One Of My Favorite Ways To Explore France - Hands Down

  Barging is my favorite way to journey within France. Self-driving barging is something I do year after year. It’s a bit more work and you need to be somewhat adventurous and a self starter, but there is also, passenger barges from 6 to 20 people, with its own compliment of crew and chef that is also wonderful and they do the same canals as the Self-driving barges.

Here is a video from my favorite barge rental company, ‘Le Boat’, that I hope will give you an idea as to how self-driving barging works.

                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

See France at 4 Miles an Hour

My brother and I rented a self-drive boat in Burgundy and cruised for a week, on one of the incredible and beautiful canals of  France. Because he is a chef, I steered the boat and he cooked! Actually we both took turns and there were plenty of cafes and restaurants along the way we took advantage of.
It was one of our best vacations in France.

Go where you wish and tie up where you wish.There is no more perfect or unique way to discover the beauty and to touch the very soul of France than boating on one of their canals. . The French built an extensive network of waterways or canals for commerce 250 years ago. Today these waterways and canals are yours for pleasure boating. With a self-Drive Barge (no special skills are required) and at 4 miles a hour, you’ll enjoy a leisurely pace and the freedom to do as you please. Explore a medieval canal village or town, dine deliciously at one of the many exceptional canal side restaurants, taste famous French wines spirits at their source, and gaze upon breathtaking canal side landscapes unchanged by the passing centuries. From your boat, view canal side sites that inspired the world's greatest artists - this is a vacation with a difference. There is nothing like it. Rates for a week start anywhere from $1500 to $2100 ( depending on your boat size).

Around every bend, this is what you find!

One of the many locks you travel through