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
Becky & John
Travelers wanting to experience France need look no further than France Just for You. Emilie works very hard to make sure travelers have a care-free, positive, unique experience that they could have never found on their own or with a bus tour group. If you dislike prefabricated group tours, and/or feel unconfident about traveling in a foreign …
Maroun
I cannot say enough good things about Emilie and "France Just for You". We spent 15 days in France in June to celebrate our special anniversary and it was more than perfect. I found this superlative agency while browsing online, looking for a custom made trip to France that does not involve hopping on a tour bus with a large group of people, being …
Cathy
France Just For You planned the trip of a lifetime for my husband and me. We traveled to Normandy, St. Saint Michele, the Loire Valley and Provence. We are typically not road trip travelers, but this adventure brought us closer to the wonderful people of France than any group tour or "drop and plop" vacation could ever do. The bed and breakfasts …
Tyndall from the US
Truly an amazing experience traveling with France Just for You. Their attention to detail, availability, communication, and knowledge of France is unmatched. Went on the girls trip of a lifetime thanks to them! Made incredible memories and loved the balance of having curated activities planned and suggested activities for the time in between. Truly …
Pamela
We just returned from a fantastic three weeks in Southwest France. I highly recommend the services of France Just For You, we could never have planned the trip ourselves as well as they did. Laura did the planning and gave us an amazing itinerary, and was available at a moment's notice when we had a plane cancellation on our flight to Bordeaux and …
Lucelle
I was amazed when I came across the website that ALL the reviews were excellent. From the moment I started dealing with Emilie I received amazing service in planning our wonderful trip to France. I will not repeat all the details that are in the previous posts but highlight some of the exceptional service that I received. The booking of the …