Houseboating in France? sign me up! Even better? I would be doing it in the Mayenne, a region in France I hadn’t visited before.
Few things excite me as much as visiting a place that I was previously unaware of! I’m like a kid in a candy store when it comes to this kind of exploration. It reminds me of just how big the world really is and how there are never-ending possibilities of places to discover.
Our 3 1/2 days houseboating trip started in Daon and ended in Laval. There are a lot of ins and outs to houseboating, which I’ll share in another post. But what I will say is that in France you don’t require a boat driver’s license as you do in Germany, making houseboating a really attractive, convenient option. A short training session is provided and once you’ve proven that you can park the boat reasonably well, you’re off! Laval is also so picturesque that its deserving of its own post. In the meantime enjoy this photo journey to see why you would want to consider houseboating the Mayenne River:
Along the way you will see beautiful churches.
Small villages line the river.
As long as you have 2 people working (1 steering the boat, the other helping at the locks), the rest of the group can relax and work on their tans.
A cycle path runs parallel to the river so that you have the option of cycling and catching up with the rest of your group at one of the many canal locks.
Or you could cool down with a swim as Elena and J.P. my husband did.
It’s not all work and no play though, it takes 2 people to navigate through the canal locks of which appear every few kilometres or so.
Dinners on the upper deck where a highlight, where you were treated to a symphony of birds and frogs.
This was my favorite place that we docked…complete with a frog concert!
And the sunsets over the Mayenne were such an incredible way to end each day.
And just a sneak peek of Laval, Elena from Creative Elena and me.
Stay tuned for the “How-tos of Houseboating” and more on Laval. In the meantime if you can’t get enough be sure to check out these reports by my fellow partners in crime :
Per Hausboot unterwegs auf der Mayenne in Frankreich (video) and 16 Tipps für Anfänger bei einer Hausboot Tour auf der Mayenne both by Monika and Petar (in German) and
Slow Travel along the Mayenne River: Houseboat Glamping in God’s country by Elena (in English)
And for further info see Going with the flow on the Mayenne by the Mayenne Tourism Board.
Note: Thank you to Mayenne Tourism for making my trip possible. As always all opinions expressed are my own.
&locale;&layout;&action;&width;&height;&colorscheme;
