L'Art
de Vivre Standard Itinerary-
Clamecy to Baye, Burgundy, France
Sunday, Day
1 - PARIS TO CLAMECY
Guests are met at the pick up hotel
at 1.30 pm and transferred to L'Art de Vivre.
After a Champagne Welcome, wander the logging capital and
raison d'être of the Nivernais canal. Dinner aboard.
Monday,
Day 2 - CLAMECY TO VILLIERS-SUR-YONNE
There is time this
morning before the barge departs to stroll around
the narrow streets of Clamecy and maybe visit the Logging & Barging
Museum or climb the hill to view the 13th century Collegiale
de St Martin. Cruise from Clamecy in the late morning,
passing the quaint village of Chevroches perched on the
hillside. During lunch we moor at Villiers-sur-Yonne in
its picturesque setting under willow trees. Our excursion
this afternoon is to the impressive half built fortification
at Guedelon. This is a 25 year project, set up to demonstrate
the traditional building methods from the 12th to 14th
centuries. Meet the stone masons, blacksmiths and other
craftsmen. Enjoy a game of boules before dinner aboard.
Tuesday,
Day 3 - VILLIERS-SUR-YONNE TO MONCEAUX LE COMTE
Morning
cruise, passing beneath the first of many Van Gogh
style hand operated lifting bridges. A short bike ride
is recommended into the village of Anois to visit "Le
Bouc qui Fume" (the smoking billy goat), an antique/curiosity
shop in an old chapel. Before stopping at Tannay for lunch
we pass through an impressive double chambered lock. After
lunch a brief drive to visit the local wineries of Tannay,
famous for its rather special Melon grape variety. We then
continue our cruise and moor in the old logging port of
Monceaux le Comte. Dinner ashore at the Auberge du Centre
serving traditional local cuisine.
Wednesday,
Day 4 - MONCEAUX LE COMTE TO LA GRANGES
This morning
we visit one of Burgundy's
most picturesque hill-top settings, Vezelay. Discover
the treasured Romanesque Basilica of St Mary Magdalene,
lace
and craft shops and superb views over the surrounding
countryside. Return to the barge for lunch and cruise
to La Granges.
On the way, we have an opportunity to stroll around
Chitry-les-Mines with it's 16th century Château, used during world
war two as an H.Q. by the local Resistance Group « Les
Loups » (The Wolves). Dinner aboard.
Thursday,
Day 5 - LA GRANGES TO SARDY
As we cruise through the
remote
countryside and meadows of "France Profonde" on
our way to Sardy, you will notice that the locks are lot
older with their huge beam-levered lock gates and ivy covered
lock houses. After lunch we visit the Château of
Bazoches, whose illustrious visitors included Richard the
Lionheart. It later became the home of Marechal Vauban,
the famous defence engineer, in whose family it has remained
until this day. Dinner aboard.
Friday,
Day 6 - SARDY TO BAYE
Today we begin with a passage through
the 16-lock
flight leading to the summit of the Nivernais
canal. The locks are sometimes less than 200 yards apart!
Alongside
each lock is a pretty waterfall-weir and some
of the lock houses are now craft shops, which can be
visited whilst
you stroll alongside the barge. Many consider
this canal reach to be one of the most beautiful in France.
We moor
for lunch at the last lock before our final cruise
through the three tunnels of La Collancelle set in the
deep cut
to Baye lake, which marks the summit. Captain's
Farewell Dinner aboard.
Saturday,
Day 7 - BAYE TO PARIS
After breakfast
return to the Paris meeting point hotel for
approximately 1pm.
On alternative weeks the cruise is in the reverse direction.
Itineraries are subject to change.
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L'Art
de Vivre - Baye to Clamecy Walking Itinerary
Sunday - Baye
You will be met at Ampere Villiers Hotel in Paris at
1.30pm and transferred by coach to hotel Barge
L'Art de Vivre docked in Baye. The crew are onboard to
meet you and join you for a Champagne Welcome. Dinner on
board.
Monday
- Baye to L'Echelle de Sardy les Epiry
Leaving the Etang
de Baye, aboard the L'Art de Vivre we pass through
the 'Les Voutes de la Collancelle' marking the highest
point on the Nivernais Canal. At either side of the Etang
de Baye, flights of locks were engineered 250 years ago
to enable the barges carrying the wood to cross the peak
of this wild countryside and to enable the Haute Nivernais
Canal to be fed with water. These tunnels mark an important
period in the history of the 'flotteurs' and the neighbouring
villages of today, showing feats of engineering skill
and tragic suffering. Disembarking after at the end of
the
tunnel on for a hike that takes us along the towpath
to base of the flight of the sixteen locks at Sardy les
Epiry,
where the barge will be moored in the evening. At this
point we leave the canal and head off in a North Westerly
direction towards Mondain and in to the woods. The path
will bring us to the Etang de Vaux past a farm and back
to the Etang de Baye. Crossing a bridge that separates
the Etangs, we briefly go back in to the woods of Vaux
before rejoining the Etang de Baye's western woody banks.
