(TRAVPR.COM) UNITED STATES - August 21st, 2013 - For the seasoned traveler, autumnis the perfect time of the year to enjoy some of Europe’s most popular attractions. The big crowds are gone and the countryside glows with the colorful mantle of turning leaves. The weather is ideal for sight-seeing and long bicycle rides, as well as relaxing and watching the changing of the seasons from the deck of a European Waterways luxury hotel barge, where guests are pampered by an attentive crew.
"Autumn is a great time to enjoy a luxury hotel barge cruise in Europe," said Derek Banks, managing director of European Waterways. "Since our boats drift along the canals and waterways at a leisurely pace, guests have a unique opportunity to savor their vacations. Whether it’s walking tours and visits to small towns and local vineyards, bicycling through the countryside, or sampling the regional cuisine and fine wines, they do so without the stress of packing and unpacking and riding buses from town to town, as on a typical land tour."
The Burgundian Life Aboard L'Art de Vivre
L'Art de Vivre is an 8-passenger hotel barge whose interior furnishings evoke the Burgundian spirit of the "good life." Facilities include a spacious sun deck that is perfect for watching the changing season, and bicycles for those ready to “hit the road” with a gentle ride on the tow paths alongside the canal. An always open bar ensures the “spirit” is always willing as guests coast along the wine and history-rich Burgundy region of France through the beautiful Yonne valley.
Highlights of a L’Art de Vivre cruise include an exploration of the fourth largest city in Burgundy, Auxerre, and a sampling of Chablis wines at a private wine tasting. Guests also tour Noyers-sur-Serein, which many consider one of the most beautiful villages in Burgundy, and can take an optional ride in a hot air balloon. For more information, visit: http://www.gobarging.com/l-art-de-vivre-barge.
The Anjodi on the Canal Du Midi
The 8-passenger Anjodi was especially designed to navigate the 300-year-old Canal du Midi, with furnishings that include African hardwood and hand-crafted paneling and shining brass that evokes an atmosphere of elegance for passengers. It features air-conditioned staterooms with full en-suite facilities, comfortable furniture and a sun deck with a heated spa pool, the perfect place from which to take in the beautiful Mediterranean sunset.
Tours include a visit to Carcassonne, a UNESCO World Heritage Site dating back more than 2,000 years that offers the most complete example of a fortified medieval city in existence. The cruise also takes passengers through the historic Malpas tunnel, Europe’s first navigable canal tunnel, excavated in 1679. There is a visit to Minerve’s 12th century hill-top fort, which overlooks the River Cesse, and a private wine tasting at Château de Perdiguier, a picturesque castle whose history dates back to 1375. For more information on this cruise, visit: http://www.gobarging.com/anjodi-barge.
The Magna Carta on the River Thames
The 8-passenger Magna Carta, one of the most stylish vessels on the River Thames, features large picture windows and a well-appointed and spacious saloon, with amenities that include air conditioning and under-floor heating in each of its four, full-width cabins. Eight bicycles on-board ensure every passenger can go sight-seeing whenever the mood strikes them.
Highlights of the cruise include guided tours of Hampton Court Palace and Christ Church College, Oxford, and a visit to Henley-on-Thames, famed for its annual Royal Regatta, which overlooks the historic Chiltern landscape of wooded hills and green fields. Tours also include a visit to the early Tudor manor house of Dorney Court in Buckinghamshire, which dates back to 1440 and whose owners, the Palmer family, still live there. For more information visit http://www.gobarging.com/magna-carta-barge.
"There are still some great, last-minute opportunities available to enjoy the unique experience of a European Waterways cruise in the Fall, when rates are low,” said Banks. “We have some great special offers right now on these three hotel barges and others in our fleet, but if you can’t make it this time, there’s always next year. No matter when you book our cruises, it’s the perfect time to go!"
About European Waterways
The hotel barging experience is different from large vessel river cruising. It offers a slower paced, “gentle voyage of discovery” along the more intimate canals and waterways of Europe, allowing a small number of guests to become more fully immersed in the culture, history and gastronomy of the region. European Waterways is Europe’s largest all-inclusive luxury hotel barging operator, offering vacations in nine countries and carrying over 2,000 passengers a year. Founded nearly 40 years ago, they own, operate and market a private fleet of luxury barges with cruises in France, Italy, Scotland, Ireland, England, Germany, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg. Pioneers in hotel barging, they were the first company to operate a hotel barge on the Upper Nivernais in Burgundy, and the “real” Loire Valley. They are also the only cruise company offering barge cruises in Scotland and in the Venetian lagoon and River Po valley. Please visit www.gobarging.com or call Toll Free 1 877 879 8808 for more information, pricing, cruise schedules, brochures. Follow European Waterways on Facebook and Twitter and view their YouTube channel, http://bit.ly/19kQhbm.
###
