Oenology Vineyards along the waterways

Fol­low the wine routes of France by boat.

France is the coun­try with the most dif­fer­ent vine­yards in the world. Fol­low­ing the dif­fer­ent wine routes is a great way to immerse your­self in the his­to­ry, cul­ture, and tra­di­tions of a region.

Fol­low the wine routes of France on a riv­er cruise. Whether in the east, west, north, or south of France, dis­cov­er the diver­si­ty of one of France’s great­est rich­es, which has con­tributed to its rep­u­ta­tion through­out the world : its vineyards.

Beau­ti­ful land­scapes to con­tem­plate up close from your boat, tast­ings with small local pro­duc­ers dur­ing your stops : fol­low­ing the wine routes by a self-dri­ve live­aboard boat is one of the best ways to enjoy it to the fullest.

/​/ The Alsace Wine Route

Between the Vos­ges Moun­tains and the Alsace plain, depart­ing from our self-dri­ve boat rental base in Wal­tenheim-sur-Zorn, on the Marne-au-Rhin canal, take advan­tage of your Alsa­t­ian get­away to explore the famous Alsa­t­ian vine­yards. In the north­ern part of the wine region that extends from Mar­len­heim to Thann, your cruise will be an oppor­tu­ni­ty to dis­cov­er the dif­fer­ent vin­tages offered by Alsace.

In the Bas-Rhin, Ries­ling is the star. Fur­ther into this wine region, you can dis­cov­er oth­er vin­tages such as Gewurz­tramin­er and Pinot Gris.

Fif­teen min­utes from our Wal­tenheim-sur-Zorn base, near the bor­der with Ger­many, a small enclave forms the vine­yard of the Wis­sem­bourg region.
More than 50 Alsace wine ter­ri­to­ries are clas­si­fied as AOC Grands Crus along the Alsace Wine Route, which stretch­es 170km from north to south, at the foot of the Vos­ges Moun­tains. What are you wait­ing for to taste them ?

» More infor­ma­tion about our cruis­es in Alsace

/​/ Cognac Eau-de-Vie

Embark on a riv­er cruise from our self-dri­ve boat rental base in Cognac, the cap­i­tal of the Char­ente depart­ment. Your riv­er cruise on the Char­ente will allow you to dis­cov­er the dif­fer­ent vin­tages of Cognac, a world-renowned eau-de-vie, and its dif­fer­ent vin­tages : Grande Cham­pagne, Petite Cham­pagne, Bor­deries, Fins Bois, Bons Bois, and Bois Ordi­naires, or Bois à Ter­roirs. Cognac will no longer hold any secrets for you !

In the region, it is pos­si­ble to vis­it dis­til­leries to learn more about the pro­duc­tion of Cognac, which, you will dis­cov­er, involves many steps. Your riv­er cruise will take you through the vine­yards, which you can dis­cov­er by boat, by bike, on horse­back, or why not in a vin­tage car. Between guid­ed tours, tast­ings, and gourmet cir­cuits, there is no doubt that after your vis­it to Cognac, you will be able to choose your eau-de-vie well and share it with your loved ones. But first, a tast­ing on the boat is a must !

» More infor­ma­tion about our Cognac cruises

/​/ Wines of the Loire Valley

Vine­yard, enjoy your riv­er get­away with Canalous to dis­cov­er the wine regions of Pays de la Loire, heavy with his­to­ry and rich in her­itage. From the Nantes, Anjou or Touraine vine­yards, you can dis­cov­er many wine-grow­ing areas aboard your license-free live­aboard boat. Dur­ing your barge stay, enjoy Saumur wine, Anjou rosé, Mus­cadet, Coteaux du Lay­on, or even Cabernet. 

In the Loire Val­ley, wine is a true cul­tur­al and his­tor­i­cal mod­el. It is an inte­gral part of the “good liv­ing” cul­ture that has devel­oped in the region. On the pro­gram of your oeno­log­i­cal riv­er cruise : vis­its to wine cel­lars and estates, tast­ings, but also fun activ­i­ties cen­tered around the wine theme.

