| La Chouette |
Rating  : Deluxe
Number of Passengers: 6
Number of Cabins: 3
Size of Vessel: 100 ft in length
Number of Crew: 4
Cruise Region: Northern Burgundy
Other Regions Sailed: Northern France, Champagne
Whole Boat Charters starting at $21,000
Individual Cabin Bookings Available Upon Request
Charter Pricing for 4 & 5 Passengers Available
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For More Information or to Book Your Journey
1.800.549.2575
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 La Chouette |
La Chouette is a traditional Dutch motor barge built in 1934 for carrying cargoes along the inland waterways of Europe. She has now been
lovingly and professionally converted into a luxury charter barge for only six guests in the space often devoted to twice that number.
The owners of La Chouette, Bob and Bobbie Marsland, aim to help you have a vacation to remember. While you relax on board the barge journeys along the tranquil
waters of a canal and river system steeped in history. Sleepy waterside villages will unfold their secrets to an enquiring explorer.
Majestic châteaux will enthrall you, and the warmth of welcome you will receive from the friendly local people will captivate you.
The interior is carpeted throughout and decorated in traditional style with extensive use being made of mahogany
paneling and brass fittings. This, together with the tasteful soft furnishings, creates a charming and
restful atmosphere.
The thoughtful design of La Chouette lets you be a part of or apart from the rest of the party as you choose. There are comfortable lounge, dining
and bar areas where you can relax with a book or listen to your favorite music. There is a small library on board, a TV with video and a selection
of games. Up above there is a vast sun-deck on which to laze and soak up the sun and where lunch is usually served beneath the
cooling shade of a giant parasol.
The French take their food and wine very seriously and so does the crew of La Chouette. While aboard, you'll dine royally. They will
also take you to their own selection of local restaurants as they believe that is the sure way to enjoy the French way of life.
A specialty of a cruise on La Chouette is eating out. One meal per day will be taken ashore, sometimes lunch, sometimes dinner.
Bob and Bobbie personally will accompany you to a wide variety of typical French restaurants
chosen for the quality of their food, wine and service. Many are featured in guidebooks and some are Michelin starred.
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Each spacious stateroom offers a double bed which can also be converted to twin beds if preferred. Cabins also
feature a dressing table as well as plenty of wardrobe space.
The cabins are heated and also feature localized air conditioning units. The en-suite bathrooms include a shower,
sink, and toilet.
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- A unique dining experience -
- All breakfasts taken on board the vessel
- Lunches served on board include quiches, soups, salads, and more
- Five-course dinners featuring delicious homemade cooking
- One meal (lunch or dinner) ashore daily with the owners
- Open bar and wines with meals
- Hair dryers provided in each cabin
- 220 volt outlets on board
- Central heating and air conditioning units in each cabin
- Sundeck with chairs and tables
- Touring bicycles
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Thursday - Your captain will meet you at your Paris hotel and escort you directly to La Chouette waiting in the shadow of the Eiffel
Tower. Soon you will be cruising through the city of Paris, sipping champagne as you pass under those renowned bridges and on past the
Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay and the magnificent Notre Dame Cathedral.
As the barge leaves the city the surroundings change to the smart country houses of suburbia. This evening a barbecue supper is served on board or you'll dine
at the delightful riverside restaurant La Renommée at Le Coudray Montceaux.
Friday - The day starts when you feel like it. You are on vacation, after all. Breakfast can be taken before the vessel leaves or while cruising to
Melun from where you can take an excursion to Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte. This is the first of the great houses to be built in the seventeenth century
combining impressive architecture with beautifully designed gardens.
After lunch on board the barge cruises further up river to the charming riverside village of Samois-sur-Seine made famous by the annual Jazz Festival in
honor of Django Reinhardt. Dinner is taken in the exquisite Country Club Restaurant just a short walk away.
Saturday - This morning the barge's mini-bus can take you on a trip through the Fontainebleau Forest to Barbizon, the charming village where the
pre-Impressionist painters congregated and where in the Auberge Ganne you can see examples of their work.
After lunch on board the cruise continues to Moret-sur-Loing where Impressionist painter Alfred Sisley lived and where you'll take a guided tour of this
fascinating medieval town steeped in history. Dinner is taken in one of Moret's finest restaurants, Le Relais de Pont-Loup.
Sunday - An early morning visit to the street market in St Mammés. This is one of the "barge capitals" of France and where you will see many
commercial barges tied up. The market is on the quay alongside these barges.
The barge then cruises to the Sunday lunchtime stop at the Restaurant La Gaule on the river Yonne. Sunday lunch in France is special and needs to be savored slowly.
Then you'll continue on through several of the Yonne's characteristic locks with sloping sides to the stop for the night near Champfleury. Supper on board.
Monday - The first cruise stop today is Sens where you can visit the magnificent cathedral and museum containing a unique collection of ancient fabrics
and priest's vestments, followed by lunch on board.
An afternoon cruise to Villeneuve sur Yonne takes the barge through some of the most beautiful Yonne valley countryside. You'll moor right outside the restaurant
for this evening's dinner. But before that you'll visit the vineyards of the Côte St. Jacques and enjoy a dégustation, or tasting, of the local wine.
You may also be able to see a winepress which has been used since the 14th century. Dinner is enjoyed at La Lucarne Aux Chouettes, a riverside restaurant owned
by Leslie Caron.
Tuesday - This morning, after a leisurely cruise to Joigny, you'll enjoy a tour around the old town followed by lunch on board. This afternoon's visit takes place in
Auxerre with its monumental architecture, Irancy for a tasting of its excellent red and rosé wines and Chablis and the villages around where you'll taste that world
famous dry white wine. Dinner is ashore at Le Moulin.
Wednesday - After breakfast you'll be escorted to the rail station for your return journey to Paris.
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1.800.549.2575
