🇫🇷 Ralph Grizzle's Hosted Barge Trips · 2027
Two Weeks on the Waterways of France
The Oise Valley and Medieval France — back-to-back, or perfect on their own. 22 guests. All meals and wine included. An experience unlike any other.
Pont-l'Évêque to Paris
Paris to Sens
Why sail with Ralph
30 Years. 300+ Cruises. These Are My Favorites.
I've spent three decades writing about river and ocean cruises for a living — and nothing I've found compares to a week on a French barge. I host these trips myself, travel with you the entire week, and bring the same firsthand knowledge I'd share with a close friend planning their trip of a lifetime.
I sailed this exact Oise Valley route in 2024, and I sailed the Petite Seine route (Trip 2) in 2019. Trip 2 follows the Petite Seine south from Paris through royal châteaux and medieval cities — country I know well. You're not booking an itinerary. You're joining me on a trip I'd take on my own.
About Barge Cruising
A Different Kind of France
"You could stay in Paris and visit many of the places we visited — but you wouldn't have the same experience, because the sites and attractions were not the stars of the show. It was the barge itself, the dining and the crew." — Ralph Grizzle, after his 2024 Oise group voyage
I've been hosting barge trips since 2015, and they remain my favorite form of travel by water. First, there's the setting itself: the canals of France. Not the highways and autoroutes, not the crowded tourist circuits — but the quiet waterways that wind through the countryside at a pace so unhurried that you begin to notice things you'd otherwise miss. A stone bridge. A heron on the bank. A village that doesn't appear on any map you've ever consulted.
That pace is the point. A barge moves at roughly walking speed, which means the landscape doesn't flash by — it unfolds. You can stand on the sun deck with a glass of wine and watch France drift past, or hop off at a lock and stroll (or cycle) alongside the boat for a while, then step back on board whenever you like. There is no rushing. There is nowhere else to be.
The vessels carry no more than 22 guests, which means within a day or two, you know everyone on board — the crew, the chef, your fellow travelers. The lounge feels like a living room. Dinners feel like dinner parties.
These are not river cruises. River cruise ships carry 100 to 200 guests and travel major waterways. Barges travel narrow canals and rivers, mooring in small villages and rural outposts that larger vessels simply can't reach. The difference is as different as an apple is from an orange.
The Food
The chef shops village markets along the route. Past guests have told me — more than once — that the meals rivaled their best Michelin-starred dining. All meals, wine and bar drinks included.
The Places
Barges reach the quiet corners of France that most tourists never see — countryside, small villages, hidden gems that larger ships can't access.
The Connections
I've hosted over a dozen trips. I've watched strangers become fast friends and leave with tearful goodbyes. Many return to cruise together again, year after year.
2027 Rates · Per Cabin
Double Occupancy · Solo Rates Available on Request
Deposit to hold your cabin — $2,000 per person
+ Optional Post-Tour: Reims & the Champagne Country
July 13–15 · $995 pp (double) · See details ↓
All meals, wine, excursions and port fees included. Does not include airfare, pre- or post-trip hotels, or transfers.
Prices shown are for payment by check or bank transfer. Credit card payments include a 3% processing fee charged by the card companies.
Chantilly Masterclass on the barge.
The Oise Valley
This is a route I personally traveled in 2024 with 22 others — the Oise River winding north of Paris through the countryside that inspired Van Gogh and the Impressionists. We board in Pont-l'Évêque and sail into Paris, ending right where Trip 2 begins.
The Oise is a river rather than a canal, which means fewer locks and a more open, sweeping pace. The pleasure comes from watching the Impressionist landscape unfold from the deck — and from the exceptional destinations waiting at each stop.
Board at 6 p.m. Welcome cocktail and dinner. Evening excursion to Noyon — a festival of lights inside its 12th-century Notre Dame Cathedral, the first Gothic cathedral in northern France.
Guided tour of historic Compiègne including the WWI Armistice Memorial — home to the actual train car used in the 1918 Armistice signing — and the Château de Compiègne, one of the three great imperial residences of France alongside Versailles and Fontainebleau.
Afternoon at the Château de Chantilly with its extraordinary art collection and galleries unchanged since the 19th century. Back on board, a member of the Confrérie des Chevaliers Fouetteurs leads a hands-on masterclass in making authentic crème chantilly.
Walk through Auvers-sur-Oise, Van Gogh's final home and resting place, along the Artists' Pathway where Impressionist works are set against the landscapes that inspired them. Visit the Musée de l'Absinthe, with a tasting of the Belle Époque's favorite drink.
Return to Auvers-sur-Oise for a visit to the Maison-Atelier de Daubigny — the studio of landscape painter Charles-François Daubigny, where Corot, Daumier and Berthe Morisot also worked. The interiors, decorated by Daubigny and his son, have been preserved almost entirely intact. Afternoon cruise to Bougival.
