Our Cruises are All-Inclusive:

• 6 Nights accommodation on board in an air-conditioned, en-suite cabin.
• The services of an experienced Captain / Host, Chef, Housekeeper(s), Driver/Tour Guide.
• Breakfast, lunch and dinner aboard. A local lunch ashore, once per week on most barges.
• An excellent selection of fine regional and international wines and spirits, plus an all day open bar, tea and coffee.
• Daily excursions by chauffeured minibus and inclusive entry fees to castles, vineyards, markets and other local places of interest.
• Use of barge facilities such as bicycles, boules, barge library and on certain vessels, a spa pool.
• Return transfers to and from local meeting/drop off point.

Local transfer to and from the barge, a luxury 6 night cruise, all meals on board catered for by the on board Master Chef, an open bar 24/7 with a large range of alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks, all wines served throughout the cruise, excursions and admittance fees as per the itinerary, the services of 4 crew and use of barge facilities, which includes bicycles.

Montauban to Agen, Gascony, Southwest France Itinerary

Sunday, Day 1 - Toulouse to Montauban
Guests are met by the captain at 4.00pm at a designated hotel in Toulouse and transferred by air-conditioned minibus to Rosa, moored in the Port of Montauban. Following a Champagne Welcome, there is time for a tour of this beautiful old town set on the banks of the River Tarn, before returning for your first dinner aboard.

Monday, Day 2 - Montauban to Montech
This morning Rosa meanders up the flight of ten locks on the beautiful, recently restored branch canal skirting the Forest of Agre and moors in the heart of the little town of Montech. In the afternoon we head into the Côtes du Frontonnais wine region in the minibus, for a tasting of the outstanding cuvee ‘Optimum’ at the renowned Chateau Bellevue la Foret. Return to the barge and try your hand at a game of Boules on the quay this evening before dinner aboard.

Tuesday, Day 3 - Montech to Castelsarrasin
We awake to the bustle of the weekly market in the cosy centre of Montech and after accompanying the barge’s chef around the stalls in the half-timbered streets, we negotiate the remarkable inclined Water Plane. This amazing feat of engineering by-passes five locks and lowers the barge 43 feet all in one go! Later, we arrive in Castelsarrasin and after a short drive to the Ferme des Jauberts at Angeville we can tour and taste the foie gras of Eric Couderc with some fine local Armagnac. Dinner aboard.

Wednesday, Day 4 - Castelsarrasin to Moissac
After breakfast, we cross the River Tarn via a 1000 foot long aqueduct to descend towards Moissac through a staircase of delightful locks and moor for lunch on the River Tarn below the old watermill. Then we may cruise downstream to St. Nicolas de la Grave for an afternoon’s swimming or canoeing, or alternatively, we can visit Moissac's 7th century Abbey with its wonderfully preserved cloisters and chapel. This evening we stroll ashore, to savour regional specialties at the acclaimed restaurant ‘Le Pont Napoleon’, where celebrated TV chef Rick Stein once cooked Tarn-caught pike for the BBC TV series portraying his cruise aboard Rosa.

Thursday, Day 5 - Moissac to Valence D’Agen
Today the Rosa rises up from the Tarn and turns West on the brick-lined canal through Moissac. After negotiating the swing bridge, we cruise between the placidly flowing waters of the Garonne and the foothills of the Quercy massif, before mooring at Pommevic. After lunch we drive to Auvillar, a 15th century village famous for its pottery and perched high on the side of a gorge above the River Garonne. Return to Rosa and cruise to Valence d'Agen and a tour of this old "Bastide" town with its Palladian canalside public wash-house and arcaded market place. Dinner aboard.

