Even if the Canal du Midi (near Toulouse) is the most famous river cruise in France, there are many more options to relax on a barge (called péniche) in one of the French rivers.

There are 113 nautical bases for river cruising, covering about 5,000 miles of waterway. Most of them are located in the Eastern part of France. The South West is also very nice with the Lot or the Canal du Midi. We have tested for you the navigation on the Mayenne river, located near Angers in the Loire Valley.

 

This type of tourism is for travelers who want to go slow and enjoy life ; maybe around a glass of rosé wine with some cold cuts ; or taking a sunbath on the deck of a boat.

Your journey is about getting cooler in the river, passing locks and strolling villages along the way. At night, you’ll find a pontoon either in the nature or in a small river port.

Everything you need is onboard including a kitchen, a bathroom and bikes.

This is a really nice way to discover the French countryside!

France Just For You

Experts in self-drive tours in France

Travelers Reviews

5.0
Carol & Bruce from the US
A perfect 2 weeks in Provence in the spring! My husband and I were delighted with the itinerary ‘FJFY’ put together for our 2-week self-drive road trip in Provence. During the planning stages Emilie and Laura asked insightful questions about our lifestyle and desires relating to travel. Communications were outstanding throughout the planning stage …
Joel
We highly recommend Emilie’s services. She put together an excellent itinerary. She made all the arrangements and the guides she retained for us where top notch. The B&B accommodations were very good, the hosts were terrific and we enjoyed the other travelers we met at breakfast. We did two table d'hote dinners which were excellent and her …
Margaret & Rob
We would like to add our names to everyone else here who have had a truly excellent experience when using Emilie's, France Just For You company. We drove 2800 km on a recent holiday, and it was all arranged by Emilie. Everything she organized was perfect. We stayed in B and Bs and although we know a little French, all of our hosts spoke fluent …
Kate
Dealing with Emilie is like having a personal concierge. The 10 day trip was perfect. She allowed time to relax and we were able to experience France like locals. This is our 8 th trip to France but after this tour, it will not be our last. Thank you Emilie!
Barbara & Gary
Emilie, You have created for us the most outstanding well planned vacation possible. We have thoroughly enjoyed following your suggestions each day-- each choice well selected specifically for us. And even when things didn't go perfectly-- like a flat tire on the rental car or a pilot's strike which resulted in the cancellation of our light, you …
Candy
Wherever possible we prefer to travel on our own as opposed to going on a tour package. With France - Just For You, they arranged for a vehicle and booked us into a couple of lovely B&B’s and a great Boutique Hotel in Paris and booked a couple of activities that we were interested in. Besides that, they put together a book for us with everything we …