Hotel barge

The Hotel Barge (fr. Péniche Hôtel) came into being following the decline in commercial and freight carriage on the canals of Europe. Many working barges have been converted into floating hotels of varying degrees of luxury. This trend began in the 1960s and has now grown into a network of hotel barges operating on the canals and rivers of France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and the UK.

History

Pleasure cruising on European canals has a long history, and purpose-built boats offering accommodation have operated on these waterways since the 19th century, most notably the fleet on the Göta Canal in Sweden. The conversion of regular barges into passenger vessels offering simple cabin facilities dates back in England to 1923, when the Pauline, a Thames barge, was fitted out to ply on the Norfolk Broads. The Inland Waterways Association Festival of Boats and Arts in Market Harborough in 1950 featured Wanderer and Wayfarer, a pair of narrow boats which had been converted to provide accommodation, and in the following years several more such boats appeared on the English canals. The English canals were narrow, though, and only limited facilities could be provided.