6 Night Cruise sailing from Port de Houillon to Strasbourg aboard Jeanine.

Much appreciated by river tourism, this section of the canal, also called the Green Route, flows through the plains of Alsace and the Vosges. It forms the link between Strasbourg and Saverne and is the gateway to Alsace at the foot of the Vosges Mountains. Its route takes it through a wooden massif as far as Lutzelbourg in the Moselle. Its spectacularcourse, which can be seen in many works of art and paintings, follows the inclined plain at Arzviller - unique in Europe - where boats are hoisted up a cliff before they reach Xouaxange - a pleasant commune in the Moselle.

DAY 1: PORT DE HOUILLON
Boarding the MS Jeanine commences late afternoon. We are welcomed on board and introduced to the crew before we have dinner on board. Overnight stop.

DAY 2: PORT DE HOUILLON - XOUAXANGE
After breakfast on board, we cruise from Port de Houillon to Xouaxange. We join first the canal and then the Sarre, before we begin our journey through the lakes. We have lunch on board. This afternoon we have the opportunity to have a visit to Sarrebourg, located at the entrance to the Vosges and Alsace. The town has a rich diversity of attractions. Its historic and cultural heritage holds many unexpected treasures, such as the only stained glass window by Marc Chagall, a veritable paean to peace. We have some free time in Sarrebourg. Before we return on board, we stop at the Mephisto factory. Dinner on board and overnight stop in Xouaxange.

DAY 3: XOUAXANGE - LUTZELBOURG - Inclined Plain at Arzviller
We have breakfast on board as we spend the morning afloat. There is a stop at Niderviller to visit the porcelain factory (a 25 minute walk from the boat). One of the oldest in the Lorraine, and world renowned, the Niderviller factory is one of only a few to have kept in operation , and the only factory to have produced porcelain. Our cruise continues. We have lunch by candlelight as we pass through the tunnels at Arzviller and Niderviller. In the early afternoon, we pass through the inclined plain at Arzviller, a truly unforgettable experience. A fantastic piece of workmanship, this type of transverse boat lift is the only one of its kind in Europe. The inclined plain replaces 17 locks spread over a 4 km stretch, which used to take an entire day to navigate. The lift itself is a wagon roughly the same size as a classic lock (41.5m x 5.5m) which moves up a slope with a 41% incline. The 44 metres vertical journey is achieved in just 4 minutes. We stop at the Inclined plain crystal workshop, which has been in place for some 25 years at the foot of the inclined plain and tries to preserve the art of carving and etching crystal. We have the opportunity to learn a little about the old methods and we have a demonstration of crystal blowing and carving. We return on board for dinner and our cruise continues to Lutzelbourg, which richly deserves its reputation as one of the most beautiful canal-side Villages in France. The canal weaves its way through the Vosges Mountains before returning to Alsace. We arrive in Lutzelbourg in the early evening and moor for the night.

DAY 4: LUTZELBOURG - SAVERNE
We have breakfast on board and then walk to the castle at Lutzelbourg. The ruins of the castle are perched on high at an altitude of some 300 metres on a rocky spur of pink sandstone, and majestically overlook the village in the Zorn Valley. We continue our cruise to Saverne and have lunch as we cruise. We arrive in Saverne in the early afternoon. The boat is moored opposite the castle of the Rohan. We have some free time in Saverne before we visit the castle at Haut Barr, often called "the Eye of Alsace", from where there are unrivalled views over the Alsace plain. On our return to the boat, we stop off at the Chappe Tower, an ancient telegraph, where there is an interactive display on the ancestry of all means of telecommunication. Dinner on board and overnight stop in Saverne.

DAY 5: SAVERNE - WALTENHEIM
This morning we have a guided visit of Saverne. Off the beaten track of usual tourist haunts, Saverne offers the visitor a multitude of places to discover. The main street with its unicorn fountain (the unicorn is the town's emblem), the Katz House, decorated with wonderful sculpted half-timbered walls, the church of Notre Dame with its porch tower from the 12th century, various administrative buildings from the 18th century and the former convent of the Recollets founded in the 14th century. We return on board for lunch and set sail again. Our cruise takes a gentle pastoral route to Waltenheim, passing the charming village of Hochfelden and Schwindratzheim - hidden on a hillside. We can always walk along the paths ourselves or take one of the bicycles on board and cycle along the way-marked paths that line the canal. We arrive in Waltenheim in the early evening. Tonight's dinner is a "tarte flambee", a local speciality, in a restaurant in Waltenheim. We moor for the night.

DAY 6: WALTENHEIM - STRASBOURG
Today we begin with a discovery walking tour of the Hops path at Wingersheim. Alsace offers an unexpected and captivating landscape. The area is famed for making both wine and beer and offers a different view of the region through the growing of hops. We have a playful walk through the hop fields followed by a tasting of some beer. We return on board and continue our journey towards Strasbourg. We have lunch as we cruise and travel through the Zorn Valley, with its landscape of fields, where the canal is wide and straight and through Brumath Forest before we arrive in Strasbourg around 6.00pm. Tonight we have our Gala dinner on board, after which we may have the chance to visit Strasbourg Old Town by small boat (subject to availability). We moor for the night in Strasbourg.

DAY 7: STRASBOURG
Breakfast on board. We disembark at 9.00am. End of our journey.