Barge and bike in France Canal du Midi, Burgundy, Bordeaux regions

BARGE & BIKE CRUISES in France

The beauty of a hotel barge cruise with is that it can be as active – or as relaxing – as our guests wish to make it.
When some pictures the ideal afternoon on board, they see themselves sitting out on the deck in the sunshine, watching the scenery drift by with a glass of chilled wine in hand. Others, however, get twitchy sitting still for too long. For the latter, we have an excellent solution: our barging and biking schemes.

Bike and Barge in France

We know that many of our passengers enjoy taking some exercise during their hotel barge cruise, so each vessel carries bicycles for everyone on board to use.

On most cruises the crew can offload the bikes almost anytime for you to take a gentle pedal along the canal towpath, perhaps to the next pretty village or lock.

A Bicycle made for you
All of our hotel barges carry bicycles and bike helmets, which are available for anyone to use. During your cruise, all you have to do is ask a member of the crew to moor up or let you off at the next lock; then you can pedal along down the towpath and join the barge again at the next lock or village. It’s a great way for the livelier members of the group to get out, stretch their legs and see the canal or river from a different perspective.

Time to Explore

You may only wish to pedal a mile to the next pretty lock and wait for the barge to catch up; you may be tempted to ride into a local village to look at a charming old church, or to just sit at the village square café with the locals.

Biking Charters

For more committed cyclists, we can offer biking charters for groups over longer distances on upgraded bikes, with half-day guided itineraries that make the best of the local area each day, perhaps including a picnic in the countryside.

Biking Plus - NEW!

We are delighted to announce we have brand new “Biking Plus” maps for 6 of our hotel barges in France. “Biking Plus” is for those passengers who would like to be a little more adventurous and enjoy an interesting but not too challenging cycle route.

These new maps, one for each day of our cruises, are available onboard and include an extensive map of the route plus information on nearby places of interest. The maps are also accessible via a smartphone app which will give passengers real-time directions. Guests will also be provided with a backpack with everything they might need so that, for an hour or two, they can explore the surrounding countryside and villages along the lanes, towpaths and byways.

Biking Plus - A number of our Classic Cruises – those aboard Anjodi, L’Impressionniste, La Belle Epoque, Renaissance, L’Art de Vivre, Panache, Finesse and Enchante – also offer a ‘Biking Plus’ option. With pre-prepared routes and maps (diligently researched by our team) of usually between 10 and 20 miles, guests can leave the towpath to explore the surrounding countryside and villages. If you get lost or stuck anywhere, just use the mobile phone provided and a member of the crew will find you in no time. Otherwise, you can simply meet the barge back where you started from, or a little way along the canal if previously agreed.

For more details on our barge and bike cruises in France, send us your expression of interest.

Call us for free advice on which region and barge and bike will best suit your expectations.

Call 1300 302 623, or contact us by email.