We end the walk at the southern end of the Etang where
a little café is a welcome sight. Here you will
be met by the minibus and taken back to the barge to freshen
up for cocktails and aperitifs served on deck. Dinner aboard.
Walk: Round circuit 13.25 miles (21 km). Yellow route.
Tuesday
- Sardy to Chitry
The 8 mile walk of the day takes us
through the villages and countryside that inspired the
literary minds of the day, who wrote of the lifestyles
and experiences of the inhabitants of the Morvan. Lunch
onboard. Continuing our literary theme, we leave for
the
12th Century Chateau de Bazoches. This was the demure
of Marechal Vauban and has remained in his Walking for
400
years. Though best known for his military feats and
engineering prowess, he was a man ahead of his time and
a writer too;
whose love his Morvan roots can be seen in his writing.
Leaving the Chateau on foot we depart on the Roman
Road which leads to Alesia, the birth place of 'France
as a
nation, for a 6 mile walk through the surrounding hills,
where your knowledgeable Burgundian guide will point
out historical landmarks and interesting features in
the landscape
as we retread paths taken by Richard the Lion Heart
and other great historical figures.
Wednesday
- Chitry-les-Mines to Tannay
This morning we take a walk
through the neighbouring
villages, admiring the local Chateaux that date from
12th
Century Gothic through to the build-up to the 18th
Century Revolution. Our walk finishes in Tannay where
your thirst
will be quenched at a wine tasting. Here you can
sample wines, which are truly unique. Tannay produces
some
fantastic wines, employing growing techniques from
times gone by
to complement the now very rare yet traditional grape
of the area, the Pinot-Droit. We return to the barge
for lunch
aboard In the afternoon we cruise through the Dirol
to a picturesque region of the Morvan, where there
are enchanting
canal side villages and two Van Gogh style swing
bridges; which are energetically wound by members of
the crew
to enable the barge to pass. Dinner ashore in a local
auberge.
Thursday
- Tannay to Villiers sur Yonne
This morning we leave
Tannay through the double lock and cruise
on to Asnois
where we briefly stop for a browse around 'Le Bouc
qui Fume' or 'The Smoking Billy Goat'; a chapel based
antique-curiosity
shop. Rejoining the barge we continue on to the
enchanting port of Villiers sur Yonne where you can really
step
in to the shoes of the French and enjoy a game of
'boules' or 'petanque' before lunch. Today's walk plunges
us in
to history taking us back to Pagan Times on the
banks
of the lively River Cure, passing through St Pere
sous Vezlay,
the original ground of the church that became a
Basilica. As we climb the great 'Colline Eternelle' or
the
'Eternal Hill' we tread the footsteps of pilgrims and
Crusaders
alike. The road to the top has many shops of interest
and classic French cafes; which are best resisted
until after
the tour of the Basilica. At the summit, standing
proud, is the Mary Magdalene Roman Basilica of Vezlay,
whose
crypt dates back to the 800's and is an architectural
celebration
of life, folklore, astrology and all things pertaining
to life in the 11th and 12th Centuries. Dinner
aboard.
Friday
- Villiers sur Yonne to Clamecy
The mornings cruise takes
us gently past a canal side chateau
and
pastoral
land to the village of Chevroches, which climbs
majestically to its peak that holds a commanding view
over the
valley at the foot of the Morvan hills; well worth
the climb.
We leave the banks of the canal to walk through
woods and valleys of the Morvan Forest, which has supplied
Paris
and most of France with timber for the building
of
the, L'Hotel de Ville, the Sorbonne and the Pantheon
to mention
but three. The history of the Yonne is deeply
tied up with the logging trade, which came to an end
at
the beginning
of last century. The Morvan is sparsely populated
with 300-year-old sleepy villages creeping in to
view every
now and again. The combination of barging and
walking enables you to gain a deep understanding and
thorough
knowledge
of the Morvan. The 20th Century passed the villages
and villagers by in the sleepy hamlets you explore along your
path. Many villagers are descendants of those who built
the houses when the logging trade was in its infancy. The
villages along the River Yonne were built by the 'flotteurs'
who floated the wood down the river to Paris, a dangerous
and thankless task. This stubborn love for a land, which
does not lend itself to being populated, has created the
characters of its inhabitants, these past events are still
important today. The hardy and proud yet generous and jovial
people of the Morvan have an understanding and respect
for their home that is unsurpassed and is apparent to all
who pass. This becomes apparent as we walk you through
the peaks of the Morvan story. Captains Farewell Dinner
on board.
Saturday
- Clamecy
Paris After breakfast you will be returned
by coach to Ampere Villiers Hotel in Paris
at approximately 1pm
This is a sample itinerary and is subject to change. Alternative
weeks the cruise is in the reverse direction.
European
Waterways - L'Art De Vivre Hotel Barge 2010 Rates 
