Abbeville to Bruges Bike & Barge Cruise | 15 Days Premium

Day 1 - Abbeville. Test ride 15 km.
Boarding is between 1.00 pm and 2.00 pm in Abbeville, near the old train station. After the welcome talk and a short meeting with the crew you set up your e-bike and ride a test loop around town. In the evening your guides take you for a walk through Abbeville.

Day 2 - Abbeville to Saint-Valery-sur-Somme and back. 47 km.
Before heading east you first go west, to the English Channel. The longer route, 68 km, takes in Cayeux and its pebble beach; the shorter one goes straight to Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, from where a steam train crosses the bay and back.

Day 3 - Abbeville to Long. 57 km.
The journey to Bruges begins. First stop is the castle of Rambures, a fifteenth-century fortified castle set in a rose garden and arboretum, then the small town of Long and its pink and white chateau, which is open to visitors. Much of the way follows a voie verte, a car-free green road on an old railway line.

Day 4 - Long to Samara. 39 km.
The Fleur takes you along the Somme to the lock of La Breilloire in the morning. On the way to Samara you stop at a goat cheese farm and at the medieval underground caves of Naours, once used as shelter. At Samara the arboretum and the historical park are within walking distance of the ship.

Day 5 - Samara to Amiens. 16 km.
A short ride along the Somme brings you to Amiens, and before you explore the city there is a guided boat trip through the Hortillonnages, the floating market gardens. The rest of the day is yours: the cathedral, twice the size of Notre-Dame in Paris, or the Jules Verne house. Dinner is ashore, with the crew's suggestions.

Day 6 - Amiens to Corbie. 28 km.
The short route leaves time for the Franco-Australian Museum and the nearby Sir John Monash Centre, both worth it if the First World War is part of why you came. The longer route, 52 km, goes through Moreuil, once a weaving town, and past the whisky distillery at Hautefeuille. Both end at Corbie.

Day 7 - Corbie to Cappy. 44 km.
The guides take you towards Albert and its underground 1916 museum. North of Albert is one of the largest memorials to the British and South African missing, at Thiepval; a shortcut skips it and goes straight to the Lochnagar crater, left by the mine the British detonated at the start of the Battle of the Somme. The day ends at Cappy on the river. The longer route is 54 km.

Day 8 - Cappy to Havrincourt. 41 km.
During breakfast the Fleur moves upriver to the lock near Frise. You ride to Peronne, where there is the Historial de la Grande Guerre, and then through the quiet Somme valley, once the front line. You meet the ship at the mouth of the four-kilometre Ruyalcourt tunnel and cross the watershed between the Scheldt and the Somme on board. Tonight the mooring is on its own, at the highest point of the Canal du Nord.

Day 9 - Havrincourt to Douai. 47 km.
From Lock 7 the Fleur follows the Canal du Nord, a waterway that took sixty years to finish and replaced Napoleon's older Saint-Quentin canal. The short route goes straight to Arleux, known for its smoked garlic; the longer one, 61 km, passes through Cambrai first. Everyone visits the mining museum at Lewarde before Douai, the city of giants, whose belfry says you are in French Flanders.

Day 10 - Douai to Lille. 50 km.
Two options again. The longer route, 65 km, goes by way of Lens and the Louvre-Lens, which shows works lent by the Paris museum; the shorter one leaves more time in Lille. You stay two nights here.

Day 11 - Lille. No cycling.
The bikes stay on board and you have a full day in the fourth largest city in France: an old town of Flemish and French facades, botanical gardens, a citadel, a cathedral and a very good fine arts museum. Dinner is ashore, Ch'ti cooking or mussels and fries.

Day 12 - Lille to Harelbeke. 39 km.
The Fleur sails out of Lille onto the Lys during breakfast, in and out of France a few times before the bikes come off. From here you ride through Flanders. The longer route, 53 km, passes Tyne Cot, the largest Commonwealth war cemetery in the world. Both routes reach Kortrijk, with its belfry and its beguinage; the ship waits just east of town.

Day 13 - Harelbeke to Deinze. 57 km.
A day among the actual fields of Flanders, with the American cemetery for those who wish to stop. In Oudenaarde there is a drink at the Tour of Flanders Centre, and the tapestry museum if you have time. Then on to the small town of Deinze.

Day 14 - Deinze to Bruges. 46 km.
Flat, green, sometimes below sea level: easy riding through farmland. In the afternoon there is a picnic in the grounds of Poeke Castle. Choose the longer route, 63 km, for more of the Belgian countryside, or the shorter one for more time in Bruges. Farewell dinner on board tonight.

Day 15 - Bruges.
Breakfast, goodbyes to the guides and crew, and disembarkation by 9.00 am.

Distances are for the shorter route option and are approximate. On the shorter routes you may not reach every sight mentioned. If you would rather not ride on a given day, you can stay on board while the ship cruises to the next mooring.