Barging through the waterways of France

Maps say we are in the heart of France, the confluence of the winding Saône River and the Canal du Centre, but to passengers aboard the luxury hotel barge Adrienne, we sit at the intersection of blissful and soul-stirring.

“Bless their little hearts,” says Matthew Walsh of the lobsters that only hours before were poking among the seafloor rocks off Brittany. “They were ready and waiting for us.”

Lobster tails are the overture to another night of fine dining aboard the 12-passenger Adrienne, one of the luxury barges belonging to French Country Waterways. We dine as we glide along the rivers and canals that thread through Burgundy, known for picturesque, sloping vineyards and church steeple villages. The region is home to some of the finest pinot noirs and Chardonnays on the planet. Walsh not only captains Adrienne, he leads shore excursions, describes each of our meals and wines in rich detail, and shops village markets for the day’s menus.

Mostly plain-Jane on the outside, but with comfy interiors, spacious staterooms, and a doting staff, French Country Waterways’ barges mosey among canals and rivers throughout four winemaking regions. An extended peak cruising season runs from April to October. This is France as it was meant to be seen: slow-going and intimate, with nary a tour bus in sight. Hotel barges are remarkably narrow in order to navigate through the dozens of locks that operate on Burgundy’s 600-mile web of waterways. 

We rise. We fall. It’s a rush.

Aboard a bike or à pied, France’s pastoral charms unfold. Canal-side, villagers walk their dogs, anglers fish for carp and catfish, church bells toll, a frantic world seems to drop away. Some stretches allow passengers to step off the barge and walk the towpaths or grab a bicycle and pedal to an onward lock, rejoining the barge. One necklace of locks allowed me just that. On a quiet morning, biking from one village to the next, I arrived at a pâtisserie just in time to enjoy fresh-from-the-oven croissants.

Fine cuisine is a religion in France. Gourmet lunch buffets and four-course candlelit dinners onboard are a celebration of the great gastronomic centers that surround us. French Country Waterways even takes the elegant dining experience ashore. Along each route, one night is set aside for a meal at a celebrated restaurant. Ours is in the village of Chagny; it’s the famed Lameloise of Chef Eric Pras. By night’s end, the three stars Michelin bestows on Lameloise will get no quarrel from us. Cheese options alone are displayed like gems in a jewelry store.

We savor cheeses preferred by Napoleon, a cheese Louis XIV the Sun King was partial to, cheeses that date to Pliny the Elder, Morbier (soot in its aging history — talk about unique), and award-winning Époisses, a cow’s milk cheese sourced from this region. Each three-cheese course becomes more than a bridge between dishes. It is a celebration of France.

Centuries of French history also come alive in the walking tours Walsh leads. In picturesque Chalon-sur-Saône, we stroll and shop the narrow winding lanes leading from the historic main square. Especially at nightfall, I marvel how it comes alive as the vibrant heartbeat of town. Fronted by a beautiful twin-spired cathedral and ringed by colorful old-timber framed houses, Chalon-sur-Saône is a movie set.

We take to the shops and squares of Beaune, medieval wine capital of Burgundy, after Walsh has toured us through the fascinating 15th century hospice that is the town’s architectural centerpiece. Every inviting wine bar makes me wish there wasn’t a schedule to keep.

An actual French count favors us with a bienvenue to his Château de Rully, wrapped in vineyards not far from the Saône. Raoul de Ternay leads a wine tasting in the château’s medieval kitchen. You can hear quiet sighs of relief as Count Raoul promises not to name each of his ancestors hanging in oil paintings, in room after room. His hillside castle dates 26 generations.

Aboard Adrienne, Walsh presents and pours spectacular reds and whites before each lunch and dinner. Many are premier cru with a prized grand cru or two — Burgundy’s highest classification — among the two dozen he will uncork along our way. 

Dijon, the teeming town of medieval buildings, delicious food, and fine wines, is of course most famous for its moutarde. In the shadows of the Cathedral of Saint Benignus of Dijon (13th century) is a shop lined with a dizzying array of mustards. 

At our final mooring in Chassagne-Montrachet, somewhere after the foie gras et poire caramelise, glasses clink as Walsh offers a toast. It is a brief but perfect summation of a week aboard Adrienne experiencing the timeless beauty of Burgundy. 

“To all,” he says, “happy days.”