Flavigny-Sur-Ozerain: Chocolat’s Backdrop

You may already have heard about the luxury and slow-paced bliss of our hotel barge holidays, but what you might not know about is the historical and cultural richness of our barge routes. Today we’d like to tell you a little about our historical and characterful barge, La Belle Epoque, and one of the towns her passengers can visit along the way – one where the critically acclaimed and popular film Chocolat was shot in 2000.

La Belle Epoque is already steeped in local history, having originally carried logs from Burgundy to Paris. It’s oddly fitting, then, that she should pass through such a historic town, both in terms of its ancient architecture and its more recent prominence as the location where the excellent Chocolat was filmed.

La Belle Epoque cruises the idyllic Burgundy Canal, passing through miles of beautiful French countryside, past picturesque villages, towns and chateaux. When you finally visit the town of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, you’ll begin to understand why it was chosen as the set of this unique and moving film.

The central theme of a strong, vivacious character living her life against centuries of stagnant tradition is etched into the beautiful but imposing medieval architecture and the stone walls all around. The combination of the stoic, uncompromising nature of the structures with the sublime beauty and peace of the town, not to mention its timeless, isolated feel, provide the perfect atmosphere for the story of beautiful, heart-warming relationships erupting within a repressive, old-fashioned framework.

If you’ve been considering a barge holiday and you have a passion for film, please do consider a trip on La Belle Epoque. Combining a historically and culturally rich route with the charming character of the vessel makes for a holiday experience like no other.

Additionally, Flavigny-sur-Ozerain isn’t the only film location on our cruises, and we look forward to telling our film buff barge-lovers about some of the others!