The Barge SAVOIR FAIRE is announcing a 13-day cruise through France, Belgium and Holland between October 8th and 20th this year (2006).It’s a great way to experience three different cultures without leaving the comfort of your cabin! There’s so much variety and in addition, it is a wonderful time of the year to travel, as the trees are in their resplendent autumn colours. Artists would really appreciate this tour, with plenty of subjects and visits to Monet’s garden and Rubens’ house.
The cruise starts on the Seine in central Paris near to Place de la Concorde, where guests have a day to soak up the city atmosphere, tour the sights and visit the shops in the company of the guide before enjoying the evening illuminations.
Journeying out of Paris, guests can enjoy excursions to Malmaison, the home of Napoleon, its many rooms lavishly furnished by Josephine, and Impressionist Claude Monet’s charming house and gardens in Giverny, where you can see the famous water-lily pond and the Japanese bridge that inspired so many of his paintings.Moving northwards to Compiegne guests are able to see the train where the World War I Armistice was signed before journeying through the Somme valley and over the beautiful Vermandois hills and Picardie where the tow path beckons them to walk awhile between locks. Excursions to Amiens and Valenciennes along the way introduce passengers to two charming towns, Amiens’ great Gothic cathedral with its powerful, towering columns being a high point.
Crossing the border into Belgium, Savoir Faire heads across Flanders towards Antwerp, and en route passengers will delight in visiting to the little town of Bruges, known as the "Venice of the North". There is plenty of time to explore the many museums, buy some of the handmade lace or take a boat trip on the small canals that weave through the town. Visits to the vibrant and friendly towns of Gent and Antwerp are a “must” for those who enjoy Flemish art, architecture and sculpture. Plus they are great shopping centres! A visit to Rubens' house is quite an eye-opener.
As Savoir Faire makes her way towards the Dutch border, the waterways widen – these are part of the delta of the Maas and the Rhein as they reach the North Sea. A visit to the famous Delta Project exhibition gives an absorbing insight into the historical battle with the sea enabling visitors to appreciate one of the greatest feats of water engineering in the world involving damming the great estuaries. What a contrast between the modern deltaworks and the next port of call - Willemstad. This town is preserved in its original state, with windmill dykes, an old church and a 15th century arsenal. You can’t leave Holland without tasting the Gouda cheese and what better place than the town itself which is visited before the cruise concludes in Oudekerk just outside Amsterdam.It is possible to break the cruise into two parts so guests who have selected 6 nights will be transferred to Brussels Airport or Ghent half way through the tour.
SAVOIR FAIRE will also doing this 13-day cruise in 2007 from Amsterdam to Paris departing 6th May 2007 and again from Paris to Amsterdam 7th October 2007.
To view SAVOIR FAIRE's electronic brochure: CLICK HERE
To view SAVOIR FAIRE's 13-night 3-country itinerary: CLICK HERE
If you are interested in coming on this cruise – 13 days or 6 days, please contact Paradise Connections Yacht Charters.