Guided tour of the Château de Malmaison, Joséphine de Beauharnais' beloved home and one of the most intimate Napoleonic museums in France. Gala dinner and a night cruise through Paris.
Breakfast on board. Disembark at 9 a.m. Those continuing to Trip 2 overnight in Paris.
$8,514 per cabin · June 30 – July 6, 2027 · Only 22 guests
"It is hard to think of criticisms of this itinerary. The sites were not the stars of the show. It was the barge itself, the dining and the crew."
— Ralph Grizzle · Oise River, May 2024
Departing from Paris · July 7 – 13, 2027
Medieval France & the Romance of Fontainebleau
This trip boards in Paris and follows the Petite Seine south into the heart of medieval France — royal châteaux, a legendary painters' village, and one of the most beautifully decorated palaces in the country. It's a France most visitors never find.
From Vaux-le-Vicomte — the château that so outshone Versailles it got its architect arrested — to Barbizon, the timeless village where the pre-Impressionists first abandoned their studios to paint from nature, to the forest of Fontainebleau where every king of France came to hunt, to the barley-sugar lanes of Moret-Loing-et-Orvanne: this itinerary rewards the historically curious at every turn.
Board at 6 p.m. Welcome cocktail and dinner on board. Optional coach transfer from Paris to the embarkation point available.
Morning cruise south on the Seine through the heart of Paris, past Notre-Dame and the great monuments of the riverbank. Afternoon visit to the sumptuous Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte — the 17th-century masterpiece built by Louis Le Vau for Nicolas Fouquet, the template for Versailles and still one of the most perfectly preserved grand châteaux in France.
Morning cruise toward Melun along the bucolic Seine riverbanks. In the afternoon, visit the village of Barbizon — the legendary landmark that drew a generation of pre-Impressionist painters to work in situ in the 1820s. Corot discovered it first, followed by Théodore Rousseau and Jean-François Millet. Stroll the cobbled streets, browse small galleries and art shops, and visit the Auberge Ganne — a period museum recreating the atmosphere of the artists' era, with works by Rousseau, Millet and others.
Morning cruise toward Moret-Loing-et-Orvanne. Afternoon guided tour of the Palace of Fontainebleau and its magnificent gardens — a royal residence inhabited continuously for more than eight centuries, from medieval hunting lodge to Napoleon's preferred retreat. All the kings and queens of France passed through Fontainebleau; the French gardens, fountains, flowerbeds and carp pond are extraordinary in summer.
Morning: guided tour of Moret-Loing-et-Orvanne, a fortified royal town on the edge of the Fontainebleau forest — famous for its barley sugar and the landscapes immortalized by the Impressionist Alfred Sisley. Discover the medieval gates, superb Renaissance facades, the banks of the Loing and Notre-Dame church. Free time to explore at your own pace; don't miss the historic barley sugar shop, a delicate specialty created during the reign of Louis XIII. Afternoon cruise to Cannes-Écluses.
Morning cruise along the Yonne River, a tributary of the Seine, passing several lakes and ponds. Arrive in Sens in the afternoon for a guided visit — home to France's first great Gothic cathedral, built before Notre-Dame de Paris and the inspiration for Canterbury Cathedral in England. Stroll the promenades and covered marketplace, rich with local products and testimony to the town's medieval past. Gala dinner on board tonight.
Final breakfast on board. Disembark at 9 a.m. Optional coach transfer from Sens back to Paris (approximately 2 hours) available through CroisiEurope.
$9,052 per cabin · July 7 – 13, 2027 · Only 22 guests
Reims & Champagne Country · July 13–15, 2027
Reims & the Champagne Country
When Trip 2 ends in Sens on July 13, you have the option to continue into the heart of Champagne — one of France's most storied regions. A motorcoach meets the barge and takes you directly to Reims for extraordinary sightseeing and tasting. At the end, the train from Reims to Charles de Gaulle Airport takes just one hour, making departure day effortless.
Motorcoach transfer from the barge in Sens to Reims. Check in to your hotel. Evening at leisure to explore the city.
Morning — Reims city tour: Guided visit to Place Royale, the Palais du Tau, and the former Royal Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Rémi. Then the Cathedral of Reims — coronation site of the Kings of France and a masterpiece of 13th-century Gothic art, its sculptures and stained-glass windows magnificently preserved. Lunch in Épernay.
Afternoon — the Champagne Route: A scenic drive through rolling vineyard hillsides to Hautvillers — birthplace of Champagne, where Dom Pérignon developed the method in the 18th century. Visit a prestigious Champagne house for a tasting.
Morning at leisure in Reims. The train from Reims to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport takes approximately one hour — ideal for midday flights home. Or continue to Paris for a final night before flying out.
Post-Tour Pricing · Per Person
Includes motorcoach transfer from Sens, two nights hotel in Reims, guided city tour, Champagne Route excursion and tasting, and lunch in Épernay. Does not include airfare, additional hotels, or personal expenses.
