'AMARYLLIS'

The day to day itinerary described below is a typical cruise. However, on any one cruise the moorings may change and the places visited may vary depending on the season and guest preferences.

Sunday - Dijon.
You are met at Dijon train station by the barge guide who escorts you on your transfer to Dijon’s Port du Canal, where you board the barge for your cruise through Burgundy. A champagne reception welcomes you on board and gives you a chance to meet the crew. Later that evening, experience your first dinner on board.

Monday - Cruise to Longecourt. Visit Château du Clos de Vougeot.
While the barge cruises the Canal de Bourgogne from Dijon to the River Saône your guide takes you to visit Gevray Chambertin or the Musée des Beaux Arts. Later today you visit the Château du Clos de Vougeot, a medieval château surrounded by vineyards. This is the headquarters of the Chevaliers du Tastevin, whose special label is awarded annually to the finest Côte d’Or vintages. You have the opportunity to see a family run winery and to sample wines that may never reach your corner of the world.

Tuesday – Visit Dijon. Cruise to St. Jean de Losne.
After breakfast, your guide takes you on a walking tour of Dijon, past the elegant houses. Visit the Ducal Palace, the market, and the Grey Poupon mustard shop. Return to the boat for lunch and an afternoon cruise. The barge leaves the Canal de Bourgogne and enters the River Saône for tonight’s mooring in St. Jean de Losne, the barging capital of France. Take some time this evening or early tomorrow to stroll around the port and see the many working and pleasure barges.

Wednesday – Visit Beaune. Cruise to Chalon-sur-Saône or Fragnes.
Continue to cruise the peaceful valley of the River Saône downstream to Seurre. Guests may stay on board and enjoy the passing scenery. Today includes a visit to Beaune, the capital of the wine region of Burgundy and a visit to the famous Hotel-Dieu, Hospice de Beaune. Reboard the boat for a leisurely cruise to tonight’s mooring in Chalon-sur-Saône or Fragnes. Your guide takes you on a walking tour of the pedestrian area in Chalon-sur-Saône, the last of the Burgundian style river towns and one of the major cities of the Saône Valley.

Thursday - Cruise to Rully. Visit Château de Rully.
The barge cruises upstream for a short distance and leaves the River Saône by clearing the lock to enter the Canal du Centre. Now you are back into the canal environment where you may disembark the barge at each lock, bicycle alongside or walk and keep up with the pace of the barge. After lunch, visit the Château de Rully followed by a cellar tour and wine tasting in Bouzeron or a crémant tasting in Rully. Tonight it is back to a countryside mooring in Rully.

Friday - Visit Couches and the Château Marguerite de Bourgogne. Cruise St. Léger.
A leisurely cruise on the Canal du Centre gives you a chance to savor the beauty of the French countryside. The barge cruises to St. Léger, another quaint village along the Canal du Centre while your guide takes you to Château Marguerite de Bourgogne in Couches, dating back to the 11th century, for a tour and wine tasting. Back on board the chef is preparing a memorable feast for your farewell gala dinner.

Saturday - Dijon-Paris.
After breakfast disembark the barge and transfer to Dijon train station for your onward travel.

The day to day itinerary described below is a typical cruise. However, on any one cruise the moorings may change and the places visited may vary depending on the season and guest preferences.

Sunday – Dijon
At Dijon station you are met by the barge guide who escorts you on your transfer to Escommes where you board the barge for your cruise through Burgundy. A champagne reception welcomes you on board and gives you a chance to meet the crew. A cocktail cruise introduces you to the delights of cruising. Later that evening enjoy your first dining experience on board.

Monday - Cruise to Pont d’Ouche. Visit Abbey de Fontenay.
After breakfast, enjoy your first day cruising on the Canal de Bourgogne (Burgundy Canal). Smallunspoiled villages and green, forested hills provide the traveler with exceptional views from the deck. After lunch your guide takes you to visit Chateauneuf-en-Auxois. Both the village and the chateau have a long and interesting history. This is followed by a tour of the stunning surrounding countryside, and the opportunity to see the entrance to the 2 mile long canal tunnel and the largest of the reservoirs which feed the Burgundy Canal.

Tuesday – Cruise to La Bussière. Visit Clos de Vougeot.
Relax on-board this morning as the barge cruises towards the charming village of La Bussière. After lunch, your guide takes you to visit Clos de Vougeot, a medieval château surrounded by vineyards. This is the headquarters of the Chevaliers du Tastevin, whose special label is awarded annually to the finest Côte d’Or vintages. On your way back to the barge, enjoy a wine tasting in Vougeot.

Wednesday - Cruise to Gissey. Visit l’Abbaye de La Bussière
Mid-morning, your guide takes you on a tour of l’Abbaye de la Bussière built in the 12th century under the guidance of the Cistercian monks from Citeaux. Today, you have the option to take lunch off the barge if you wish. This afternoon, visit the Château de Commarin, an interesting castle whose celebrated tapestries with the coat of arms of the Vienne family, take the place of a family tree.

