In the Summer and Autumn, Panache cruises the beautiful waterways of Alsace & Lorraine. It is a region in Eastern France with a unique mix of French and German cultures, Baroque and Romanesque architecture, storybook villages, diverse culinary specialities and wonderful white wines.

The Canal de la Marne au Rhin (195 miles - 155 locks) connects the River Marne in Vitry-le-François with the River Rhine in Strasbourg. Combined with the canalized part of the Marne, it allows transport between Paris and eastern France.

Built between 1838 and 1853, the Canal de la Marne au Rhin was built to solve the problem of going through the Vosges Mountains, especially climbing up its eastern side to its lower point - the Col de Saverne. This was first solved by means of a ladder of 17 locks, allowing a level change of 146 feet over a distance of 2.5 miles. In 1969, the ladder of 17 locks was replaced by a transversal inclined plane allowing a barge to glide effortlessly up or down the mountainside using a system of weights and balances. The canal
also has 4 tunnels ranging in length from 0.3 miles to 3 miles.

Bounded by the Rhine on the east and the Alsatian slopes of the softly rolling Vosges Mountains on the west, the Canal de la Marne au Rhin crosses the northern part of the French province of Alsace and Lorraine traveling via Nancy, Lagarde and Saverne. It traverses a land of quaint villages, cities, and sprawling vineyards producing Riesling and other fine Alsatian wines. Half-timbered houses with pretty window boxes, onion-domed church-towers, and intricate wrought-ironwork give villages a festival air. Alsace has changed hands many times over the centuries.

Germany thinks the mountains are the natural border; France thinks it's the Rhine River. Having been a political pawn for 1,000 years, Alsace has a hybrid culture

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