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Find your tourLevel 3: requires a higher level of exertion, medium hilly terrain
The duration of the tour
Guided cycling: A tour leader will guide you during the cycling days
Change of itinerary: Due to the collapse of an underground waterway tunnel on the Marne, ships are currently unable to sail the originally planned route between Paris and Épernay. As this tunnel is a necessary part of the sailing route between Paris and the Champagne region, the original route can unfortunately no longer be operated as planned. Our team has carefully redesigned the program to ensure that the journey still offers a beautiful, varied, and genuinely French experience. Rather than simply replacing one stop with another, we have reconsidered the itinerary as a whole, with a focus on quality, comfort, and memorable moments ashore. Highlights of the new program include sailing through the heart of Paris, cycling through landscapes that inspired the Impressionists and Vincent …
Monday to Friday
Amsterdam: 08:30 to 22:00
New York: 6:00AM to 7:00PM
Change of itinerary:
Due to the collapse of an underground waterway tunnel on the Marne, ships are currently unable to sail the originally planned route between Paris and Épernay. As this tunnel is a necessary part of the sailing route between Paris and the Champagne region, the original route can unfortunately no longer be operated as planned.
Our team has carefully redesigned the program to ensure that the journey still offers a beautiful, varied, and genuinely French experience. Rather than simply replacing one stop with another, we have reconsidered the itinerary as a whole, with a focus on quality, comfort, and memorable moments ashore.
Highlights of the new program include sailing through the heart of Paris, cycling through landscapes that inspired the Impressionists and Vincent van Gogh, visiting Château de Chantilly, passing the castle of Pierrefonds, and discovering historic Soissons. The full-day Champagne excursion to Hautvillers and Épernay, including a visit and tasting at the famous Mercier champagne house, will remain unchanged.
The tour will now operate between Paris and Soissons. Please find the updated day-by-day itinerary below.
The Champagne tour is a E-bike and barge touring classic that not only allows guests to explore the world famous city of Paris, but also the Champagne region, famous of course, for producing Champagne wines. From the time the Benedictine monk Dom Pierre Pérignon invented the bubbly drink in 1670 at the Abbey of Hautvillers, the Champagne name has been synonymous worldwide with the very best of sparkling wines.
Every day you will cycle small country roads (including a few un- or semi-paved roads and tracks) that go slightly up and down the beautiful slopes of the wide river valley, through the hills and the Champagne vineyards.
Biking in the hills will not take too much effort, as a comfortable E-bike is available for all guests (not included in the price).
On a daily basis you will have the opportunity to cycle to boutique wineries, sample a variety of champagnes, taste delicious cheeses of the Brie region and generally discover all gems that the Champagne region, UNESCO world heritage, has to offer. But more than just visiting the Champagne region, you will also have the opportunity to explore Paris, one of Europe’s most beautiful and beloved cities. Other highlights of the tour include a visit to the city of Meaux, well known for its Brie cheeses and a stopover in Château-Thierry, scene of major battles in World War I. Along the way you will cycle through almost endless vineyards on the rolling banks of the Marne river and visit a local wine farmer. The tour ends in the city of Epernay, the real capital of the Champagne region, where you will have the opportunity to visit one of the town’s imposing champagne cellars.
The ship – Your sailing hotel
In between cycling excursions, you cruise along with the ship, which travels to a new destination every day. You dine, sleep and eat breakfast on board. You’ll receive a packed lunch every day, and you can usually choose between a longer or shorter bike ride. It’s also possible to spend a day on board if you like.
Fully Guided
Accompanied by a competent, professional and multilingual tour leader, you and the group will visit interesting sights and places on the daily cycling tours. During the bike tour, they will explain the local history and culture behind the things you encounter along the way.
Welcome to Paris!
Embarkation starts at 2:00 PM in the heart of the city. After a warm welcome from the captain and crew, there will be a short bike safety briefing.
The rest of the afternoon and evening are yours to enjoy at leisure. You may wish to take a stroll along the Seine, explore the surroundings near the ship, or settle into a cozy Parisian café.
Early in the morning, the ship departs Paris for a scenic cruise along the Seine. Sailing right through the heart of the city is a unique experience, with panoramic views of famous landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower from the water.
In Bougival, time will be taken to properly fit the bikes for all guests. Afterwards, you will enjoy a round tour around L’Île des Impressionnistes. This island inspired famous Impressionist painters such as Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Even today, many places still reflect the atmosphere and scenery captured in their paintings.
Today’s cycling route follows the Seine towards Saint-Germain-en-Laye, where you can enjoy a beautiful view over Paris.
