User:David-waterways/Grand Cru (barge)

Grand Cru is a hotel barge operating from 2018 on the Canal du Centre and the river Saône in Burgundy. It joins a fleet of around 50 former working barges (péniches) that offer luxury cruises on the inland waterways of Europe, mostly in France. A few hundred working barges of these dimensions remain, but traffic has disappeared on most of the waterways in central and southern France, which makes hotel barges like Grand Cru part of the canal landscape, perpetuating the tradition of the boatmen (mariniers) who carried 220-tonne loads of freight throughout the waterways of France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

History
Unlike most other hotel barges, Grand Cru is a new build. The barge joins two others already operated by the same owner, based in USA: Prospérité and Rendez-vous.

Hotel Barge
Grand Cru has four rooms with ensuite bathrooms and vanity rooms. The itinerary includes some of the famous vineyards in Burgundy, and associated heritage such as the Hospices de Beaune