Paris to Bruges Bike and Barge

Embarkation and check-in is at 2pm in the centre of Paris. After a welcome by the captain, crew and tour guide the barge will cruise right through the city. The mooring place for the night is a suburb of Paris. After the sailing dinner there is time for a short walk. We recommend coming to Paris one or more days earlier, so that you will have plenty of time to discover this interesting city.
If you arrive early you can leave your luggage on board from 11.00 am.

After breakfast we will cycle along quiet towpaths along the river Seine and up to St Germain, where the gardens of Le Nôtre provide a magnificent view across Paris. Next we will ride through a forest area to Conflans for a picnic on the pier amongst the terraces. After a short stop at the Pontoise Bridge, we continue cycling across the picturesque Chemin des Monts to the church of Auvers, famous for Van Gogh’s paintings. You can visit Van Gogh’s grave in the local cemetery during a short evening walk.

During breakfast the barge will cruise to Beaumont. The day's cycle begins by following the Oise River upstream. Along the way we will pass the Royaumont abbey, which is one of the best preserved abbeys from the 13th century. During the afternoon we will visit the splendid Chantilly Chateau, a luxurious castle with a horse dressage and an impressive art collection, the Musee Conde, that houses one of the finest collections of paintings in France. The bike tour ends in Creil, from where the boat will take us to today's destination, Pont-Ste-Maxence.

Pont Saint Maxence owes its name to the fact that in the Middle Ages it had one of very few bridges over the Oise River, becoming the place to stay the night for kings and merchants who were on their way to Flanders. From here we will cycle past the abbey of Moncel, founded in 1309 by King Philip le Bel, and through little, charming towns. Continue cycling through the forest "Foret de Compiegne", where French kings once loved to hunt, and on to to our destination, Compiegne. The longer cycle option today takes in more of the forest as well as the small town of Pierrefond, where you can admire the exterior of its impressive Castle Pierrefonds. Compiegne owes its architectural wealth to its proximity of Paris. In the evening you may wish to explore the historical centre .
Dinner is not included tonight, you can choose to eat at one of the local restaurants.

Today we will leave the river Oise to continue our cycle via the canal system connecting France and Belgium. In the morning we cycle into the most northern part of the forest of Compiegne, where we visit the “Clairière de l’Armistice"/Glade of the Armistice, the forest clearing and the carriage where the First World War armistice was signed. You can also visit its small but interesting museum. We then cross the river Aisne and cycle through the forest of Ourscamp. In the afternoon we will spend some time in Noyon, where you can visit its imposing cathedral, one of the oldest in the country. We will then cycle back to the canal at Pont l'Eveque, where we will board the barge.

The day begins with a cruise along the Canal du Nord. The construction of this canal was planned in 1903, but it took until 1966 to complete the works. It was built to replace the older and smaller Canal de St Quentin, constructed by Napoleon in 1801 to transport coal from the mines to the north. During breakfast the barge will bring us to Haudival. From here the cycling begins through gently rolling, open countryside, to the art deco town of Ham, continuing along the river Somme and through the picturesque surrounding villages to Peronne. We will find the barge moored just outside of this charming town with its compact square and church as well as a castle and the fascinating Grande Guerre museum.

The barge will be moored just outside the charming town of Peronne with its intimate square and church as well as a castle and the fascinating Grande Guerre museum. You are free to spend the day resting or exploring the area.

We will continue cycling along the river Somme and then through the sparsely populated open and rolling landscape to Ruyaulcourt. At the end of World War I this area was the frontline of the battle around the Somme. We will then join the barge for a cruise through the Canal du Nord, which has two tunnels. The longest one is the tunnel of Ruyaulcourt, which is 4,350m (2,700 mi) long. Above the tunnel is the watershed between the rivers Somme and Escaut (Scheldt). From here the barge goes downhill in the direction of Arleux, to our mooring in Moeuvres, an outskirt of this town.