You then continue via Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, an important junction of rivers and inland navigation. In the afternoon, the route leads towards Auvers-sur-Oise, a village closely connected to art and history.
As you approach Auvers-sur-Oise, you cycle through landscapes that recall the world of Vincent van Gogh, who spent his final days here. After dinner, there may be an opportunity to take an evening walk to his grave, peacefully located among the greenery.
During breakfast, the ship cruises to Beaumont. From there, you follow the Oise River upstream by bike.
In the afternoon, you will visit the impressive Château de Chantilly, renowned for its elegant setting, rich history and exceptional art collection.
The route then continues through the historic town of Senlis and the beautiful Halatte Forest before reaching today’s destination: Pont-Sainte-Maxence.
Today you cycle through peaceful countryside and the vast Compiègne Forest, once a royal hunting ground.
Your ride ends in Compiègne, a city known for its elegant architecture and royal connections. Be sure to visit the gardens of the local château, which reflect the city’s rich historical character.
Dinner is not included this evening, giving you the opportunity to choose one of the many inviting local restaurants in town.
Today’s route takes you through the varied landscapes of northern France. Starting in or near the Compiègne Forest, you cycle along quiet roads through open fields, small villages and peaceful rural scenery.
Along the way, you pass through Pierrefonds, where you can admire the fairytale-like château from the outside.
Your destination is Soissons, located on the Aisne River. As one of the oldest cities in France, Soissons has a rich history as a royal city. Its impressive cathedral and the remains of historic abbeys are reminders of its important past.
Today is dedicated to Champagne.
A comfortable coach takes you to the region around Épernay, the sparkling heart of Champagne. Your first stop is Hautvillers, a picturesque wine-growing village on the slopes of the Montagne de Reims.
Here, you will visit the chapel with the tomb of Dom Pérignon, the monk closely associated with the development of champagne-making methods. Afterwards, you will enjoy a tour of one of the major champagne houses.
After a relaxed lunch in Épernay, the coach returns to Soissons for your final evening on board.
After breakfast, the tour ends at 9:30 AM.
We hope you leave with lasting memories, inspiring stories and a week full of cycling, discovery, art, history and Champagne.
Welcome to Soissons!
Embarkation and check-in start at 2:00 PM in the center of Soissons, located on the Aisne River. After a warm welcome from the captain and crew, there will be a short safety briefing.
Today, there is also time to properly fit the bikes and take a short test ride. You will have the rest of the afternoon and evening to explore Soissons, a historic town with deep roots in French history.
Today is dedicated to Champagne.
A comfortable coach takes you to Épernay, the sparkling heart of the Champagne region. You will also visit Hautvillers, a charming wine-growing village where Dom Pérignon lived and worked.
During the day, you will enjoy a tour of a renowned champagne house. There will also be time for lunch in Épernay before returning to Soissons for the night.
Your first full cycling day takes you through the gently rolling countryside of northern France. Open fields, quiet roads, small villages and peaceful rural views accompany you along the way.
The route passes through Pierrefonds, where you can admire the fairytale-like château from the outside. You then continue towards Compiègne, a city on the Oise River with royal flair and a rich history.
French kings once hunted in the surrounding forest, and the local château was a favorite retreat for royalty and emperors. The final stretch leads through the vast Compiègne Forest, along quiet roads and wide forest paths.
Today’s route starts in the southern part of the Compiègne Forest and follows the Oise River downstream towards Pont-Sainte-Maxence.
Pont-Sainte-Maxence owes its name to a medieval bridge that was once one of the few crossings in the area. Because of this, the town became an important stopover for merchants and royalty travelling between Flanders and Paris.
During breakfast, the ship sails to Creil. From here, you cycle to the magnificent Château de Chantilly, known for its equestrian history, royal stables and the Musée Condé, which houses one of France’s finest art collections.
After the visit, the route continues through the forest. Guests choosing the shorter cycling option will meet the ship in Beaumont. The longer route crosses the Oise and follows the river to Auvers-sur-Oise, where the ship awaits.
Auvers-sur-Oise is closely connected to Vincent van Gogh, who spent his final days here. In the evening, there may be an opportunity to walk to his grave, located in the local cemetery. The area was also loved by many Impressionist painters.
This morning, you can discover more of Van Gogh’s Auvers-sur-Oise before setting off towards Paris.
The route leads through landscapes that recall the world of the painter, including rural scenery and fields that inspired many artists. You will have lunch in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, where the Oise meets the Seine. This town has been an important inland shipping hub since the 19th century.
