HIGHLIGHTS

• Sarrebourg: Chapel of the Cordeliers with Chagall's famous stained-glass window.
• The famous "Arzviller" barge lift: raising craft 52 meters.

• Saverne: splendid red sandstone palace and typical houses.
• Strasbourg: the stupendous cathedral and the picturesque "Petite France" district.
• Colmar: fairy-tale town with its Little "Venice" quarter.

The Forward deck from above

The Lorraine has a superior comfort level inside.

Our cabins are cozy and well appointed.  Each of coarse has private toilet and shower.

Meeting Point is the Strasbourg rail station at  3 p.m. (15:00)  on Saturday.

  Those who have chosen our optional “Paris Transfer”  meet  at 9:30 a.m. in the lobby of the Hôtel Régina, 192, Rue de Rivoli Paris 75001 , Telephone 01 42 60 31 10 .  Transportation is provided by 1^st Class train to the Strasbourg meeting point.

 From the Strasbourg rail station coach transfer is provided everyone to the boat moored in the village of Boofsheim, 30 kilometres  south of Strasbourg, close to the junction of the canal with the river Rhine. The crew offers welcome aboard  “apéritifs” as the luggage is taken to your cabins. You have ample time to settle in before dinner.

 Alternate weeks the meeting point is the Saverne train Station.  For those taking the optional Paris Transfers the information is the same as listed above.

After breakfast we cruise on the Canal du Rhône au Rhin, a peaceful waterway that has seen little use since the building of the Grand Canal d’Alsace (the canalisation of the Rhine) in the nineteen-fifties. We moor during lunch at the village of Krafft from whence we take the coach to drive south to Colmar for a guided tour of the city centre with its magnificent medieval and Renaissance buildings, 13th century collegiate church, and the waterside “little Venice” area. There is free time to explore the city further, its shops and museums, particularly the Unterlinden museum. , This museum is famous for its collection of Renaissance art works and specifically for the masterpiece of Mathias Grünewald, “The Issenheim Altarpiece”. Towards the end of the afternoon we  head back northwards along the “Route des Vins”, a small road running at the base of the foothills of the Vosges Mountains parallel to the Rhine through the famous vineyards of Alsace. We pass through several typical wine growing villages and make a short stop at the picturesque, medieval village of Riquewihr for a visit to a cellar to taste some local vintages  before returning to the boat at Krafft.

We cast off early and cruise over breakfast and through the morning toward Strasbourg. During lunch we enter the heart of Strasbourg and pass through the commercial docks before leaving the city to the north.  We pass the ultra modern buildings of the European Parliament. Here we will disembark for an afternoon guided walking tour of the principal sights of Strasbourg.    The unique beauty of picturesque “petite France” riverside district is magnificent.  The remarkable cathedral of Notre Dame, whose construction spread over five centuries from the Romanesque choir to the flamboyant gothic spire, is a highlight. Afterwards there is free time  to explore this capital of Alsace, perhaps visit one of the museums, take advantage of the excellent shopping or just stroll through the cobbled streets of timbered houses before returning to the Lorraine at her mooring close by in the village of Waltenheim sur Zorn.

This morning we begin cruising after breakfast passing several typical Alsatian villages including Hochfelden, where ancient documents prove there was a brewery as early as 870 A.D. This tradition is continued to this day by the Meteor beer company. We  stop for a sample before beginning lunch on board.  A number of locks and the recently restored towpath give excellent opportunities for our guests to walk alongside the boat or maybe cycle into one of the villages to appreciate the produce of a local brewery in a “Bierstub”. We moor in Saverne, an attractive, bustling town with a population of some ten thousand inhabitants. From our mooring we have an excellent view of the imposing red sandstone château built by the Rohan family during the eighteenth century. Saverne is a special place with typical Alsatian architecture and a narrow, winding main street.  This is a perfect place for a  delightful stroll before dinner.

After breakfast we make a short drive to visit a unique crystal factory  to see the most famous products of this area. Beautiful  pieces  of crystal are still individually blown and fashioned by hand. We join the boat a few kilometres further on and cruise over the border into Lorraine near the attractive village of Lutzelbourg.  Here the canal follows the steep-sided, tree-lined valley of the river Zorn to the famous inclined plane of Arzwiller. Seventeen locks have been replaced by a counterbalanced hydrolic barge lift that hauls the Lorraine up nearly 150 feet to the summit level of the Marne to Rhine canal. Then we cruise through a cutting and two tunnels under the peak of the Vosges Mountains before mooring for the evening at a quiet spot near the village of Niderviller with it’s remarkable pottery works.  Artisans have been producing figurines and fine tableware since the early eighteenth century in Nederviller..

We begin a morning along the summit pound, the highest section, of the Marne to Rhine canal. This section of some thirty kilometres with no locks passes through the regional park of Lorraine, a nature reserve with numerous lakes and vast areas of woodland. The canal then begins its descent towards the plain of Lorraine through a series of locks, the first of which was built in the nineteen-fifties to replace a flight of seven of the original early nineteenth century locks and has a drop of nearly fifty feet. This afternoon we will take the coach for a drive to Sarrebourg and visit the chapel of the Cordelieres where we can see the stained glass window created by Marc Chagall.  We return to Lorraine for our farewell gala dinner.

Leave the Lorraine after breakfast and coach transfer to Saverne train station  for return to Paris.

On alternate weeks the itinerary is reversed and the meeting point changed.  On alternate weeks meeting point is Saverne Train Station and drop off is at Strasbourg Train Station.

People who choose the optional Paris transfers meet in Paris at the same place and same time.

Rates include all meals from dinner on day 1 to breakfast on day 7.  Wines  included with lunch and dinner. Daily excursions with a guide and entrance fees.

Rate does not include, Bar Drinks, or Crew Gratuities (Suggested $200 per cabin)

Sale Special on Lorraine Delights of Alsace

Normal Price is $2140 pp dbl Cruise and ParisTransfers to boat

You pay $1790 pp dbl  for Cruise and Paris Transfers to boat.--$700 savings per couple.  The cruise departs on Saturday April 23

OR  Cruise and Paris Transfers to Boat + 3 nights in Paris, + airport transfers, $2140 pp.  You save $800 per couple.
We suggest two night pre cruise hotels and one night post cruise. Get 3 Paris nights, 3 buffet breakfasts, and airport transfers free.

OR   Cruise and Paris Transfers + 4 nights in Paris, + airport transfers, + 3 Day Guided Tour, + Paris transportation, + Paris Dinner with the guide, + admissions and tour of Louvre, Versailles, Musee D'Orsay, Eiffel Tower, Latin Quarter, Notre Dame, Monmartre, + Luggage Handling for $2440   Save $800 per couple.

We can arrange airfare for you as well but quite frankly, there is a new site out there, www.farechase.com (bookmark us first) that comes up with the same or cheaper fares when taxes and weekend fees etc are added into our Tour Operator Wholesale Net Air prices. Check with that site first then we will check our cost for you so that you get the best deal possible.