Canal du Rhône au Rhin

The cruise begins south of Strasbourg at the village of Erstein-Krafft where our hotel barge, the ‘Lorraine’, will be waiting. We shall be cruising on the Canal du Rhône au Rhin, a peaceful waterway that has seen little use since the building of the Grand Canal d’Alsace.

Riquewihr and Colmar

In the Rhine Valley we visit the typical 'Hansel and Gretel' style 15th century town of Riquewihr for a tasting at one of the top Alsace wine producers, and Colmar with its maze of medieval streets and Renaissance buildings, 13th century collegiate church and waterside “Little Venice” area. The Unterlinden Museum contains the superbly preserved Isenheim Altarpiece by Matthias Grünewald .

Strasbourg

In Strasbourg, we shall visit the Cathedral of Notre Dame, probably one of the finest in Europe, with its superb red sandstone tracery.We shall also have time to see the Musee d'Art Moderne and the Mediaeval riverside district of ‘Petite France’.

Saverne

At Saverne, a pretty town on the canal - we see the imposing red sandstone summer palace of the Rohan family, hereditary prince-bishops. After a stroll in the town, a visit to Château Haut-Barr, a ruin from the 11th century, with magnificent views of the plain of Alsace.

Canal de la Marne

From Alsace we cruise over the border into Lorraine where the canal follows the steep-sided, tree-lined valley of the river Zorn to the famous inclined plane of Arzwiller.. From here we can visit Sarrebourg to visit the Chapel of the Cordelieres where we see the stained glass window created by Marc Chagall. Food and wine of the region is excellent, as one would expect of the world centre for foie gras

Accompanying Lecturer - Michael Liversidge

Michael led our highly successful Loire cruise in 2004. Senior Lecturer at Bristol, he specialises in European art, principally from the 18th & 19th centuries, with particular interests in landscape painting, landscaping and garden history.

Tour Cost