The Nivernais Canal: from Auxerre to Chatel-Censoir by self-dive boat (***).   We started at Auxerre (**), where we arrived straight from landing at CDG, without reservations and began to search for a place to bunk for the first night.  In this instance Michelin guide was wrong:  the top recommendation was uninviting, over-priced, and poorly located (far from the real town center).  Fortunately we skipped this recommendation and shortly after found and booked into the Hotel Le Maxime (**,$$) - a wonderful small "old Europe"  hotel with all the modern conveniences, located right on the canal bank.   Rooms were surprisingly large and all have waterfront views.  Steps away from the hotel is the "walled" city of Auxerre.   (Lesson learned:  you can't always go by Michelin.  Keep searching if it doesn't feel right.)

Auxerre is a wonderful medieval town.  Although it wasn't our objective, we found it pleasant for strolling and dining.  As of 2004 is was (miraculously) undiscovered by tourists (few hotels, no tour buses).  Within the walled city are several sidewalk cafe/bars. 

There is a Michelin 4-folks/1-star restaurant here (Barnabet).  It was closed for the night so we venture a bit further into the town for Jardin Gourmand (**,$$), where the service was friendly and  the food exquisite.  Michelin gives Goumand a 3-folks rating.  (You can trust Michelin on restaurants!)

The boat trip:  We rented a Linssen Dutch Sturdy 320, right from a Linssen office in the Auxerre marina across from the hotel.  The boat was our transport and home for the next four days.  We had a choice of navigating up or down steam.  We chose upstream towards Chatel-Censoir.

In canal boat travel you don't go anywhere fast.  The travel speed is 7 or 8 km/hour, and you slow to a stop every couple of kilometers to go through a lock.  Cyclists, joggers, and even hikers, using the towpath will pass you.  In & out of a lock can take 20-30 minutes.  Thus the 40 km to Chatel-Censoir takes two days (and would have been three days at an extra leisurely pace). 

Every bend on the canal rewards you with another pretty view of the French countryside or a quaint village.  You meet lots of other canal boaters on the way, especially in the locks and marinas.  Some of them practically live on the canal and have stories and advise to share. 

See our 3-page trip photo album with lots of pictures of Marlene working the locks.

Early morning: our boat docked near Accolay

Lock Keepers on the Nivernais Canal.  Every lock has a keeper.  Some keepers supplement their official duties with selling local wines, crafts, fresh farm foods, and so forth.  Locks opens 8 AM to 7 PM, stopping for lunch hour 12-1.

 

 

Lock keeper opens the exit gate

 

Dinner at Accolay.  There is great French cuisine everywhere in the countryside, including in the villages right alongside the canal.  On our first night out of Auxerre we tied up on the side of the canal (see photo on left) on an off-shoot of the Nivernais and proceeded on foot to the nearby village, Accolay hoping to find something - anything - open for a quick dinner.  To our delight we discovered the exceptional: Hostellerie de la Fontaine (**,$$).  It's a hotel with a 17C wine cellar converted into a dining room.   We were lucky:  they could accommodated us that evening without a reservation.  We will detour there again if we are anywhere in the Burgundy region.  The hotel (a two star) looked like an appealing place for a weekend stay in the French countryside (that is if you don't have a boat to sleep in).