de la Trémoïlle, who infuriated Joan of Arc by encouraging the Dauphin to devote himself to idle hunting in the forests around Sully. After Joan’s failure to liberate Paris in 1430, de la Trémoïlle imprisoned her in the castle. In the 18th century Voltaire, exiled from Paris, also spent time at the château. Following lunch back on board, you will enjoy an afternoon cruise to our mooring at the pretty village of Rogny-les-Sept-Ecluses, near its 350-year-old 7 lock-flight, which is well worth visiting on foot. Dinner on board.
After a leisurely breakfast of fresh croissants, baguettes, and assorted pastries you will visit Gien, home of the Faience pottery, renowned for its beautifully decorated and vibrant dinnerware, and also explore the town’s bustling market. After lunch, you will enjoy an afternoon cruise to La Gazonne, a beautiful mooring surrounded by lakes and ponds that provide water for the workings of the Canal de Briare. Dinner ashore at the Michelin-starred Auberge des Templiers in Les Bezards.
A morning cruise to the mooring at the little town of Briare, site of Gustave Eiffel’s magical aqueduct across the River Loire, again with excellent walking and bicycling opportunities. You will be able to preview Friday’s crossing of this amazing 10,000 ton, 662 meter Pont Canal which was completed in September 1896. Your afternoon visit is to a renowned winery in Sancerre, such as Domaine Henri Bourgeois in Chavignol, for a tour and private tasting. This medieval hilltop village overlooks a vibrant region which has known viticulture since Roman times. Dinner on board.
This morning you will be able to wander around fruit and vegetable, seafood, cheese and French fashion stalls in the market in Briare before returning to the hotel barge for a short cruise across the aqueduct and lunch on board. This afternoon, you can visit the delightful, privately-owned Château de La Bussière, known as the ‘fishermen’s castle’, with its wonderful ornamental and vegetable gardens. Captain’s Farewell Dinner on board.
Day 7: Châtillon-sur-Loire | Disembark
1 Breakfast
After breakfast, guests are transferred by private chauffeured minibus to Paris.
Apologies for the inconvenience. Prices for not yet published. Below per person rate based on previous season. Contact us to confirm upcoming season pricing.
Prices for are estimated based on inflation. Contact us to confirm pricing and availability for your desired departure date.
$8,550
Rates are subject to change without notice. Book early to get the best rate.
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Suite
250 sq ft featuring 4 Twin/Double Suites, ensuite bathrooms, central heat and air conditioning, including TV/DVD, CD Player/iPod Dock, and WiFi (Subject to local reception)
Notes
- All children under the age of 18 years accepted onboard qualify for a discount of $300 per child per week.
Initial deposit is 25%, and most travelers will call our office and pay the deposit with a credit card.
Final payment is due 100 days prior to departure by Credit card, check, and bank transfer. All final payments by credit card subject to a surcharge of 2.5% and maximum of $20,000 charge
Kate was great to work with in the planning stage. She was prompt, helpful, and efficient. Our tour guide, Edwin, was knowledgeable and passionate. We were very happy to have traveled with Adventure Life, it made the trip easy and a true pleasure. We could concentrate on enjoying the experience rather than the details of travel.
Lisa Bridge
TrustScore 4.8 | 174 reviews
TrustScore 4.8 of 5
Based on 174 reviews on
1 day ago
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
2 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.
