Six nights for 2 to 12 guests with a private captain, chef, and guide. Every meal, every wine, every excursion included. Charter the whole barge or join a departure by the cabin.
Not sure which fits? Call Kim: 888-229-2315. Ten minutes on the phone usually settles it.
Hotels, trains, restaurant reservations, driving, crowds. On most trips, one person in your group spends the whole week managing logistics instead of enjoying France. On a hotel barge, that job belongs to the crew.
The whole barge for your group, or a cabin on a set departure.
A hotel barge is a canal boat converted into a small floating hotel: a handful of ensuite cabins, a salon, a sun deck, and a crew of two to four who cook, pour, steer, and guide. You cruise a short stretch of canal each day, moor in a village each night, and ride along by minibus or bicycle to vineyards, markets, and chateaux.
It is slower than a river cruise, far smaller, and far more personal. The chef shops the morning market and asks what you feel like eating. The captain moves the barge while you are out tasting Chablis. Dinner is paired with the wines of the region you floated through that afternoon.
In 2025, PBS filmed a full episode of Rick Steves’ Europe aboard our own Papillon in Burgundy. The locks, the markets, the meals, the pace. Twenty-five minutes that show what a week on a barge is actually like, better than we ever could.
The cabins, the cooking, and the country you float through. Every photo below was taken on our barges. Use the arrows, or swipe on your phone.
Heather
Rick Steves · Rick Steves’ Europe on PBS · filmed aboard our Papillon
Until it is live, call Kim at 888-229-2315, or request the full itinerary to start the conversation.
The WeTravel booking and deposit checkout embeds here at launch. Guests will choose their week and place the deposit without leaving the page.
Until it is live, call Kim at 888-229-2315, or request the full itinerary to start the conversation.