Today we will visit Cambrai, once a Roman provincial capital, now a lively town with a beautiful park to picnic in and many historical monuments such as the impressive restored buildings of the city fortress built under King Charles V. We will continue cycling past the marshlands of Chantraine and on to the rural town of Arleux. The boat then cruises to the lock of Pont Malin.

While the barge will sail the Canal du Grand Gabarit, passing through a former industrial area of northern France and old coal mines and steel bites bordering the canal, we will start our day's cycle in Arleux. Today is a long day of cycling through open farmland and former mining towns towards Lewarde, where you have the opportunity to visit a mining museum. Once we have corssed into Belgium we will cycle through the so-called "white land". The charming little fortress town Antoing lies at the heart of this region and since the Roman days, white limestone has been mined here. Today's destination is Doornik (Tournai in French), one of the oldest cities of Belgium, and part of Wallonia, a French-speaking area of Belgium where all towns and villages have both a French and Flemish name. Up until the beginning of the 17th century Doornik was ruled by the French. Tapestry weaving gained in importance here while the cloth industry became less important. You can see excellent examples of this in the various museums of the town. In 1940 the entire city was destroyed after a German air-raid, however the town has since been wonderfully renovated. The cathedral of Notre Dame, from the 12th and 13th century, and the Belfort, built around 1200, are well worth visiting.
Dinner is not included tonight, you can choose to eat in one of the local restaurants.

While the barge sails downstream on the river Scheldt, we set off by bike crossing the language barrier to enter the Flanders region where Flemish is the spoken language. Our destination for today is Oudenaarde. In former days this small town was situated on the border of the French and German empires and as a result it was frequently involved in wars. Since Oudenaarde was in the firing line, there was always a watchman. You can find a statue of the most famous watchman, Hanske de Krijger, in the splendid town hall which also displays a magnificent collection from the 16th and 17th Century as well as the Tour of Flanders Centre. The town hall was built in the first half of the 16th century with sandstone in Brabantine late Gothic style and is one of the most beautiful town halls of Flanders. Oudenaarde is also known as the town of the tapestry weavers, with their tapestry famous around the world. After dinner you might like to enjoy a Belgian beer at the atmospheric Market place.

We commence cycling from Oudenaarde and shortly after will briefly stop at the ruins of the old abbey of Ename, located on the river Scheldt. We continue following the river through the idyllic Ooidonk landscape towards Ghent, today's destination. Ghent is a lively university town with a rich history. It arose in Roman days at the confluence of the rivers Scheldt and Leie. Its favourable location brought great wealth, peaking in the late 13th and early 14th Centuries when it became a trade and textile city. The cloth industry was a source of great richness in the Middle Ages, and traders gathered in the "Lakenhal" (Cloth Hall) in 1425. Many patrician residences have been preserved in the city. The most important church is Saint Bavo's Cathedral, constructed in different centuries and in different styles. Here you can find several masterpiece paintings from the Middle Ages, the most famous of which is "The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" by Jan van Eyck. In the evenings the city centre is a very atmospheric. There is the option of joining a canal tour to the centre (included) and visiting the castle Gravensteen.

During breakfast the barge will take us along the Ghent Canal to Aalterbrug. From here we cycle through wooded areas and fields and past quiet villages in the flat countryside of western Flanders before arriving in Bruges. Known as the "Venice of the North", you will have time to discover the most picturesque city in Flanders. From the 14th to the 16th Century it was renowned as one of Europe’s most important centres of banking and art, with its old centre dating from the Middle Ages almost completely intact.

Today the barge will stay in Bruges. An optional bicycle ride through the pleasant countryside around Bruges will be offered, but you can also choose to spend your time in beautiful Bruges and eg visit a museum or do some shopping.

The trip concludes this morning in Bruges, with disembarkation by 9:30am.
Note: the trip operates in the reverse direction, from Bruges to Paris, every alternate departure. See below for details.