From the company seen on Rick Steves' Europe (PBS) and in The New York Times • Family-owned barging since 1982
Every hotel barge feeds you well. Savoir Vivre does something different: each evening, you are driven to a different authentic local restaurant along the route, settled in at your table, and collected afterward, with your choice from the menu and a half bottle of wine per person already included. One night it is a table run by a chef who used to cook at a Michelin-starred abbey; another it is a crêperie in the hilltop village of Châteauneuf-en-Auxois. That is the dine-around program, and it is the reason people pick this barge.
Savoir Vivre carries up to eight guests in four cabins on the Canal de Bourgogne, from Escommes to Fleury-sur-Ouche. It is also the rare barge you can book either way: charter the whole boat for your group, or reserve just a cabin and share the week with fellow travelers. With cabins from $4,725 per person, it is the best-value week in the fleet, and the one we recommend to first-time bargers who want to try the life without chartering a whole vessel.
Days run on the same easy rhythm as the evenings: a gentle cruise through the Vallée de l’Ouche, lunch cooked aboard by a local chef, and a chauffeured excursion with Simon, your guide, to Châteauneuf-en-Auxois, Beaune, the Clos de Vougeot, or the Dijon market, entrance fees included. Captain Richard Megret, with more than twenty years on barges, runs the week with a light hand and a dry sense of humor.
Savoir Vivre carries up to eight guests in four ensuite cabins, which makes it one of the few barges in the fleet where a solo traveler or a single couple can book a cabin and join the week. The style on board is relaxed rather than formal: a salon and dining area below, an open deck above for the slow hours between locks, and bicycles for the towpath. The crew of three is among the most seasoned on the French canals. Captain Richard Megret has more than twenty years on barges, Simon guides the daily excursions, and your hostess keeps the whole week running. Because dinner happens ashore each night, the barge itself stays an unhurried place: breakfast, lunch, the open bar, and the countryside going by.
These comments are from FCBC guests and are not attributed to a particular barge. Source: French Canal Boat Company.
The questions guests actually ask before their first barge trip. If yours is not here, call Kim at 888-229-2315.
Four cabins, each with its own ensuite facilities, photographed honestly in the gallery above. Savoir Vivre is the value barge in the fleet, so think comfortable and well kept rather than plush: boat cabins that are cozy and efficient, with room to unpack and settle in. Picture a tidy small hotel room that happens to move through Burgundy. If a big hotel bathroom matters a lot to you, that is the one thing worth picturing honestly before you book. You never share a bathroom with other guests, and housekeeping refreshes the cabins daily.
Each evening the crew drives you to a different authentic local restaurant along the route, walks you in, and gets you settled, then collects you when you are ready. Your meal is your own selection from the menu, and a half bottle of wine per person, chosen by the crew, is included. The lineup runs from a table run by a former Michelin-restaurant chef to a village crêperie beneath the Châteauneuf ramparts. Upgraded wine beyond the included half bottle is at your expense. Dietary needs are handled with notice; tell us at booking.
Both work, and this is one of the few barges offering both. A private charter gives your group all four cabins, the crew, and the schedule to yourselves, for up to eight guests. A cabin booking reserves just your cabin on a set departure, sharing the week and the dinner table with up to six other guests; it is the most affordable way into barging, from $4,725 per person, and solo travelers can join with a $1,995 single supplement. Some weeks on the calendar are cabin-only. Tell us which way you lean and we will point you to the right week.
This is the question almost every first-time guest is too polite to ask. The honest answer: it feels like being looked after, not watched. The crew of three has its own quarters and its own rhythm, reads when you want to chat and when you want space, and by day two most guests stop thinking about it. Captain Richard has run this week for years; guests usually end up wishing he would join dinner more often.
The rhythm on most days: a gentle morning cruise, a chauffeured excursion with Simon to a village, a cellar, or a market, lunch aboard from the local chef, then a free afternoon to walk or cycle the towpath, read on deck, or do nothing at all before the evening’s restaurant. If you need a packed schedule to feel like you are on holiday, a barge can feel slow. If your idea of a good week is a new Burgundy table every night and the countryside going by at walking pace, boredom is not the problem. Leaving is.
It is uncommon, but canal levels can occasionally limit how far the barge travels in a given week, usually after a dry spell. When it happens, the crew rebuilds the week around the same villages, vineyards, and restaurants by road. We would rather you hear this from us now than be surprised by it. Travel insurance is a sensible backstop for the things none of us control.
