Explore Champagne aboard the Panache and taste not just its world-class wines but their gastronomic products such as creamy Brie and Coulommiers cheeses and mustards. Visit the gothic Reims cathedral, an 800-year-old structure where the Kings of France were crowned. Cruise along the Canal Lateral a la Marne and have an opportunity to explore the area on foot or on a bicycle. See the hilltop villages of Hautvillers known as the 'cradle of champagne'.
Highlights
Enjoy a private winery tour and tasting at renowned champagne houses
Visit the village of Hautvilliers where the Kings of France were crowned
Visit Epernay for a cellar tour and private tasting
Involves minimal physical effort and is typically associated with leisurely activities. Activities are low-intensity or last less than a few hours each day.
Guests are met early afternoon in Paris and transferred to the hotel barge moored in Châlons-en-Champagne. Enjoy a Champagne welcome while your Captain introduces you to the crew.
This morning you will cruise from Châlons-en-Champagne along the Canal Lateral à la Marne to our pretty mooring at Tours-sur-Marne. After lunch on board, you will visit the magnificent 800-year-old Reims cathedral, a Gothic masterpiece where the Kings of France were crowned, before some free time perhaps to wander around this delightful city with its grand squares and elegant shopping arcades. Dinner on board.
This morning visit one of the best known Champagne houses in the world, Moët & Chandon, founded in 1743, where you are guided through their vast underground cellars, the largest in the region, which were carved out of the chalk to offer the maturing wine the perfect temperature and humidity. This is followed by a tasting of some of Moët’s renowned vintages in an elegant private salon, hosted by an experienced cellar master. Later return to the barge for lunch and continue your cruise along the canal, with the opportunity to explore on foot or bicycle en route, and moor at Dizy, near Epernay. Dinner on board.
After a leisurely breakfast, visit the domain of Champagne Henriot, one of the oldest family owned houses in Champagne, originating in the late 1700s. En route, stop at a Henriot vineyard on the hillside above Epernay where you are met by one of their viticulture experts who will explain how their selected grapes create the house style. Then move on to the beautiful Château Les Aulnois in the nearby village of Pierry where, after a private tour of this 18th Century manor, enjoy an exclusive tasting of various Henriot champagnes before a gastronomic lunch in the chateau’s dining room. Mid-afternoon return to the barge and continue your cruise along the Marne to Damery. Dinner on board.
Today the hotel barge continues her cruise along the meandering Marne to moor at the pretty riverside town of Dormans, the site of a château, water mill and World War One memorial. In the afternoon, there is the option to visit the elegant Chateau de Conde with its sumptuous 18th century interiors, or the WWI battlefield and monument at Château-Thierry and the American cemetery at Belleau Wood, it was here that US forces fought one of their bloodiest battles during World War One. Dinner on board.
This morning, you will visit La Maison Pannier, a select champagne house with a labyrinth of medieval underground cellars, for a tour and private tasting. After lunch on board, you will cruise to our final mooring at Château-Thierry, a historic, strategically-situated town overlooking the river, surrounded by vineyards that produce some of the region’s famous sparkling wine. Captain’s Farewell Dinner on board.
Day 7: Château-Thierry | Disembark
1 Breakfast
After breakfast, guests are transferred by private chauffeured minibus to Paris.
This itinerary is no longer available. For other trip ideas, please visit France Cruises.
Apologies for the inconvenience. Prices for not yet published. Below per person rate based on previous season. Contact us to confirm upcoming season pricing.
Prices for are estimated based on inflation. Contact us to confirm pricing and availability for your desired departure date.
Rates are subject to change without notice. Book early to get the best rate.
Junior Suite
150 sq ft including en suite facilities including TV/DVD, Double sink in bathroom and air conditioning/ heating, WiFi (subject to location)
Initial deposit is 25%, and most travelers will call our office and pay the deposit with a credit card.
Final payment is due 100 days prior to departure by Credit card, check, and bank transfer. All final payments by credit card subject to a surcharge of 2.5% and maximum of $20,000 charge
The trip might have been the absolute best of our lifetime (thus far). We particularly want to commend our guide Peter in the Guilin area-he was so incredibly attentive, energetic, enthusiastic-and absolutely dedicated to ensuring that our meals were 100% vegetarian.
The persons I spoke with knew the material. I wont know until I actually take the trip if it was all correct but at this point they were helpful in finding a trip that met my criteria
SS
5 days ago
Creating a checklist was very beneficial and meeting objectives on certain dates helped as well (to keep my trip organized). The Adventure Travel personnel helped keep me on track which is why my trip was so successful. Communication from both travel agencies (AT/MT) was vital.
Iziah Carthens
6 days ago
This is an amazing company to work with. I generally do not use tour companies as I am more of an independent traveller so I was slightly reticent. They were fantastic from the start - 10/10 - from lining up a phone call to discuss requirements, then their ongoing communication in the lead up to the tour and during it (thank you, Franny and Phen). They also explored cost-effective options (eg group transfers). The tour was in Patagonia so Adventure Life organised a pickup from the El Calafate airport to the El Chalten accommodation, two day hikes with a private guide and then to the El Calafate accommodation. A tour coordinator came to the hotel to explain, using the maps, what was involved in each day tour and what should be expected, and patiently answered all questions. The tour guide Marcos was excellent - very professional, knowledgable, communicative and at all times felt very safe with his navigational skills (important in the Patagonian wilderness). On the second day I forgot to take hiking poles so Marcos kindly gave me his. I honestly wouldn't have changed a thing and would happily recommend and book through them again.
Petrina Sta
1 week ago
Adventure Life has been great throughout my planning process for our up and coming Galapagos cruise. Kevin Moore, in particular, was very helpful in assisting me in making choices and providing me with options. He was also very patient, as I worked through figuring out what I really wanted in this vacation.
Lucy Greenway
1 week ago
Adventure Life was a pleasure to work with. They helped us find different options for our charter and answered a lot of questions with patience and clarity.
