Escape to France

Bonjour from Port Chalmers.

As winter engulfs us, our need for warmth stirs up memories of European summers and a desire to return to France, which is as strong as when we started Bespoke France back in 1991.  So long ago ….  Since then, we’ve covered thousands of kilometres on canals, rivers and roads and enjoyed so many wonderful dining experiences.  Working on hotel barges in the eighties changed our lives and awakened our senses to the food and wine of France. 

Those years in France inspired the creation of Bespoke France and we still believe that a hotel barge cruise is the perfect holiday.  It’s an all-inclusion indulgence where you can be as active, or as lazy, as you wish with an ever-changing landscape sliding by.  Various barges have special offers available for selected dates up to October, including no single supplement for solo travellers, so please get touch if you are tempted.

We would love to do the Christmas Markets cruise in Alsace on board the 12 passenger barge Panache starting on 30 November.  This includes a visit to the René Lalique museum in Wingen-sur-Moder and a chocolate workshop, as well as wonderful, colourful markets in Colmar, Strasbourg and Riquewihr.   Guests are met and returned to Strasbourg, which has good train connections and is close to the EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg.  The all-inclusive fare is 7490 Euros per person, less 10%.  Everything is included and the only cash you will need is for personal purchases ashore and the tip for the crew at the end of the cruise.  For solo travellers the single supplement (2700€) is waived, so the fare is 7490 Euros.

Barge cruises are mostly limited to 6 nights, so for our trip in September we've hired a 15m self-drive VISION 4 for 11 lazy days on the Charente river.  Six friends are joining us for a cruise between Angouleme and Saintes, and we'll be incorporating a chocolate experience, a cooking class and cognac and wine tastings, as well as sightseeing and dining out.  We booked with LE BOAT, because they have the biggest fleet, the most one way routes and are competitively priced.

Contact us if you’d like to squeeze a holiday on the water into your travel schedule.

Bien cordialement

Robert & Barbara