Friday, Day 6 - Valence D’Agen to Agen
A morning cruise through the bucolic countryside to Lamagistère. From here we can travel the ten minutes by cycle or minibus to Donzac and its Conservatoire of traditional trades, where we step back in time to see the extensive exhibition of rural life, before returning to Rosa for a leisurely cruise to the historic town of Agen. After lunch, we visit Chateau du Frandat for private tastings of their esteemed Armagnac and Floc du Gascogne and Buzet wines in delightful surroundings. Captains Farewell Dinner aboard.

Saturday, Day 7 - Serignac to Toulouse
After breakfast, guests disembark the barge and transfer to Toulouse for approximately 11am.

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

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ROSA - CLASSIC CANAL DU MIDI CRUISE - Carcassonne to Toulouse

Sunday, Day 1 Toulouse to Carcassonne
At 4pm you are met in Toulouse and transferred to Rosa moored in Carcassonne. After a Champagne Welcome there is time to have a visit of the fortified city of Carcassonne by mini bus. Dinner aboard.

Monday, Day 2 Carcassonne to Bram
A fascinating morning tour of La Cité, classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Dating back to the Gallo-Roman era, this is the most complete medieval, fortified city in existence today. With its 52 watchtowers, portcullis and extraordinary repertoire of defences that resisted the many armies that tried to storm this Camelot setting. We return to Rosa for lunch and a cruise among the vines, junipers and pine trees, listening to the sound of the cicadas. We reach the charming port of Bram and in the late afternoon visit this circular village. Dinner aboard.

Tuesday, Day 3 Bram to Castelnaudary
A morning excursion to the sparkling wineries of the Limoux region, discovering and tasting its well known “blanquette”. The afternoon sees us climbing rapidly in triple and quadruple locks to Castelnaudary, and we enter its renowned Grand Bassin, with its one kilometre circumference, through one of the lowest bridges on the canal. This peaceful little port, once a Customs House on the road to Aquitaine in the gallo-roman period, is now famed as the “world capital of Cassoulet”. Dinner aboard.

Wednesday, Day 4 Castelnaudary to the Col de Naurouze
Enjoy one of the most picturesque portions of the Canal as your barge climbs to the summit under the overhanging sycamore trees whose branches cross over the canal and meet overhead. It is here that Pierre-Paul Riquet, in the late 17th century created the ingenious system to supply water to the Canal du Midi from the waters of the Black Mountains. After lunch, we take an excursion up to the lake at St Ferreol which is the key element of Riquet’s system, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We end our excursion with a look at Durfort, a community of 270 inhabitants nestled in the hollows of the Sor valley near the foothills of the Montagne Noire, famous for its copper works, fabrication, restoration and creation of copper pans, as well as its Bastide Royale, founded by the King of France in 1342. This evening we dine at the Auberge des Collets Rouges, in Soreze.

Thursday, Day 5 Naurouze to Negra
A long cruising morning sees us descending through several locks to the little village of Negra, once a major stopping point between Toulouse and Carcassonne. From here we discover the countryside by bicycle or walk along the tow path. After lunch aboard we trace the tragic saga of the Cathars and discover villages such as Fanjeaux which perpetuates the memory of the passage of Saint Dominic, and the medieval bastide of Mirepoix with its surprising 14th century discoveries. Dinner aboard.

Friday, Day 6 Negra to Toulouse
This morning we cruise among the green slopes of the Lauragais. Pastoral countryside, with sheep and cows grazing in green pastures alongside the canal are in amazing contrast to the Mediterranean vineyard landscapes at the beginning of the cruise. We reach our final destination, the elegant, cosmopolitan 'ville rose' of Toulouse. This southern city with Spanish accents and Italian facades has always been open to foreign influences. The splendid Capitol square and Cathedral set amid cobble stone streets, will enable you a good tour of the town where the shopping is excellent. Captain’s dinner aboard.

Saturday, Day 7 Toulouse
After breakfast, transfer to Toulouse TGV station or Toulouse Airport by about 11am.

NOTE:On alternate weeks the cruise will be in the reverse direction. This is a sample itinerary and is subject to change.