If France is where the idea of luxury barge cruising first started, due in no small part to the myriad of waterways which cross not only its scenic countryside, but also many of its historic towns and cities, then located just few hours south-east of Paris, Burgundy must be the jewel in the crown of Luxury Hotel Barging.
Burgundy takes its name from the Burgundians, an East Germanic people who moved westwards beyond the River Rhine during the late Roman period. Geographically speaking though, since the inception of the French departmental system in 1790, the name refers to the geographic area comprising the four departments of Côte-d’Or, Saône-et-Loire, Yonne, and Nièvre.
As recently as 2016, Burgundy and neighbouring Franche-Comté were merged for administrative purposes into the new region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté which covers an area of 47,783 km2 and is home to some 2.8 million residents.
Taking a Luxury Hotel Barge cruise down one of the region’s canals is a truly wonderful experience as the area boasts some of the world’s finest wines with around 60,000 acres of sunlit vines and arguably the prettiest canals in France.
The waterways wind through the heart of the territory’s renowned vineyards, medieval towns, elegant châteaux, magnificent cathedrals, picturesque villages and wonderful local markets.
This is also a region with a vast variety of cheeses, in all shapes, sizes and colours, strong in character or mild and fresh and all can be enjoyed with full-bodied red Burgundies, or perhaps with lighter white Chablis wines.
And let’s not forget the mustard from Burgundy’s largest city, Dijon.
The Burgundian gastronomic tradition is rich and diverse and a Luxury Hotel Barge cruise along one of its delightful waterways will allow you to indulge along the way in good food and wine: two of life’s essential pleasures.
Unique Cruises offers at least seven Luxury Hotel Barge options in this fascinating region cruising the rivers and canals of Upper, Lower and Central Burgundy and each of the three areas will be explored in more detail in separate blogs. But, as you can see, there is certainly much to explore, taste and experience on an incredible Luxury Hotel Barge holiday in Burgundy, France.
To see the Luxury Hotel Barges in Burgundy please click here: Cruise Burgundy – Unique Cruises
