Film Sets to Visit On Barge Holidays

Barge holidays offer the opportunity to travel in comfort and style through picturesque landscapes, and they also help create a sense of peace and contentment that many barge lovers feel is almost unattainable elsewhere. Aside from the laidback luxury, there are so many things you’ll be able to do and see along the routes. For example, many canals bring holidaymakers close to famous film sets - here are just a few.

Flavigny-sur-Ozerain

This picturesque medieval village is easy to reach from barging routes on the Nivernais Canal. With its blend of picturesque charm and uncompromising medieval stonework, it formed a perfect setting for the well-received Chocolat - a tale of a woman bucking the traditions that oppressed the local villagers. Flavigny-sur-Ozerain is well worth a visit for anyone enjoying one of the barge holidays in the region, especially anyone who has seen the film or read the book on which it was based.

Eliean Donan Castle

This splendid Scots castle towers imperiously over Loch Duich, Loch Long and Loch Alsh. Connected to the mainland by a stone bridge, one can see just from the outside that it would have been a point of stalwart resistance to any attackers. Anyone considering barge holidays in the western Highlands might want to make a visit to the castle, which featured most famously in the cult classic Highlander. The castle also featured as a location in the last Bond film to feature Pierce Brosnan, The World is Not Enough, forever immortalised as one of the most confusingly plotted Bond films, involving an antagonist who felt no pain. Visiting Eilean Donan Castle allows you to step back in time to discover some fascinating Scottish history as well as recalling its more modern appearances on film.

Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte

This stunning Baroque chateau featured in the film based on Dumas’ classic story, The Man in the Iron Mask. Featuring magnificently forested surroundings, stunning architecture and expansive English-style gardens, not to mention a historically valuable, masterfully painted interior, anyone on their barge holidays in the Champagne region should consider a visit to this chateau.

Dorney Court

Anyone visiting Buckinghamshire, who also has an interest in film, may well wish to visit this stunning manor house. The grand, wood-panelled great hall featured in the movie, The Other Boleyn Girl, as the room where the Duke of Norfolk questioned Mary Boleyn about her evening with the King. As well as its history on the silver screen, the house itself is a sight to see, being a genuine early Tudor building. As such, it will strike a chord with both history and architecture fans. Dorney Court is easily reachable by anyone cruising the Thames.

Barge holidays are a fantastic way to experience a waterway, the surrounding countryside, and any points of historical or cultural interest along the way. Aspects of cinematic history are no exception and film buffs will often find much to enjoy.

Paul Newman is the Marketing and E-Systems Executive for European Waterways, a provider of luxury, all-inclusive barge holidays. If you're looking for superior barge holidays in Europe, we offer experiences in France, Holland, Italy and the UK.

Writer and Online Marketing Manager in London.