Category Archives: European Barging & River Cruises

Wine Cruise- Southern France City of Toulouse

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Wine CruiseCity of Toulouse in the South of France- Wine Cruise

The city of Toulouse is located at the heart of the Midi Pyrenees region in southwestern France. It lies on the banks of the River Garonne. With its beautiful historic center, Toulouse is one of the most lively and metropolitan provincial cities in France.

Toulouse is France’s fourth largest city and has a very vibrant and spirited atmosphere with a strong student presence. It’s a wonderful experience to stroll around the historic center, walk alongside the Garonne and the Canal du Midi, and visit one of the many pavement cafés for a delicious cup of coffee!

As you move around the city of Toulouse, you notice the 2,000 years of history evident in architecture of brick and tiles very typical of the cities, villages and farms of this region. The reflections of the sun on the brick of Toulouse have deserving earned it the name of the ‘Ville Rose’, imparting an atmosphere to the city that is both gentle and warm at the same time.

Toulouse has long been an aviation center. St. Exupéry and Mermoz flew out from here on their pioneering airmail flights in the 1920s. The city is now home to Aerospastale, the national Space Center, the European shuttle program, the leading aeronautical schools, and a frontier-pushing electronics industry. All this is possible in Toulouse due to its 110,000 students, who make it second only to Paris as a university center. All inhabitants of the city love to go to the old Ville Rose for their entertainment – pink not only in its brickwork, but also in its politics.
Toulouse also is renowned as a great place for shopping. You can find all reputed and well known brands in fashion, design, leather goods, and jewelry here in first rate shops.

An Extraordinary Wine Cruise

The Midi-Pyrenees has a great reputation for being one of the southwest’s most important food and cultural regions, and Toulouse takes pride in its several open-air and covered markets, where you can find local products from the region. There also are some wonderful buys, such as delicious wines and cheeses, charcuterie, foie gras, and the famous speciality dish of the region, Cassoulet, which is made with white beans, duck or goose confit, meat and sausages.
Toulouse has many different faces ranging from its numerous churches, its museums and galleries to the Space Center. Once you visit and move around the city, you will discover the charms of the Ville Rose! You can visit Toulouse from the barge St. Louis! We offer Bordeaux barge cruises and wine cruise for visiting Toulouse! Europeanbarging 888-869-7907

Arcy-Sur-Cure- Burgundy Barge Cruise

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August 1 bigVisit The Caves at Arcy-sur-Cure On The Burgundy Barge Cruise

Arcy-sur-Cure is a commune in Burgundy, France. The caves are located just south of the commune and ranked as one of the leading prehistoric sites of France. The caves at Arcy-sur-Cure are a series of caverns dug into the rock by the Cure River. There are a total of 11 caves, including the Grande Grotte or Great Cave, the oldest embellished cave in the world after Chauvet cave in Ardèche.

The site offers much to mesmerize its visitors, such as the underground lakes, stalactites and stalagmites, as well as stunning concretions and other-worldly subterranean landscapes. Yet, it is the traces left behind by past inhabitants of these caves that make the greatest impact on visitors.

The caves at Arcy-sur-Cure were once occupied by human beings for thousands of years. They hold rock paintings of different animals inhabiting the area at the time, as well as hand imprints left by the occupants some 30,000 years ago. You can see wonderful paintings made with ochre and charcoal, often representing animals, such as the mammoth, the bear, the rhinoceros, or felines and birds. You also can find negative handprints and various symbols, such as points, sinuous lines and a trapezoid. These cave drawings are so mesmerizing and give an enthralling and unforgettable experience.

Every day between Easter and All Saints’ Day, the caves are open for public viewing. The guided tours last about an hour. Bookings are done in advance. The tours can be organized for groups of 15 people or more. It is also feasible to organize archaeological visits on Saturdays and Sundays, which also require advance booking.

People with reduced mobility also can access these caves. Films and photographs are strictly prohibited. Animals also are not allowed.

Take A Cruise Along the Burgundy Barge Cruise Six Passenger Barge Elizabeth

Our six-passenger barge Elizabeth is an excellent option for visiting the prehistoric caves at Arcy-sur-Cure. Call us to book your holiday on this Burgundy barge cruise and have a wonderful experience seeing the authentic and marvelous cave drawings! Europeanbarging 888-869-7907

Austrian Town of Gmunden

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Picture Perfect Town of GmundenThe Picture Perfect Town of Gmunden

The picturesque town of Gmunden is situated in the Salzkammergut region, the Austrian Lake District. It’s a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) World Heritage Site, located on the shores of Lake Traunsee and surrounded by mountains. Gmunden – the town of ceramics – is full of life and exudes southern charm.

Gmunden is not a big town. But it can’t be labeled as a passive and sleepy small village either. The town has so much to catch your attention. It is romantic, energetic, active and lively. It takes pride in its culture and offers a pleasant atmosphere. It captivates you with its charm and offers several interesting contrasts within it. It is a place which surprises you with a wonderful balance of excitement and calmness, noise and quietness. The town is a perfect place to move about – to shop or simply enjoy.

Gmunden was a significant settlement as early as Celtic times and grew in the 11th century to become an important center of the salt trade. Due to its pleasant climate and the beauty of the Salzkammergut landscape, the aristocracy and wealthy citizens spent their summers in the town at Lake Traunsee as early as the 19th century.