Thursday – Cruise to Fleurey-sur-Ouche. Visit Beaune.
This morning the boat cruises through the Côte d’Or planted with vines that produce some of the world’s most famous wines. After another delicious lunch your guide escorts you to Beaune, capital of the wine region of Burgundy, for a visit to the famous Hôtel-Dieu, Hospice de Beaune. Tonight’s mooring is at another canal-side village, Fleurey-sur-Ouche.

Friday - Visit Dijon. Cruise to Dijon.
After breakfast, your guide takes you on a walking tour of Dijon, to visit the Ducal Palace, the market, and the Grey Poupon mustard shop. Return to the boat for lunch and the afternoon’s cruise. The barge moors for the night in Dijon’s Port du Canal, a short distance from the town centre. Meanwhile the chef is preparing a gala dinner for your last evening on board.

Saturday – Dijon to Paris.
After breakfast, disembark and transfer to the Dijon train station for your onward travel.

PLEASE NOTE THESE ARE A SAMPLE ITINERARIES AND ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE

Wine connoisseurs travelling on Amaryllis will delight in a rare opportunity, as this péniche-hôtel will be the setting for the Grands Crus Cruise. This extraordinary week-long journey sees guests sampling wines from each of the 33 Grands Crus domaines of Burgundy including Bonne Mares, Clos de Vougeot and La Romanée-Conti. It is a chance to experienced unrivalled access to some of the region’s legendary fine-wine producers.

Travelling from St Léger to Dijon along the famous Canal de Bourgogne, the River Sâone and the Canal du Centre, guests will stop en route to visit the famous appellations,meet winemakers, taste notable vintages and explore labyrinthine cellars and properties not usually accessible to the public. Winemakers from Grand Cru domaines including Domaine Drouhin-Laroze and Maison Joseph Drouhin will host private tastings as well as gourmet dinner parties in their own cellars or on board the Amaryllis. Here they will introduce a selection of their wines paired with a carefully crafted menu created by our on-board chefs.

Sunday/Monday
Wine expert and Burgundian bon viveur Jean-Pierre Cropsal, of Maison Joseph Drouhin, shares with guests his insight into the region and its finest vintages. On the first evening he will host a champagne reception, followed the next morning by a convivial wine class on the sun deck—your chance to discover all you need to know about Burgundian terroir and the history of the Grands Crus. See that history come alive later in the day at Château du Clos-de-Vougeot, a 12th-century Cistercian vineyard—complete with medieval vat houses and wine presses— which is now the headquarters of the famous Chevaliers du Tastevin. After the visit, one of the chevaliers, Jean- Jacques Dalmas, will host a tasting for guests at La Grande Cave in town.

Tuesday
The day begins with a trip to Dijon’s lively market: join your guide for an historic tour of Burgundy’s capital city before exploring the shops and cafés. Later that day sit back with a glass of wine on the sun deck (or perhaps in the pool) and watch the world slip by during the five-hour cruise to St Jean de Losne.Beyond the city, green Burgundy unfurls its flat plains and waterways framed by yellow fields of sunflowers and picturesque towpaths, just perfect for a stroll or a bicycle ride. Amaryllis passes through 22 historic locks on the Canal de Bourgogne between Dijon and St-Jean-de-Losne—each is operated by hand by the pilot or matelot (or a keen guest) and presided over by a lockkeeper’s cottage.
The destination, St-Jean-de-Losne, is home to the largest inland waterway port in France, where the Canal de Bourgogne meets the River Saône. This huge nautical hub is an interesting place to explore after dinner, which this evening is hosted by winemakers Philippe and Christine Drouhin in their cellar at Domaine Drouhin-Laroze in nearby Gevrey-Chambertin. Christine prepares a typical Burgundian menu of dishes such as casserole of wild boar (from the grounds), while Philippe will introduce five of the domaine’s Grands Crus, including Musigny, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze and Bonnes Mares.

Wednesday
Take in the scenery as you cruise the following morning to the pretty cathedral town of Chalon sur Sâone. From there it’s a short transfer to Beaune and the remarkable medieval Hospices de Beaune. Lunch is at Bernard Loiseau’s exceptional restaurant, Loiseau des Vignes, which recently received its first Michelin star.
After lunch, Jean-Pierre will lead a tour of the honeycomb of cellars at Maison Joseph Drouhin, the entrance to which is opposite the hospices where, more than 50 years ago, Jean- Pierre was one of the last babies to be born. Discover how the fragrant cellars—some Gothic, others dating from Roman times—once housed the King of France’s wine collection, while others were bricked up during World War II to conceal the vintages.

Thursday
Enjoy the chance to explore the renowned wine-producing village of Rully, followed by a visit to Morey-Saint-Denis. Walk through the ripening vines before returning for an intimate meal on board in the evening. Make sure you save some room for a showpiece dessert: fresh strawberries marinated in one of the famous vintages.

Friday
Salute the unsung heroes of winemaking on the penultimate morning in the village of St Aubin, where barrel-makers will reveal the secrets of their craft. Then enjoy a special afternoon visit to the village of Vosne-Romanée. See the vines that produce the most prestigious wines in Burgundy, which is enough to whet the appetite for the final evening’s tasting—a once-in-a-lifetime chance to sample La Tâche and the most famous of Burgundy’s Grands Crus, La Romanée-Conti. Salut!