Two things. First, the eating: no other barge in the fleet dines ashore every night, so no other week samples this many real Burgundy restaurants. Second, the scenery: the Vallée de l’Ouche is the prettiest stretch of the Canal de Bourgogne, with Châteauneuf-en-Auxois above the water, Beaune and the Clos de Vougeot a short drive away, and Dijon bookending the week. It is also the fleet’s best value, and the easiest barge to try by the cabin.
Yes, it is possible to drive and park at the boarding ports. Get in touch and we will give you the specifics for your departure point.
Yes. Tell us at the time of booking. With four guests at most and the chef herself taking the request, dietary requirements and preferences are handled personally rather than passed down a kitchen line.
No. Dinner is a gourmet event, but the dress code is relaxed: think smart casual, the way you would dress for a nice dinner at a friend\’s home. No jackets required, no gowns, no fuss. Comfortable shoes matter more than anything formal.
No, and you would be in good company. Most barge guests are in their 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond. The pace is unhurried by design: the barge moves at about four miles per hour, and there is no packing and unpacking between hotels. You settle in once and France comes to you. Guests who want more activity can walk or cycle the towpath beside the boat; guests who want none can watch it all from a deck chair.
Very unlikely. Canals are flat, placid water, and the barge moves at a slow, steady pace. If you are prone to motion sickness on boats, the canal is about as gentle as it gets. There are no waves and no swell, and there is no rocking at night because the barge moors every evening. If motion sickness has kept you off cruise ships, this is the boat that was built for you.
Yes. You are on flat, calm water in settled countryside, never far from a village. Your hosts handle every lock and mooring. On deck, the usual boat rules apply: mind the rails, wear sensible shoes, and take the towpath at your own pace. Children need supervision on deck, the same as at any waterfront.
Kim confirms availability directly with the barge owner. A 25% deposit is due when booking, with the balance due 90 days before departure. Bookings made within 90 days require full payment. Your checkout shows the exact amounts and due dates. You can cancel within 24 hours after your initial booking payment and receive a full refund. Contact us within that window. After 24 hours, payments are non-refundable if you cancel, including for illness or inability to travel. You may substitute passengers by contacting us. If the barge owner cancels your cruise for any reason, we will provide a full refund. This differs from a route change where the trip still operates. Read the full Booking Terms and Conditions.
We strongly recommend travel protection for non-refundable trip costs and medical evacuation. Cover and exclusions depend on the policy you buy. Read the policy and check with the insurer; accepting our booking terms does not buy or decline insurance. Read the full Booking Terms and Conditions.
You can cancel within 24 hours after your initial booking payment and receive a full refund. Contact us within that window. After 24 hours, payments are non-refundable if you cancel, including for illness or inability to travel. You may substitute passengers by contacting us. If the barge owner cancels your cruise for any reason, we will provide a full refund. This differs from a route change where the trip still operates. Lock repairs, drought, flooding or unsafe conditions may require an alternative route. A route change does not by itself give you a right to cancel for a refund. If the owner cancels the cruise itself, the full-refund policy applies. Read the full Booking Terms and Conditions.
If the barge owner cancels your cruise for any reason, we will provide a full refund. This differs from a route change where the trip still operates. Read the full Booking Terms and Conditions.
Lock repairs, drought, flooding or unsafe conditions may require an alternative route. A route change does not by itself give you a right to cancel for a refund. If the owner cancels the cruise itself, the full-refund policy applies. Read the full Booking Terms and Conditions.
You may substitute passengers by contacting us. The booking terms do not promise a refund or automatic credit for changing dates. Contact us about a requested change before making other travel arrangements. Read the full Booking Terms and Conditions.
You can cancel within 24 hours after your initial booking payment and receive a full refund. Contact us within that window. After 24 hours, payments are non-refundable if you cancel. Passenger substitutions are permitted. If the barge owner cancels your cruise for any reason, we will provide a full refund.
Other voyages from the French Canal Boat Company fleet. A quick way to compare on the things that matter most: how many guests, which region, and what each week is really about.
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Until it is live, call Kim at 888-229-2315, or request the full itinerary to start the conversation.
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Until it is live, call Kim at 888-229-2315, or request the full itinerary to start the conversation.