What Past Travelers Say
The Trips Are That Good
"For us it's the time on the top deck watching the French countryside pass slowly by. That is the best part. What's not to like?"
— Bill Moss, Chicago
"It was stressless and easy. We like the idea you were traveling on your own Dream Cruise — that gave us confidence to trust you. And you definitely made sure we all enjoyed it."— Eb and Poh Andideh
"It probably was the trip of a lifetime for us! And we liked the fact that you can be as active or relaxed as you want to be — with no pressure."— Bill and Becky Sander
"Every year the trip takes place in a different part of France. The small group enjoy fantastic meals curated by a private chef. Each day we taste different wines and cheeses of the region. The many activities include excursions to castles, châteaux, villages and wineries — but there's still time to walk and bike along the canal banks."— Bill Moss, Chicago · repeat guest
The Staterooms
Cozy, Well-Designed, and More Than Adequate
I want to be upfront: staterooms on CroisiEurope's barges are smaller than what you'd find on a river cruise ship. Cozy is the right word. But they are well-designed, and I say that as someone who is 6'5" — they work just fine for me. In more than a dozen trips, I have never had a guest complain about the room size.
Here's why: you spend very little time in your stateroom. The real living happens in the lounge, on the sun deck, at the dinner table, and ashore.
Each cabin includes:
- Private ensuite bathroom with shower
- Comfortable double bed
- Good storage for luggage
- Porthole or window views
- Climate control
What's not in the room:
- No balcony (this is a barge)
- No elevator between decks
- No room service
- No need for any of the above — the lounge and sun deck are steps away
Getting There
Planning Your Journey to France
Both trips begin and end near Paris, making logistics straightforward. Here's what you need to know for each segment.
Trip 1 · Oise Valley
Boards in Pont-l'Évêque · Ends in Paris
Flying In
Fly into Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG). Plan to arrive at least one day before the June 30 embarkation to allow for any travel delays.
Getting to Pont-l'Évêque
CroisiEurope offers an optional coach transfer from Paris to the embarkation point. Contact us for details and pricing. Alternatively, Pont-l'Évêque (Oise) is accessible by regional train from Paris-Nord, approximately 1.5–2 hours.
Pre-Trip Paris
We recommend arriving 1–2 nights early to recover from jet lag and explore Paris. I'm happy to suggest hotels at a range of price points.
Ending in Paris
Trip 1 disembarks in Paris on July 6. Those doing both trips overnight in Paris before boarding Trip 2 the next day.
Trip 2 · Medieval France & Fontainebleau
Boards in Paris · Ends in Sens
Flying In
Fly into Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG). Plan to arrive at least one day before the July 7 embarkation.
Getting to the Barge
The barge boards in Paris — no transfer required. CroisiEurope will provide the exact boarding location closer to departure. If you're doing both trips back-to-back, you'll already be in Paris after Trip 1 disembarks on July 6.
Pre-Trip Paris
Paris is Paris. If you're doing Trip 2 only, I'd suggest arriving 1–2 days early. If you're doing both back-to-back, you'll already be there.
Ending in Sens
Trip 2 disembarks in Sens on July 13. An optional coach transfer back to Paris is available through CroisiEurope at additional cost — approximately 2 hours. Trains from Sens to Paris-Bercy also run regularly.
Post-Trip Options
Sens itself is worth an extra morning — its Gothic cathedral and covered market are exceptional. Or join the optional Reims & Champagne post-tour extension (July 13–15), which picks up right at the barge and ends with a one-hour train ride from Reims to CDG.
What's Covered
Inclusions & Exclusions
✓ Included
- All meals — from dinner on Day 1 through breakfast on Day 7
- All onboard drinks — wine, beer, spirits and soft drinks with meals and at the bar
- All excursions and guided visits listed in the program
- Welcome cocktail and gala dinner
- Multilingual host/hostess assistance on board
- Bicycles available on board
- Free Wi-Fi on board
- Travel assistance and repatriation insurance
- All port fees
✗ Not Included
- Airfare
- Pre- or post-trip hotels
- Transfers to/from embarkation points (available at additional cost)
- Drinks from special premium lists
- Drinks ordered during excursions or transfers
- Trip cancellation and baggage insurance (strongly recommended)
- Personal expenses
- Gratuities (discretionary)
Ready to Join Us?
Reserve Your Cabin for 2027
⏰ Bookings open Friday, April 3
Space is limited to 22 guests per trip. Both trips regularly fill before public booking opens.
Questions? Just reach out and I'll walk you through everything.
A $4,000 per-cabin deposit holds your space. Early-booking savings are applied to your final balance.
Deposits are nonrefundable. We strongly recommend purchasing comprehensive travel insurance, including trip cancellation coverage.
$8,514 · Oise Valley | $9,052 · Medieval France & Fontainebleau | $16,566 · Both (save $1,000)
Solo rates on request · Credit card payments include a 3% processing fee
Participant Agreement & Terms