Booking Codes E127 End of Season Odyssey – the Seine and Oise from Paris to Compiègne Tuesday 25th October 2022 - 8 days staying mixed board £1,250 Single Supplement £225 Our first day of cruising will follow the Canal St-Martin in the heart of Paris A fascinating close-to-home cruise opportunity as we follow the Seine and Oise between the centre of Paris and Royal Compiègne. Our five days of scenic cruising cover 150km of waterway with 13 locks, and there is also a break day giving us the chance to do some private sightseeing in and around Compiègne. We begin our cruising by letting the morning rush subside before setting out from our hotel in Cergy, taking the autoroute into the Paris where we board our cruiser at La Villette basin. We then enjoy a fascinating descent on the Canal St-Martin in the heart of the city, concluding with a 2km tunnel which brings us underneath the Place de la Bastille and out into Paris Arsenal port where we join the Seine. We now follow the great meanders of the river through the city, seeing all the bridges and passing close to the Eiffel Tower before we moor for the day near to Île Seguin. Booking Codes E127 Next day we board a little further downstream at Argenteuil, continuing through the northern suburbs to Conflans-St-Honorine where we moor and make an afternoon visit to the fascinating Museum Batellerie with its great collection of historic craft and stories of the history of barging in Paris. It’s an easy transfer back to Conflans next morning and we now turn upstream on to the River Oise, passing through Cergy-Pontoise and onwards as far as Auvers-sur-Oise. After lunch there is a free afternoon to explore Auvers, a place of pilgrimage for visitors worldwide as the final resting place of Vincent Van Gogh. Guests will be able to visit the grave of this great yet tragic figure, and there are museums which celebrate his work. Next day we check-out of the hotel in Cergy and re-board in Auvers to continue our journey along the Oise, passing L’Isle Adam and Beaumont-sur-Oise before stopping for the day at St-Leu-d’Esserent. There will be some free time in the afternoon to visit the Benedictine Abbey here, whose knave is of cathedral proportions. It is remarkable that this great church survived the intense allied bombing of 1944 targeting the nearby quarries where the Nazis were making V1 flying bombs. Later in the afternoon the coach takes us forward to Compiègne where we check-in to our hotel in the city centre. We now schedule a free day to allow crew and driver a break. Our hotel in Compiègne is handily placed, a short walk across the river bridge into the city centre and onwards to the Royal Palace and the great expanse of Compiègne Forest. The hotel is also close-by Compiègne rail station which has regular connection to Paris Nord, Noyon and St-Quentin and to many other destinations by changing at Creil. For our final cruise leg on day 7 we re-board in St-Leu d’Esserent and head upstream through Nogent-sur-Oise and Pont-St-Maxence to conclude late in the afternoon in Compiègne. Departing from Compiègne at 09:00 on travel-home day, we will enjoy a prolonged break in historic Amiens for sightseeing, lunch and shopping before we move on to Calais for an early crossing. We stay in two hotels, starting in Cergy before switching to Compiègne where the cruise will conclude. Hotel details follow below. Booking Codes E127 The Daily Programme Paris La Villette to Compiègne staying Cergy (4 nights), Compiègne (3 nights) Day 1 Coach transfer to Cergy ETA at hotel 17:30, dinner in restaurant at Cergy port Embark Disembark Km/Locks Lunch Excursion Dinner Hotel ETD/ETA Day 2 Paris La Île Seguin 20/5 On board (Boat continues to Not included 09:00/18:00 Argenteuil) Villette 15:00 10:00 Day 3 Argenteuil Conflans-St- 33/1 On board Visit Bargees Museum, Not included 09:00/16:30 10:00 Honorine Conflans 14:00 Day 4 Conflans Auvers-sur- 22/1 On board Afternoon free in Not included 09:00/17:00 09:30 Oise 12:30 Auvers-sur-Oise Day 5 Auvers St-Leu- 31/2 On board Hotel change today. Hotel 09:00/17:00 09:30 d’Esserent Post cruise time to visit (Compiègne) 14:00 the Benedictine Abbey Day 6 Driver rest day. Guests free in Compiègne. Option to visit Royal Palace or Not included walk in Compiègne Forest. Local rail services available to St-Quentin and Paris with other connections by changing at Creil. Day 7 St-Leu- Compiègne 45/4 On Board All day cruise Hotel 08:30/17:00 d’Esserent 16:30 09:30 Day 8 Departure at 09:00 for free time in Amiens 10:30-14:00. Return crossing for arrival back in Kent early evening What’s Included: • Executive coach transfers with Eurotunnel crossings • 5 days of cruising 151km of waterway between Paris and Compiègne • 7 Nights hotel accommodation with breakfast • Lunches on board the boat on cruise days • Complimentary bar whilst cruising • Dinner in a restaurant at Cergy Port on arrival day • Dinners in-hotel on two evenings in Compiègne • Visit to the Bargees Museum in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine • Free time in Auvers-sur-Oise, St-Leu d’Esserent, Compiègne, Amiens • A free day for private sightseeing whilst staying in Compiègne Booking Codes E127 Guests should please budget separately for: • Travel to or from coach pick-up point • Any overnight accommodation required in UK preceding or following our transfers • Lunches on the two travel days, and the free day • Evening meal on four evenings • Travel and Health Insurance Coach Pick-ups The planned pick-up sequence for this programme is: North Greenwich Jubilee Line Station (O2 Arena) 07:15 Medway Services 08:00 Maidstone Services 08:30 Ashford International Station 09:00 Stop 24 Services Folkestone 09:45 Tunnel Crossing at or close to 11:50 Arrival in Calais 13:30 (local time) Arrival at hotel (allowing for comfort break) 17:30 A corridor of trees lines the scenic River Oise Booking Codes E127 Our Hotels: We stay for our first 4 nights at the 3* Hotel Olivarius in Cergy, situated around 7 minutes walk from the marina where the local restaurants are clustered. The Olivarius is a comfortable and well-rated hotel in a quiet position, and it offers a splendid buffet breakfast in its enormous atrium. There is no evening restaurant, but as this is a so-called Apart-Hotel guests can self-cater, use the hotel’s delivery service for pizzas, sushis and other takeaways, or take evening meals at any of the good and reasonably-priced restaurants which line the marina – a very pleasant spot to dine outside if we are blessed with warm Autumn evenings though guests must note please it is a 500m walk from the hotel and inaccessible by coach. For our first evening we will dine as a group in a restaurant at Cergy Port then for the remaining three evenings at the Olivarius we will leave guests free to choose their own dining option. For couples we have booked 2-room apartments at the Olivarius so your bedroom and living-room are separated; and for single travellers we have booked de-luxe studio apartments. For our final three nights the 4* Aiden by Best Western T’Aim Hotel in Compiègne is a centrally situated 4* hotel offering all normal facilities including a well-rated restaurant. The hotel is ideal in terms of both position and facilities for our stay. We will dine as a group in-hotel for two of our three evenings in Compiègne, leaving one evening free for guests to choose their own restaurant. Travelling Direct Guests wishing to join the tour in Paris will be welcome to do so. Please ask for further information if required. Plenty of interesting commercial traffic to see on the Oise Booking Codes E127 .