In the afternoon, you cycle to Saint-Germain-en-Laye, where sweeping views of the Paris skyline await. From there, you continue along the river to Bougival, where the ship is waiting.
Before returning to Paris, you will enjoy one final bike tour on the outskirts of the city.
The route takes you around L’Île des Impressionnistes, an island that inspired famous Impressionist painters such as Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Even today, many places still reflect the atmosphere and scenery captured in their paintings.
Afterwards, you return to the ship for one last scenic cruise along the Seine into the heart of Paris. Although the distance is not far, the river winds widely, offering beautiful views along the way. As you sail into the city, you can enjoy iconic sights such as the Eiffel Tower from the water.
After breakfast, the tour ends at 9:30 AM.
We hope you travel home with wonderful memories, inspiring encounters and a truly French adventure to remember.
The rental bikes on our ships are unisex bicycles with a low bar and a comfortable upright sitting position. These are stable and dependable bikes, good for miles in the saddle. Decide which kind of bike you want to rent and simply fill in your preference with your reservation. We’ll make sure you get the right bike for you. On most of our tours, the bike rental cost is not included in the tour’s price.
Every Boat Bike Tour rental bike is well equipped. The bikes consist of a lightweight aluminum frame and have highly-responsive handbrakes, at least seven speeds, an adjustable gel seat, normal flat pedals (no clips), an easy-to-use lock attached to the frame, and special puncture-resistant tires. All told, this is a light, stable and reliable bike, very suitable for touring long distances pleasantly.
Our e-bikes also have at least seven speeds and handbrakes. The motor runs on a 400Wh battery and offers three levels of power-assistance. The e-bikes include comfortable gel seats that can be adjusted for height, have a lock attached to the frame, and sport anti-puncture tires. Note that some of the ships have their own bikes on board. They may look a bit different, but qualitatively they are equal to Boat Bike Tours’s e-bikes.
Bicycle helmets
The use of bicycle helmets is not required in the Netherlands, but for safety’s sake they are suggested. If you wish to rent one, you can do so during the booking process. If you book a premium tour and rent a bike or e-bike, then the helmet and a “limit of liability for damage or loss” for your bike or e-bike is included in the rental price.
Other rental items
Other items such as children’s bikes, tandems, family tandems (child & adult), tag-along, trailers to carry toddlers and child seats are available on request.
Taking your own bike or e-bike?
The fee for parking your own bicycle is €10 per week. For an e-bike the fee is €25 to cover parking and charging the battery. For safety reasons it is not always possible to charge your e-bike batteries in your cabin. The crew will tell you where you can charge the battery on board the ship. Neither the crew nor Boat Bike tours is responsible in any way for any damage, loss or theft of a guest’s own bike or e-bike or its accessories. Note: not all the ships are suitable or have enough room for extra bikes, so make sure you check with us well ahead of travel.
The E-bike is a Flyer Go Tour6 3.40 with Shimano Nexus 5 gears, 5 support modes and hand brakes. The Bosch PowerTube 500 battery is integrated into the frame. The E-Bike is also equipped with frame and seat suspension.
Bringing your own bike/e-bike is not possible, due to lack of space on deck. Exceptions will be made for special bikes, but only after they have been notified and confirmed in advance.
2026:
Transfer from Paris:
Nearby the docking place of the Clair d'Etoile (Zwaantje) you can take the subway, tram or train to the airports Charles de Gaulle Roissy or Paris Orly.
More information and online route planner:
Transfer from Epernay:
The SNCF train station is approx. 1 km / 0.6 mi. from the docking place of the Clair d'Etoile. From the train station in Epernay you can travel with only one change in approx.. 1 hour and 20 minutes with SNCF to TGV Station Champagne-Ardenne, just a little South of Reims. There is also a good, direct (SNCF) connection to both Reims Centre (23 – 39 minutes) as Paris Gare de l’Est (1 hour and 16 min – 1 hour and 42 min). Plan your route at omio or sncf-connect.
Taxi from Epernay to Reims or the TGV train station:
We can recommend taxi company A’Gil. We strongly recommend you to reserve your taxi in advance, especially with a transfer from Reims or TGV station to Epernay.
Tel.: +33 326 59 01 44 Mobile: +33 6 80 30 55 89
Explore our Loyalty Discount!
After your tour, you’ll receive an exclusive discount code:
Check your post-tour email for details. You can combine this discount with other promotions for additional savings. Join us again for another adventure by boat and bike!