Emperor Franz Josef, for example, used to visit the Royal House of Hanover in Gmunden, where the nobility from all over Europe stayed, before he headed to his summer residence in Bad Ischl.

Gmunden offers a unique charm with its splendid town houses and facades dating from the 15th to the 18th centuries. Gmunden’s renaissance town hall has the only ceramic chimes in Austria and is quite famous as a popular tourist destination.

In Gmunden, you can find a great number of excursions and points of interest. The most important among them are the Traun Fall, 10 miles north of the town, a castle called Schloss Ort, and a ceramic factory producing Gmundner Keramic branded pottery. The “Schloss Ort” castle is situated on a small island and is the most authentic emblem of the town. It was purchased by Archduke Johann Salvator Toscana, who was related to the House of Habsburg-Lothringen. Today, the “Schloss Ort” has become even more famous, because of the TV series “Schlosshotel Orth”.

Austrian Town of Gmunden and Danube River Cruise

On a Danube River cruise, with a stop in Linz, you might have an excursion to the scenic town of Gmunden. Call us for more details! Europeanbarging 888-869-7907

11th Century Cluny Abbey- Provence River Cruise

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Take A Provence River Cruise To Cluny Abbey

Provence River CruiseCluny Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Cluny, France. Built in the 11th Century and nearly destroyed during the French Revolution, it is one of the most significant abbeys of the Middle Ages. The three churches at Cluny Abbey were built in succession from the 10th to the early 12th centuries.

Cluny Abbey was one of the most important Benedictine, Christian monasteries of its time, helping to bring stability to the European society. It was the center of a major monastic movement of the Middle Ages that would spread throughout Europe.

The land for the abbey was donated by William I the Pious, Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Auvergne, from his own forested hunting preserve.

The Cluny Abbey was founded by Benedictine monks with a keen desire to observe closer adherence to the Benedictine rule. A distinctive aspect of their spirituality was their commitment to offer eternal prayer, emphasizing liturgy and spiritual pursuits over labor and other monastic activities.

Though some religious orders traditionally led a frugal life in that period, the case was different with the monks at Cluny Abbey. There were solid gold and silver chalices with gems for the Mass. Though monks usually ate porridge and broth, the monks at Cluny Abbey enjoyed wine, cheese and roasted chicken. They wore rich clothes made of silk and linen for the Mass.

A substantial part of the Cluny Abbey was designed with Romanesque architecture. It once housed Romanesque sculptures that are considered to be masterpieces today. Not only this, the library in Cluny Abbey was once considered to be the most important and the richest library across all of Europe. It held many important and valuable books. The Cluny Abbey stood as a great symbol of French culture in its time.

The church of the abbey was the largest Christian building in the world, until St. Peter’s Basilica was rebuilt in Rome in the 16th century.
What is left of Cluny Abbey today is a small portion of the third church and the bell tower, along with the 15th-century abbots’ residences and 18th-century convent buildings. The site also includes pleasant gardens and a museum with Romanesque artifacts.

Provence River Cruise And The Historical Abbey of Cluny

Our Provence river cruise offers a visit to the historical Abbey of Cluny. Contact us for more information! Europeanbarging 888-869-7907

The Charming Village of Le Baux de Provence- Rhone River Cruise

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Rhone River CruiseThis Rhone River Cruise Brings Passengers To The Village of Le Baux De Provence

Le Baux de Provence is an exceptionally picturesque village, more famous as a tourist site than being an active village. And with the surrounding Alpilles, it is extremely beautiful.

When you arrive at the village, you are astonished by the out-and-out scale, not only of the surrounding countryside but of the village itself. Les Baux de Provence was, and still is, more like a strong, fearsome stronghold than a pretty little village. In 1998, it was added to the elite official category of “The Most Beautiful Villages of France”.

Les Baux de Provence indeed remains a village officially as the population in the inner walled city is only 400. The number shrinks to just 22 in the winter months. Nevertheless, the dimensions of the buildings – the Château and its massive keep, the opulent Saint Vincent’s Church and grandiose Renaissance private mansions – are a testimony to Les Baux’ former wealth and power.

The village had an exceptional royal history. Though between the 17th and 19th centuries, it was almost a discarded and deserted place. It was only after the discovery of the mineral bauxite (the name is derived from “Les Baux”) in the neighboring hills that life came back to the village. The tourists started visiting the place and have more recently transformed it. Today, the number of visitors exceeds 1.5 million each year.

The tourists usually flock to the village during the day with the crowd thing rapidly after around 5 p.m. or so, depending on the season. So, it will be great to turn up rather late and enjoy the splendid castle in relative peace. The cultural heritage of Les Baux is exceptionally rich, with 22 architectural treasures classified as “Historic Monuments”, including the church, chateau, town hall, hospital, chapels, houses, doorways and such, without counting items of furniture and a collection of paintings.

You can visit the village only by foot and will admire the ancient houses that have been carefully restored, beautiful Renaissance facades and several magnificent “hotels particulars”, which presently serve as art galleries or museums. There is a winding steep road up to the town and the street of the town are steep as well.

While moving around the village, you will discover many craft shops selling Provençal products and souvenirs. Food lovers will be particularly happy to discover that several restaurants at Les Baux boast international reputations. Indeed, such quality dining is so hard to resist!

The Rhone River Excursion Is One To Remember

Les Baux de Provence is often offered as an excursion from Provence barge and Rhone River cruises. Contact us for more information! Europeanbarging 888-869-7907