» More infor­ma­tion on our Loire cruises

/​/ The Inimitable Wines of Burgundy

With its five vine­yards, Bur­gundy is renowned through­out the world. The Cli­mats (pre­cise­ly defined vine­yard plots typ­i­cal of Bur­gundy) have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Her­itage List since July 2015. 

From our Pon­tailler-sur-Saône boat rental base, near the vine­yards of the Côte de Beaune and the Côte de Nuits, dis­cov­er the pres­ti­gious crus of the region. Whether red wines like Gevrey-Cham­bertin and Fix­in, or white wines like the inim­itable Meur­sault. From our Coulanges-sur-Yonne license-free barge rental base, dis­cov­er the Chablis wine region, where you can enjoy the famous epony­mous wine. Coulanges-sur-Yonne is also at the heart of the Grand Aux­er­rois divid­ed into 4 ter­roirs : Aux­er­rois, Ton­nerrois, Vézelien, and Jovinien. So many choic­es for a palette of fla­vors that will amaze you and make you suc­cumb to the Bur­gun­di­an charm. 

From Louhans, head­ing towards Chalon sur Saône, enjoy the vine­yards of the Côte Chalon­naise, the birth­place of Cré­mant de Bour­gogne. Sev­er­al grape vari­eties are grown on these lands, even if Chardon­nay and Pinot Noir dom­i­nate. Your get­away in Louhans will also be an oppor­tu­ni­ty to dis­cov­er the Mâcon­nais vine­yard, in the south of the Saône-et-Loire depart­ment, on the bor­der of Beau­jo­lais. This wine-grow­ing region offers you pow­er­ful and aro­mat­ic white wines like Mon­tag­ny to the north and Saint-Véran to the south.

» More infor­ma­tion on our Bur­gundy cruises

/​/ Cahors Wines

Lot is a gourmet region, and the wines of the region are like the region : pow­er­ful, col­or­ful, and rich in taste. The wines of Cahors, the ter­ri­to­ry of Mal­bec, are tan­nic and pow­er­ful wines, both in red and white. Right next to our Luzech license-free boat rental base, you will find an impor­tant vine­yard. A lit­tle vis­it before your depar­ture is required to enjoy your riv­er cruise in Lot. Through­out the jour­ney, you will find cel­lars that will offer you wine and local pro­duce tast­ings, for a com­plete food and wine pairing

» More infor­ma­tion on our Lot cruises

/​/​The Vineyards of the Midi

The route of the Canal du Midi pass­es near var­i­ous vine­yards in the south of France. Do the names Min­er­vois, Côtes du Fron­ton­nais, or Cor­bières mean any­thing to you ? On a vaca­tion on a license-free boat on the Canal du Midi, it’s an oppor­tu­ni­ty to learn more about these wines that smell of sun­shine. Dis­cov­er the vine­yards of south­ern France from our license-free boat rental bases in Car­cas­sonne, Homps, where you can vis­it the wine house direct­ly locat­ed on the port, Colom­biers, and Agde.

» More infor­ma­tion on our Canal du Midi cruises

/​/ The rosé of Camargue

Do you appre­ci­ate light sum­mer rosés ? You will cer­tain­ly like the famous rosé wine with the appel­la­tion “Sable de Camar­gue”. You can meet the pro­duc­ers of Sable de Camar­gue by rent­ing a license-free boat from our rental base in Carnon. These rosé wines are unique because they are grown on land that can only be found in Camar­gue. The region’s sun, wind, and wel­com­ing char­ac­ter of its peo­ple will sure­ly make it your favorite wine on your river­boat vaca­tion in Camargue.

» More infor­ma­tion on our Camar­gue cruises

» Check avail­abil­i­ty online for a cruise along the vine­yards.