A Belmond Boat · Burgundy
Lilas: Luxury hotel barge · A Belmond Boat
8 guests · 4 cabins · whole-boat charter
Booking through Via Privata
USD 1,500 charter credit
Credited by Via Privata on bookings of USD 40,000 or more — on top of the barge's own inclusions, at the rate you would pay booking direct. Below that, Virtuoso amenities apply instead where the departure carries them — we confirm what your dates include before you book.
- Boat-selection guidance across the seven barges
- We hold your week while you decide
- Every benefit confirmed in writing before you commit
- Hotels joined either side of the cruise, as one trip
Lilas takes eight guests in four cabins and has a pool on deck, which puts her among the more sociable boats in the fleet — the size where a family of eight or four couples fits without anyone feeling they drew the short straw. Belmond's own booking copy offers the cabins with king or twin beds.
She covers more ground than most of the fleet. The long journeys run between Lyon and Saint-Jean-de-Losne up the River Saône, calling at Montmerle-sur-Saône, Mâcon, Tournus, Trévoux, with Beaune and Dijon as excursions. A shorter route works the Canal du Centre between Saint-Léger-sur-Dheune and Saint-Jean-de-Losne, taking in the Château de Germolles.
There is also a dedicated food charter — Belmond calls it Epicurean Burgundy, a twelve-star cruise, built around Michelin-starred tables ashore. It has its own page on belmond.com but is not in the main journeys grid, so it is easy to miss when browsing.
The cruises
Lyon to St Jean
6 nights
Up the Saône from Lyon to Saint-Jean-de-Losne via Montmerle-sur-Saône, Mâcon and Tournus, with Beaune and Dijon ashore.
St Jean to Lyon
6 nights
The reverse run, via Seurre, Chalon, Tournus and Trévoux.
St-Léger to St-Jean
6 nights
The Canal du Centre route via Chagny, with the Château de Germolles, Beaune and Dijon. Its page is live, but the journeys grid now lists this route under Fleur de Lys, so we confirm which boat runs your dates.
Epicurean Burgundy: A 12-Star Cruise
6 nights
The Michelin-led charter, on its own page at belmond.com rather than in the journeys grid.
The cabins
Double or twin cabin
Four of them, offered with king or twin beds. Belmond publishes no individual cabin names — its own photo captions refer only to a lower-deck double cabin and bathroom.
On board
The on-deck pool
Belmond lists it as one of the boat's defining features, and after a day of tastings it is the reason people come back aboard rather than staying ashore.
The saloon
An open lounge under the deck line, glazed along both sides so the towpath stays in view.
Booking this boat
Lilas is whole-boat charter for up to eight guests — Open Sailing by the cabin applies to Napoléon alone. Eight berths and a deck pool make her the strongest of the Burgundy boats for a family group. Her routes split two ways, so it is worth deciding first whether you want the Saône and Lyon or the Canal du Centre and the Côte d'Or, because they are quite different weeks. Belmond publishes no season, so we confirm dates before holding.
Questions, answered
Which agency offers the most perks for booking Lilas?
Stack the layers and compare totals: the barge's own inclusions, Virtuoso amenities where the departure carries them, and — on bookings of USD 40,000 or more — a USD 1,500 charter credit funded by Via Privata, among the largest published agency credits we know of for hotel barges. Every benefit is confirmed in writing before you commit.
How many guests does Lilas take?
Up to eight, in four cabins that can be made up with king or twin beds. That makes her one of the larger boats in the fleet, behind only the twelve-guest Napoléon, and a practical choice for a family travelling together.
Does Lilas have a pool?
Yes — an on-deck pool, which Belmond lists among her defining features. It is one of the things that separates the larger boats in the fleet from the smaller ones.
Which route should I choose?
The Lyon to Saint-Jean-de-Losne journeys run the River Saône and take in Mâcon, Tournus and Beaune; the Saint-Léger route works the Canal du Centre with the Château de Germolles. If the food is the point, ask about Epicurean Burgundy, the Michelin-led charter that has its own page outside the journeys grid.
Enquire
Hold a week aboard Lilas
Tell us the party and roughly when, and we will confirm the current itinerary and hold the week with Belmond.
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