Built in 1960 in Belgium, L’Impressionniste is a barge with two special features. She was built in the Spitz-style, meaning she was originally intended to be pulled along the canals by horse, and she has a Luxe Motor-style bow, meaning she has a characteristic upsweep to the front and living quarters at the back. Her overall shape and proportions are a marriage of styles between Belgian and Dutch barges.
Following a lengthy career transporting grain and timber between Paris and Brussels, L’Impressionniste was converted into a hotel barge in 1996. Her new layout was based on hotel barge La Belle Epoque, which European Waterways had renovated a year earlier.
Originally powered by an eight-cylinder Deutz engine, she had a top speed of 16 kilometres per hour. However, in the year 2000, L’Impressionniste was given a higher-powered Scania 250 horsepower engine to navigate the strong currents of the River Rhône between Avignon and Agde.
After a decade of cruising the Rhône, L’Impressionniste was reassigned to her current route. Since 2010, she has cruised with European Waterways passengers on the picturesque Canal de Bourgogne.