The French hotel barge CLAIR DE LUNE is offering a Bed & Breakfast cruise for Summer 2009 along the Canal du Midi between Beziers and Carcassonne.
Cruises starts: Saturday afternoon 4.pm ending the following Friday morning after breakfast at about 10.am
RATES : $19,000 for up to 6 guests, private charter
What is included:
- 7 days, 6 night cruise
- Two crew of captain and hostess
- Accommodation for up to 6 guests in 3 double staterooms, each with ensuite heads
- Champagne welcome
- French-style breakfast
- Transfers to and from the barge to pre-arranged meeting point.
- Escorted excursions to Carcassonne and Narbonne in Clair de Lune's air conditioned mini van.
- Use of the on-board bicycles and jacuzzi.
- Provisioning: You will be able to buy local products to enable you to have a light lunch on board. A refrigerator will be made available to you for this purpose
Not included:
- Dinners and fine wines and beverages from the bar and cellar.
- The luncheons in Carcassonne and Narbonne are at guests' expense.
BED & BREAKFAST CRUISE ITINERARY : Canal du Midi, Beziers to Carcassonne
Saturday – Guests are met at 4:00 PM in Béziers and transferred to Clair de Lune, moored
nearby. Welcome aboard champagne reception with canapés, meet the Captain and crew. Settle in and enjoy the Jacuzzi while you cruise to your first overnight mooring in Villeneuve-les-Beziers. Dinner in or near Villeneuve at your expense. There is a choice of restaurants, some need a reservation that can be made by your hostess upon boarding.
Sunday – During the morning cruise we cross the aqueduct over the river Orb up the canal and ascend the seven-locks of Foncerannes in Beziers. Lunch in or near Colombier. Afternoon cruise involves picturesque views of the tree-lined canal. You can enjoy the Jacuzzi and sundeck or perhaps cycle or walk at your leisure. There is enough time to visit the Oppidum d’Enserune, a 2500-year old hilltop archeological city-site located near the canal’s only tunnel at Malpas. Evening mooring and dinner in Pouilles. Jane Martin (ex-barge chef) has opened a restaurant and there is an other restaurant in the port.
Monday –Morning cruise to Capestang where you can enjoy lunch. Time to visit Capestang
and stroll through the tree-covered square. The afternoon cruise takes us along the meandering canal to our evening mooring near the village of Argeliers. Perhaps an active guest may desire an invigorating cycle along little vineyard tracks up to the village of Quarante to view its thousand-year old Romanesque church, a true gem of the Languedoc region. Overnight stop in the country side near village of Argelliers, with a few restaurants to choose from.
Tuesday – After breakfast an escorted visit in our air-conditioned van to Narbonne,
founded in 118 B.C. by the Romans as their Capital in Gaul, the towering 13th century Gothic Cathedral and the 100-year-old covered market with its wonderful selection of fresh seafood, fruit, vegetables, cheese and many other delicious delicacies. There are also the chariot-rutted paving stones of the Roman road the “Via Domitia” in the central square where one can enjoy an espresso or cappuccino or visit the impressive Archaeological museum, the Fine Arts museum or shop and browse the boutiques along the quaint pedestrian streets. Enjoy Lunch with the locals at the market’s restaurant. They only serve the produce from the market. After lunch return to Clair de Lune for some more cruising to the evening’s mooring. A short stop-over in the picturesque hamlet of Le Somail and browse the collection of its famous ‘used & rare bookshop’. Overnight mooring in Paraza or Vantenac We moor near the chateau of Ventenac and can sample some of the local wine of the region. with a tapas bar on the port in Paraza or nice farmhouse-style cooking in the village.
Wednesday – Morning cruise and lunch stop in the countryside near the wine-cellars of
Bassanel. The new owners welcome you in the old barn decorated with the old time tools for wine making. Wines variety like Vionier Chardonnay Grenache and of course some of the oak aged Minnervois wines. Afternoon cruise to Homps or if you like a bike ride to Olanzac just a mile and a half from the canal and visit its lovely town square. Homps has a large choice of restaurants, bakeries, bistros, snack-bars. Return to the barge for more cruising up through the locks to a village of where we will moor for the night.
Thursday – An escorted morning visit in our air-conditioned van to the fortified medieval town of Carcassonne, another World Heritage site. 1700 years of history await you with its impressive double walls and 52 towers, the Romanesque and Gothic Cathedral with its gorgeous 13th century rose windows and the winding cobbled streets lined with boutiques. Lunch in Carcassonne will provide an excellent opportunity to try a Cassoulet, the regional stew of beans, duck or goose along with sausage from Toulouse. Afterwards you return to Clair de Lune to continue cruising, to the old town of Trebe built as a Roman observation post on the confluence of two rivers l’Aude,giving its name to the region, and l’Orbiel. A wide choice of restaurants in our overnight stop in Trebe.
Friday – After breakfast, disembark Clair de Lune to be transferred to a pre-arranged departure point for the next leg of your travels.
CLAIR DE LUNE'S on-line brochure:
CLICK HEREContact Paradise Connections soon to take advantage of this special offer:
CLICK HEREVisit the barging section of our web site:
http:www.paradiseconnections.com/barges.html
Confirm your new 2009 booking by 31st March 2009 and receive 2 complimentary nights, based on double occupancy of a room on a bed and breakfast basis, at the Hotel De La Cite in Carcassonne, subject to availability when you charter Alouette for 2-4 passengers on the Canal du Midi.
Confirm your new 2009 booking by 31st March 2009 for either Hotel Barge Napoleon in Provence, or Hotel Barge Hirondelle in Burgundy, and receive complimentary 1st class return tickets for the TGV high-speed train between Paris and local station.
A slow meandering journey past Royal Palaces, quaint riverside towns, villages, a mixture of olde worlde England and the natural beauty of Surrey, Berkshire and Oxfordshire. From Henry VIII’s Hampton Court past Windsor Castle to Henley with frequent stops allowing plenty of time to wander and explore whilst Magna Carta follows this old Viking trading route deep into rural countryside. Gentle exploration are the keywords, with good cycling and walking opportunities as the elegant and spacious air-conditioned 8-passenger, Magna Carta finds her way inland.
RENAISSANCE is a luxury, French hotel barge that accommodates up to 8 passengers in 4 suites that can either be configured with a double bed or two twins.
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BY EIN | JAN 12, 2009
