Nivernais Barge Cruise

Nivernais cruise – sample itinerary

Sunday Guest will be met by Captain Earl at noon, from the pre-arranged pick up point and transferred to Colibri. Warm welcome aboard, followed by your first lunch aboard. After lunch, our cruise will start, leaving our rural canal side mooring in the Upper reaches of the Yonne valley near the town of Corbigny. From here we will start our decent through this green and beautiful landscape towards Auxerre. This is a lovely cruise winding through the countryside and passing thorough ancient lift bridges as we go. This evenings mooring is in a village setting on the edge of the picturesque Yonne River. A good chance to take a stroll and stretch your legs before your wonderful dinner aboard.

Monday This morning’s excursion will be to the Château de Bazoches that became Home to the Marquis de Vauban in 1675, and is still in the hands of his descendants today. Vauban was the famous military strategist to Louis XIV, who improved several structures on the Canal du Midi, such as the « L’épanchoir de l’Argent-Double » and is famous for his many fortresses. After lunch on board, we will continue our cruise heading toward the town of Clamecy, with its timber framed buildings and cobbled streets, once the home of a thriving timber industry. This is a truly fabulous sector of navigation as here we start to switch between stretches of the Yonne River and stretches of canal.

Tuesday Vézelay and the magnificent Basilica of Saint Mary Magdalene will be our visit today. Vézelay is a UNESCO world heritage site and one of the starting points for pilgrims on the route to Santiago de Compostela. The hill top town of Vézelay is lovely to wander around and has some interesting shops and art galleries to peruse. This afternoons cruise, will be mostly canal cruising today, with the river flowing nearby. A rural village mooring is the setting for this evening.

Wednesday Today is market day in the charming 14th century medieval market village of Noyers-sur-serein. This beautiful river side village becomes a riot of colours with market stalls offering fresh local vegetables and fruits, and local cheeses and farm produce. The village shops and market also offer clothes and local hand crafts, leather bags, pottery, and other fun bits and pieces to catch your interest. Returning to Colibri for a sumptuous lunch and a relaxing afternoon of cruising. As Colibri cruise the canal, sit on deck and soak up the sun, walk or cycle along the towpath diverting to explore the villages along the way. We cruise past the cliffs of the Rochers du Saussois, switching between river and canal to our peaceful evening mooring in Mailly le Château.

Thursday This morning’s visit is to the village of Chablis which gives its name to one of the most famous French white wines. We will have an in-depth look at what makes this white wine one of the most recognisable in the world, and of course allow our taste buds to have the last word as we sample all four of the AOC denominations, including the Grand Cru. These wines will also grace your table during the week, as we drift along the canal. Our cruise this afternoon takes us to our evening mooring of Accolay, a side branch of the canal where the River Cure joins the Yonne.

Friday After a leisurely breakfast, depart Colibri, Earl will take you to our agreed drop of point to continue your travels.

Saturday Leisurely breakfast, and transfer between 10 and 11am to nominated drop of point.

Barge Cruise info

Auxerre will be either our pick up or drop off point depending on cruise direction. The city dates back to Gallo-Roman times, and was a busy port on the Via Agrippa trade route. There is plenty to visit in Auxerre, the Cathedral of Saint Etienne that rises high over the town with the 5th century Abbey of Saint-Germain, the winding streets and the 1483 clock tower. The town offers a variety of hotels, car hire offices and good train connections to Paris. Clamecy will be the other pick up point, and is a smaller town, on the same train line.

About the Canal du Nivernais