Ride through Burgundy’s vineyards, Provence’s lavender fields, or along the Seine to Paris and beyond, and discover more tours in France.
| 5 star | 14 (52%) | |
| 4 star | 5 (19%) | |
| 3 star | 7 (26%) | |
| 2 star | 1 (4%) | |
| 1 star | 0 (0%) |
What a great trip! The accommodations were comfortable, the food tasty, the staff skilled and supportive, and the bikes easy to use. Learning about this region in France with its focus on champagne production, World War I history, local agriculture, Van Gogh, and so much more was illuminating. Our bike guides took us on a variety of terrains – from small villages to lots of time in the forest (who knew there were so many trails in the woods near Paris!), by castles and along rivers. The biking distances were comfortable – especially with e-bikes! – and the variety of what we saw and did during the day fun. It was a great trip!
My first barge&bike (ebike) experience…and it was wonderful beyond expectations! Everyone on the staff was terrific – professional, prepared, charming, helpful. A last-minute change of itinerary (departure from Epernay changed to Soissons due to unavoidable issues with the Epernay route) was handled in a timely and transparent manner, and we loved the new itinerary. Bike guides Marcel and Hugo were extremely helpful (especially for this novice e-biker) as we navigated bike paths, villages and city streets; their complementary styles really worked to create a sense of community and friendship. Group singing at the cemetery where Vincent and Theo Van Gogh are buried (thanks, Hugo) and lessons on French music (thanks, Marcel) were a highlight, as were the very moving visits to cemeteries of US soldiers killed in WWI. We visited a number of spectacular chateau — including Pierrefonds, Chantilly, St. Germaine-en-Laye, and the gardens at Versaille. In addition to planned activities (for ex. Auvers-sur-Oise, where Van Gogh spent his final months), there were spontaneous discoveries like a group of senior hikers in the Forest of St. Germaine with whom we shared conversation and a photo, and the visit to the Hotel de Ville in Compiègne where the town administrator graciously gave us a tour of the building and explained town governance to us. And the champagne…we were not only greeted with a champagne toast as we arrived on the barge but later had a fabulous tour of the Mercier establishment with a tasting, followed by an afternoon exploring the other champagne establishments up and down the Avenue du Champagne. The food was excellent (thanks, Frank) – hearty breakfasts featuring fresh breads, meats and cheeses, yogurt and fruit and granola, hard-boiled eggs (with messages drawn on each one!), and special treats like pancakes, French toast or scrambled eggs; pack your own picnic lunches in re-usable containers; gourmet, multi-course dinners that were prepared in the tiny barge kitchen! The bar service worked very well, allowing guests to purchase bottles of wine and individual drinks and beers, keep a tab and pay in cash at the end (thanks, Milton, for this and for your many attentions to guests’ every need). Captain Marco and assistant Mo made sure there was smooth sailing every day…even in tight quarters. The final afternoon, when we cruised into Paris on the Seine on a warm, sunny day, past the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame was an unforgettable experience. This was my first BoatBike tour…but it definitely won’t be my last!
My husband and I had a wonderful time on the Bike Boat Tour (BBT) to Champagne. Although the route had to be changed due to the unexpected closure of a tunnel on the Marne River, BBT prepared an alternate route that took us to Versailles, Chantilly Castle, Compiègne and Soissons, with a day trip to Hautvillers and Epernay by bus. Our guides Joan and Marcel, and Eric the boat captain were very friendly, knowledgeable and patient. This is our third bike and barge tour and the food prepared by Frank the chef was the best of all the trips!
Thank you for your wonderful review! We re delighted to hear that you and your husband had such a great time on the Champagne tour, even with the unexpected route change. It s fantastic that the alternate itinerary gave you the chance to experience Versailles, Chantilly Castle, Compiègne, Soissons, and of course Hautvillers and Epernay. Your kind words about guides Joan and Marcel, Captain Eric, and Chef Frank mean a lot, we ll be sure to share them with the team. We re especially happy that you found Frank s cooking to be the best of all your bike and barge trips! We look forward to welcoming you back for your next adventure. Best regards, Team Boat Bike Tours
The guides were very good. We specifically appreciated the routes they chose, maximizing time spent in the woods or on bicycle paths without traffic. The guides were concerned with the safety of the group but were also very fun taking the opportunity to link us up with a group of French hikers for example. The crew was excellent Marco, the captain, Milton,the host, Frank, the chef and Mo! Food was great. Bicycles were my favorite ever.
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We re delighted to hear that you enjoyed the carefully chosen routes, the fun and safety-minded guidance, and the warm atmosphere on board. We truly appreciate your feedback and hope to welcome you on another Boat Bike Tours adventure in the future. Best regards, Team Boat Bike Tours
Royal splendor of the Seine Valley
The land of good living
Through Flanders and France by E-bike
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