We usually think of taking European canal barge trips in the warm months, when it’s easy to get off and roam the countryside and nearby villages on foot or bicycle. But European Waterways has come up with a way to extend the season, creating new Christmas Market Cruises through historic Alsace-Lorraine, France.
The inaugural cruises are this year, running through the end of this month and into December, and they’ll be on the 12-passenger hotel barge Panache. They’re all-inclusive, with luxury accommodations on board, daily excursions on shore, followed perhaps by a warm drink back in Panache’s salon and then fine wine and lavish four-course meals in the evening. You can still hop off the barge to stretch your legs and explore a bit, but you’ll probably walk a bit faster and dress more warmly than during the summer season.
The Christmas Market Cruise focuses on the old-world French and German traditions in Alsace-Lorraine. The Panache cruises along the Canal de la Marne au Rhin with excursions to Strasbourg’s Christkindelsmärik, the oldest Christmas market in Europe, and the market of Haguenau, with a 52-foot-long nativity scene.
In Strasbourg, guests will also visit the Musée du Chocolat, a treat at any time of the year. Then the itinerary moves on to the six Christmas markets of Colmar (pictured), including the market at Place de la Cathédrale, which spreads out before the Gothic Eglise Saint-Martin, dating back to the 13th Century.
Excursions also take guests on the Meisenthal Glass Bauble factory, to see artisans in action, and the Musée Lalique, with the glassware collection of the French jeweler and master glassmaker René Jules Lalique.
European Waterways was founded more than 40 years ago, starting on France’s Canal du Midi. It now has fleets in nine countries. Its barges cruise along many of Europe’s more narrow canals, offering opportunities for flexibility and spontaneity that might not available on larger vessels.
The inaugural Christmas Market Cruises are sold out this year, but European Waterways is taking reservations now for next year.
Read more: http://europeanwaterways.com
