One nice thing about barge cruising in France is learning about the local traditions. Since Christmas is coming up soon, it made me think of santons.

During the French Revolution, when the churches were closed and not allowed to have Nativity scenes, an artisan from Marseilles started the tradition of making santons (”little saints”) for ordinary people to  have  Nativity scenes at home. 

These small figurines represent not only the traditional figures of Joseph, Mary, the baby Jesus, etc. but also various personnages typical in a French village.  For example, we have one of a woman carrying lavender and another of a man playing pétanque (a form of boules similar to bocce ball). Some of the figurines have the costumes painted on them, while others are dressed in clothes like dolls.

A santon fair was started in Marseilles in 1803, and now there are fairs and festivals all over Provence in November and December. Although this isn’t cruising season, if you get a chance to go to Provence at that time of year, be sure to check out these fairs. (You can buy santons all year round in gift shops.)

“The largest Nativity Scene in the World” (Guinness Book of World Records) is in Grignan. It covers more than 10,000 square feet and contains more than 80 houses, built of traditional materials (stone, wood, cement) and covered with 60,000 handmade tiles. Many expert santon-makers have contributed more than 1,000 santons of animals and people.

To read more about santons and see pictures of some of them, go to   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santon_(figurine)

One of the main stops on any cruise on the Rhone River in southern France is Avignon. Here, the riverboats dock right at the foot of history. A flourishing city in Roman times, Avignon is now best known for its high medieval walls, its Palace of the Popes and its broken bridge.

During the 14th century, the seat of the Roman Catholic papacy was moved from Rome to Avignon, and seven popes resided there during a period of almost 70 years. In 1348, Pope Clement VI bought the city from the Duchess of Provence, and Avignon remained a papal property until the French Revolution.

The thick walls built by the popes still encircle the city (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), and the narrow streets, while fine for pedestrians, are best left to local drivers unless you have a very small rental car and a very good navigator!

If you’ve ever studied French, you may have learned the song “Sur le pont d’Avignon” which describes dancing “on the bridge of Avignon.” The Saint Bénézet bridge used to span the Rhône River from Avignon to Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, crossing over the Île de Barthelasse. It is on this island that people probably danced under (not on) the bridge

The bridge was built in the late 12th century at the urging of Saint Bénézet, a local shepherd boy who, according to tradition, was commanded by angels to build a bridge across the river. It originally had 22 arches and was nearly 3000 feet long. However, over the centuries, most of the bridge was destroyed by floods, and today only 4 arches remain

Avignon also has a large indoor market, where you can buy anything from cheese and sausages to regional candy specialties like calissons d’Aix (my personal favorite).

No visit to Burgundy is complete with a stop in Beaune, in the heart of the famous wine region. From the renowned Clos de Vougeot to the equally famous Montrachet vineyards, the Côte d’Or (”Golden Hillside”) is a must-see for any serious wine afficionado.

Besides the vineyards, Beaune is famous for its Hôtel-Dieu (Hospices de Beaune), a hospital founded in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin. This building, with its beautiful multi-colored tile roof, is now a museum. The interior has been restored and gives a fascinating glimpse of how sick people were cared for, in one large room, with rows of curtained beds - each holding two patients! - along the sides. There is also a pharmacy, with old bottles labeled with the names of various herbs and other substances used as medicines. In the kitchen, with its massive fireplaces and cooking pots, you can see figures of nuns working to feed all the sick people.

The charitable institution now cares for the sick in modern hospitals, but its work continues to be supported by the proceeds from the sale of wine from its vineyards. Every November, a large charity wine auction is held in Beaune’s covered market. In 2008, 544 barrels were sold, 450 of red wine and 94 of white wine. 

If you have a few days before or after your Burgundy cruise, you may want to check into the gorgeous Hotel le Cep and tour some wineries, indulge in the local wine and cuisine, and just stroll around the quaint old town of Beaune.

Among the most fascinating places in southwestern France is the medieval fortress of Carcassonne, a World Heritage Site. With over 50 towers and 2 miles of double walls surrounding the old town, the fortifications rise majestically from the surrounding countryside with its vineyards.

Inhabited as early as 3500 BC, Carcasonne became an important trading center in the 6th century BC. Fortified by the Romans, the Visigoths, and later by Simon de Montfort during the Albigensian Crusade in the 13th century, Carcassonne was an important military citadel until the 17th century. By the mid-19th century, it had fallen into such disrepair that it was threatened with demolition. However, the fortress was eventually restored under the direction of the famous architect Viollet-le-Duc and is the most complete medieval fortified city in existence today.

