Name L'Art de Vivre Christened Marie Brizzard Length 30 m Draft 1.4 m | Port of registry Bourdeaux Launched 1917 Tonnage 90,720 kg | |
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Owner European Waterways, LTD Operator European Waterways, LTD Route Nivernais Canal Auxerre to Clamecy | ||
The L'Art de Vivre (The Art of Living) was built in 1917 in Deptford, England, as a cargo barge but currently serves as a luxury hotel barge owned and operated by European Waterways.
Contents
L art de vivre en bonne sant
History
Originally christened as Marie Brizzard, her original purpose was to ferry ammunition to the beaches of Normandy to help the Allies fighting in the Somme. She was built particularly strong to resist the English Channel's harsh weather conditions and groundings on a Normandy beach. After the end of World War II, she was delivered along the north and west coasts of France and taken to Rochefort in the River Charente estuary. Here, she delivered barrels of Cognac from Angoulême to Rochefort. She has had many names during her life, including Marie Brizzard, Cognac, Royal Cognac, Napoleon, Mark Twain, Magellan, and Kir Royal.
In 1975 she was converted into a hotel barge by Florian Waleski, who operated the hotel barge until 1997, when she was purchased by European Waterways, and she had an interior refit of the cabins and galley. For the next ten years, L'Art de Vivre was the only hotel barge to navigate the shallow reaches of the upper Nivernais Canal in Burgundy. In 2008 she underwent a third refit and over $200,000 was invested in four new cabins.
Amenities
L'Art de Vivre currently has four double cabins allowing her to carry up to eight passengers. She also has separate crew quarters which house the crew of four people. The crew consists of the captain and pilot, deck hand, and tour guide, housekeeper, and master chef.