How can you see Europe at a leisurely pace, following your own itinerary and not worry about finding accommodation or meals? Thirty-five years ago we discovered the answer when we rented a live-aboard barge and cruised on the Grand Union Canal in England. Since then, a dream was to repeat the experience in France in a wine region at harvest time.

In September 2004, we flew from Vancouver to Lyon, France. We stayed in this tourist-friendly city to relieve jet lag, then a short train ride north brought us to Tournus, a small town on the River Saone where our floating home for the next month awaited. Following a brief introduction by the boat's owner and a supervised cruise, we were on our own. After provisioning the boat from the modern supermarket near the quay, we left down river for a small excursion on the River Seille, a tributary of the Saone.

Our initial fears of not being able to handle a 12-metre power barge were allayed after a four-day round trip on this very rural and picturesque river. Eighty km and eight locks with plenty of sightseeing in Louhans and Cuisery gave us confidence to try further cruising on the Saone and other waterways of the Burgundy region of France.

Our boat, rented through an excellent Internet-based boat brokerage firm in France, was two years old, immaculate and with all the comforts of home, including fridge, microwave, gas cook stove, lots of hot water, showers and even central air! We included a bicycle to allow us to extend our travels away from the waterways, especially for morning croissants and baguette from the local boulangerie.

Thirty km north of Tournus, past Chalon-sur-Saone (whose full-service marina and lively Friday market were well worth a visit), brought us to the entrance to the Canal du Centre, the nearest waterway to the Cote de Beaune. Before 1958, the entrance to this Canal was via three small locks near the centre of Chalon. Now a single, deep lock admits the brave yachtsman to this tranquil waterway. Sailing into a deep, black cavern followed by automatic closure of the large guillotine door behind us was very unnerving. After a rise of 10.8 metres, we were away on the Canal.

Locks on this part of the canal are approximately two km apart, are automatically operated by a VNF (Department of Navigable Waterways) employee and present no problem to the boater. We moored on the canal bank just outside the village of Santenay, renowned for its red wines. By late September, vendenges (harvest) was in full swing and short walks took us into the vineyards to watch the work. With many wineries available for visiting and tasting, this is a wine-lover's paradise. Here, we found even "box wine" is well worth a taste and purchase for our table on board.

To see more of this lovely region, a tourist taxi delivered us to the city of Beaune for tasting and touring at renowned wineries as well as a look at the famous Hospices de Beaune Hotel-Dieu. Another day our personable driver took us to a modern wine cooperative in Buxy followed by a tour of the ancient feudal village of Brancion, complete with its decayed castle, home to the dukes of Burgundy in the 13th century.