According to legend, during an attempted siege of Carcassonne by Charlemagne in the 9th century, the city was saved by a trick of a certain townswoman. When she was told that all that was left in the way of food was a little grain and a pig, Madame Carcas fed the grain to the pig and threw it down from the highest tower in front of the invaders. Charlemagne assumed her action meant that the residents still had plenty of food, so he gave up the siege. As he and his men were leaving, Madame Carcas told the townspeople to ring all the church bells. One of Charlemagne’s men shouted “Carcas sonne” (Carcas is ringing), whence the name of the town.

If you like Impressionist art, a visit to Claude Monet’s house and garden at Giverny  in Normandy is a must. Most cruises on the Seine River north of Paris include this excursion, but if your cruise doesn’t take you there, you can easily do a day trip from Paris on the train.

Monet lived in Giverny from 1883 until his death in 1926. His property has been restored to the way it was when he lived there. There is a flower garden called Clos Normand in front of the house plus a Japanese-inspired water garden, which is  featured in Monet’s well-known water lily paintings. Inside the house, you can visit the kitchen done in blue and white and the dining room with a sunshine yellow theme. Unfortunately, you can’t take pictures inside the house, but here are some of the gardens and the outside of the house:

If you have time in Giverny, there is also a Museum of Impressionism. This was formerly called the Museum of American Art because it was founded by an American and focused primarily on the American artists who flocked to Giverny to study the new way of painting epitomized by Monet.  You can visit the hotel where many of these artists stayed, as well as the grave of Monet in the Giverny churchyard.

Back in Paris, don’t miss the Orsay Museum’s huge collection of Impressionist paintings and the Orangerie, which was specially redesigned to house Monet’s larger works, the Nymphéas.

The colorful title of this post captures the essence of the Camargue region, a lesser known part of southern France tucked between the ancient city of Arles and the Mediterranean. La Camargue is a lowland area shaped by the Rhône River as it fans out into a large delta before reaching the sea. This tiny part of France has a different feel to it. It is totally unlike the pastoral French scenery we are used to in Normandy, Burgundy or Dordogne, for example. As a wetland, it has flora and fauna that are truly unique. With the right timing, you will indeed spot pink flamingos feeding on shrimp, white  horses galloping in the wild countryside and black cattle being herded by the local “cowboys” (more on this in a minute).

And, it is an ideal spot for barge cruising on the slow waters of Le Petit Rhône starting near Arles - where the big river veers off on its way to Saintes Maries de la Mer - or the Canal du Rhône à  Sète from Beaucaire to Aigues Mortes all the way down to Sète, farther south on the deep blue Mediterranean.

On this trip, I joined up with an 18-passenger barge moored in Aigues-Mortes. This laid back, sleepy little town has a lot of history in its background. This is where, in the 13th century, St Louis - king of France - set sail on his way to the 7th and 8th crusades in the Holy Land. Aigues-Mortes was then a thriving port on the Mediterranean. But it no longer is, due to the accumulation of  silt brought by the Rhône River over the centuries…. Hence the name Aigues Mortes, which translates literally into “Dead Waters.” It remains a delightful place to visit today and is well worth the detour.

One of the highlights of this trip was my visit to a local “manade,” the soul of Camargue.  A manade is a ranch where cattle is raised, Texas-style, complete with its own French version of cowboys called “gardians.”  (The two pictures above give a pretty good idea.) Many of these manades offer rides through their property to go see the cattle up close and personal and show the Camargue way of life. It is a lot of fun to ride in a flatbed trailer pulled by a tractor, sitting on bails of straw and shooting pictures of the cows, the horses (with an occasional egret here and there) and with luck, as I said, a flock of funny-faced, skinny-legged flamingos. True, it may not quite come to the level of a wild-life safari in Africa, but it could get close if you’d let it. Try teasing one of those bulls and you’ll find out - these creatures are very territorial! After all, they’re raised for the local bullfights - a bloodless version of the sport in which the objective is to snatch a rosette tied between the horns of the bull. Unlike other types of bullfighting, the bull is the star of the show.

Camargue really is a gem of a place… rural, wild and completely different from any other place I’ve seen. A wonderful place to commune with nature!

Welcome! This travel blog is about river and canal cruise vacations on luxury barge-hotels and riverboats in France. With its extensive network of rivers and canals, France offers dozens of cruising possibilities from Alsace to Normandy and the Loire valley, down to Burgundy, Provence and the Languedoc. The boats navigating French waterways can be as small as upscale barges for 4 guests on the Canal du Midi or as large as 150-passenger river cruisers on the river Seine through Paris. Cruising around the French countryside is a great way to spend a vacation. Exploring out-of-the-way places, seeing the locals up close and sampling the many regional dishes and wines is a lot of fun. So, we hope you enjoy your trip (or enjoyed, if you’ve already been there) and we look forward to chatting with you.

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