🇫🇷 Ralph Grizzle's Hosted Barge Trips · 2027
The Oise Valley and Champagne country — back-to-back, or perfect on their own. 22 guests. All meals and wine included. An experience unlike any other.
About Barge Cruising
"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 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.
Barges reach the quiet corners of France that most tourists never see — countryside, small villages, hidden gems that larger ships can't access.
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
Deposit to hold your cabin — $2,000 per person
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.
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.
| Day | Location | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 June 30 | Embarkation Pont-l'Évêque & Noyon | 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. |
| Day 2 July 1 | Compiègne | 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. |
| Day 3 July 2 | Château de Chantilly & Crème Chantilly Masterclass | 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. |
| Day 4 July 3 | Auvers-sur-Oise & Musée de l'Absinthe | 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. |
| Day 5 July 4 | Pressoir Auversois & Maison-Atelier de Daubigny | Visit to the restored Auversois vineyards, once a forgotten heritage, followed by the Maison-Atelier de Daubigny — the studio where Charles-François Daubigny painted alongside Corot, Daumier and Berthe Morisot. Local product tasting at Madame Guinguette. |
| Day 6 July 5 | Château de Malmaison & Paris at Night | 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. |
| Day 7 July 6 | Disembarkation in Paris | Breakfast on board. Disembark at 9 a.m. Those continuing to Trip 2 overnight in Paris. |
"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
This trip boards in Paris and follows the Marne River through the heart of Champagne country, ending in Épernay — the Champagne capital of the world. The Marne lateral canal features towpaths throughout, so you can hop off and walk or bike between locks, then step back on board at your leisure.
From Brie de Meaux to Dom Pérignon's village to the coronation city of Reims — this is France at its most deeply French.
| Day | Location | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 July 7 | Embarkation in Paris | Board at 6 p.m. Welcome cocktail and dinner on board. |
| Day 2 July 8 | Paris Excursion | Morning tour of Paris highlights — Place de la République, the Opéra, Place Vendôme, the Louvre — including a walk through the covered arcades around the Palais Royal. Afternoon cruise toward Lagny-sur-Marne. |
| Day 3 July 9 | Meaux & Brie de Meaux | Tour of Meaux — its cathedral, Bishops' Palace, Gallo-Roman ramparts and the Bossuet Garden. Tasting of Brie de Meaux, the King of Cheeses. |
| Day 4 July 10 | Château-Thierry & Hôtel-Dieu Museum | Visit to the Treasure Museum of the Hôtel-Dieu, displaying more than 1,300 works of art across 700 years of history — in the land of Jean de La Fontaine. Concludes with a guided Champagne tasting. |
| Day 5 July 11 | Hautvillers & a Champagne House | Guided walk through Hautvillers, the village in the Montagne de Reims Natural Park where Dom Pérignon first developed sparkling wine. Visit and tasting at a prominent Champagne house. |
| Day 6 July 12 | Reims & Gala Dinner | Coach excursion to Reims — the City of Coronations — with a guided tour of the historic center and its cathedral, which draws roughly one million visitors annually. Gala dinner on board. |
| Day 7 July 13 | Disembarkation in Épernay | Final breakfast on board. Disembark at 9 a.m. Optional coach transfer back to Paris available. |
What Past Travelers Say
"We enjoyed the Dream Cruise very much. 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."— Poh and Ebrahim Andideh
"The cuisine on the barge rivals some Michelin-starred restaurants. It was extraordinary — and the crew made every meal feel like a celebration."— Past guest, 2024 Oise voyage
"It is hard to think of criticisms of this itinerary. The sites and attractions were not the stars of the show. It was the barge itself, the dining and the crew."— Ralph Grizzle, host, after the 2024 Oise voyage
The Staterooms
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.
Getting There
Both trips begin and end near Paris, making logistics straightforward. Here's what you need to know for each segment.
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.
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.
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.
Trip 1 disembarks in Paris on July 6. Those doing both trips overnight in Paris before boarding Trip 2 the next day.
Fly into Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG). Plan to arrive at least one day before the July 7 embarkation.
The barge boards in Paris — no transfer required. CroisiEurope will provide the exact boarding location closer to departure.
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.
Trip 2 disembarks in Épernay on July 13. An optional coach transfer back to Paris is available through CroisiEurope at additional cost. From Épernay, trains to Paris-Est run regularly and take approximately 1 hour 20 minutes.
Épernay is an ideal place to spend an extra night — the Avenue de Champagne, lined with the great Champagne houses, is one of the most extraordinary streets in France. Reims, just 25 minutes away, is also worth an overnight.
What's Covered
Ready to Join Us?
Space is limited to 22 guests per trip. No commitment required to start the conversation — just reach out and I'll walk you through everything.
Deposit to hold your cabin — $2,000 per person ($4,000 per cabin, double occupancy)
$8,514 · Oise Valley | $8,270 · Champagne Country | $15,284 · Both (save $1,500)
Double occupancy · Solo rates on request · Credit card payments include a 3% processing fee
Participant Agreement & Terms
