No.28B - Fine Wines in the Heart of France

Our three days of cruising will take us between Auxerre and the medieval town of Clamecy, representing about 22 hours of cruising time over 70km, and passing through 35 locks and a number of lift-bridges.   There is lots of opportunity for strolling the towpath.

 

We will take advantage of our cruising time to present some of the delightful wines of the "Gateway to Burgundy", including a welcome-on-board introduction to Crémant de Bourgogne, the fine reds of Irancy, the newly admitted appellation of Vézelay, and the vineyards of Auxerrois closest to the waterway.

 

For our three excursion days we will first take advantage of the A6 autoroute to visit the delightful town of Beaune in the heart of the Côte d'Or vineyards and home to the famous 15th Century Hôtel-Dieu, setting for the town's wine auction in November each year.  We will schedule plenty of time to explore the sights of Beaune either side of our restaurant lunch, with its Wines Museum and Basilique de Nôtre-Dame amongst the attractions.

 

Then we will head in the opposite direction across delightful rolling countryside to another iconic vineyard town – Sancerre.  Here of course we are just into the eastern limits of the great vineyards of the Loire, and Sancerre's elevated position affords us magnificent views both of the surrounding vineyards and across the Loire Valley back into Burgundy.  Our visit to Sancerre will again feature a restaurant lunch.

 

We will keep our final visiting day rather more local, but no tour of Northern Bourgogne vineyards would be complete without a visit to Chablis, and we lunch here before going on into Auxerre for a free afternoon.

What’s Included:

 

• Executive Coach Travel

• Assistance with booking taxi connections and/or hotel stay pre-departure

• Eurotunnel or ferry crossings

• Hotel accommodation at the 3* Hotel Normandie in Auxerre with breakfast

• Evening meals as described, always to three courses with wine

• Three-day cruise itinerary with on-board lunch and including wine and a free bar

• Visits to Beaune, Sancerre and Chablis, with restaurant lunches

• Free time in Auxerre

 

 

Our Hotel and Meal Plan:

 

The Hotel Normandie in Auxerre is a well-rated 3* hotel situated only a few minutes walk from Auxerre's spectacular river frontage and its delightful pedestrianised medieval centre.  The hotel is bed & breakfast only but there are many good local restaurants within a few minutes' walk, and for four evenings guests are provided with restaurant vouchers to the value of 35 Euros to use at restaurants (or bars) of their own choosing.  This should appeal to those who would like to try different establishments and dine a la carte.   We will dine as a group only on our first and last evenings and on one evening midweek when we dine at the historic Abbaye de Reigny.

 

 

On Board Facilities:

 

Our boat has been designed to comfortably accommodate a coachload of passengers in lounge-standard seating and there is additional seating outside for those wanting to take in the views and fresh air.  The boat has two WC/washrooms.  There is no smoking on board.

 

 

Environmental Policies

 

Our boat is hybrid-engined and normally charges overnight from shore supply.  Its diesel engines are only used if battery power is exhausted, so most of the time you can look forward to silent cruising.  The saloon roof is bedecked with solar panels which reinforce battery endurance and support the boat's air conditioning system, and the hull design ensures that we create minimal wash, and therefore do not add to the problems of bank erosion.

 

We also operate to a strict waste-avoidance policy.  We try to completely avoid the use of single-use plastics and we operate to a responsible recycling code.  All meals and drinks on board are served using normal crockery, cutlery and glassware.  Our crew also has a brief to support the recovery from rivers and canals of floating litter whenever this is practicable.