| L'Art de Vivre |
Rating  : First Class
Number of Passengers: 8
Number of Cabins: 4
Size of Vessel: 100 ft in length
Number of Crew: 4
Cruise Region: Northern Burgundy
Other Regions Sailed: None
Whole Boat Charters starting at $25,800
Prices (per person) starting at $3,490
Charter Pricing for 6 & 7 Passengers Available
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For More Information or to Book Your Journey
1.800.549.2575
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 L'Art de Vivre |
The 8 passenger L'Art de Vivre started life as a Scottish munitions carrier and survived long enough to be transformed by a team of skilled crafts-men into a floating
celebration of the Burgundian "good life".
The crew of four comprises Captain, Tour guide, Master Chef and Hostess, all with a love for the Canal du Nivernais, and all secure in the knowledge that their vessel
represents L'Art de Vivre itself.
The region simply oozes charm and the cruise is a journey back in time along a magical waterway. The Upper Nivernais remains an undiscovered region, well off the beaten
track on the edge of the Morvan hills. The sleepy hamlets, white grazing Charolais cattle, woods and forests are typical of the scenery the barge cruises through.
During the summer months the barge often visits the Valley of Sardy, a canal section with smaller locks, where time seems to have stood still for over two hundred years. The hand-swung
bridges are a delight and you'll pass old logging sites which are now an almost forgotten memory for the local people.
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The lovely cabins aboard L'Art de Vivre are air conditioned and centrally heated. Three twin staterooms are available as well as one double stateroom. Private bathrooms with
a shower, toilet, and sink are also offered in each room.
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- Gourmet cuisine typically featuring tasty local cheeses and delicacies such as
Magret de Canard and Coquelet Roti
- A selection of delicious wines with lunch and dinner
- Open bar
- On-deck hot tub
- Comfortable salon with picture windows and two sofas
- Deck with steamer chairs, reclining chairs, large dining table, parasols
- Air conditioning and central heating
- Touring bicycles
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Sunday - Guests are met at the pick up hotel in the afternoon and transferred to L'Art de Vivre. After a Champagne Welcome, wander the logging capital and raison d'être of the Canal du Nivernais. Dinner aboard.
Monday - 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 the barge will moor at Villiers-sur-Yonne in its picturesque
setting under willow trees. Your 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 - 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 you'll 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. You'll then continue your cruise and moor in the old logging port of Monceaux le Comte.
Dinner ashore at the Auberge du Centre serving traditional local cuisine.
Wednesday - This morning you'll visit one of Burgundy's most picturesque hill-top settings, Vézelay. 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, you'll have an opportunity to stroll around Chitry-les-Mines with its 16th
century château, used during World War II by the local Resistance Group "Les Loups" (The Wolves). Dinner aboard.
Thursday - As the barge cruises through the remote countryside and meadows of "France Profonde" on the way to Sardy, you will notice that the locks are a lot older with their huge beam-levered
lock gates and ivy covered lock houses. After lunch you'll visit the Château of Bazoches, whose illustrious visitors included Richard the Lionheart. It later became the home of Marechal
Vauban, the famous defense engineer, in whose family it has remained until this day. Dinner aboard.
Friday - Today begins with a passage through the 16-lock flight leading to the summit of the Canal du Nivernais. 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. The barge moors for lunch at the last lock before the 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 - After breakfast return to the Paris meeting point hotel in the early afternoon.
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1.800.549.2575
