Marguerite has spent her first season in Burgundy. Next winter she moves to the Seine. Belmond will charter her in Paris over the 2027 festive season, three days and two nights for a party of up to eight.
The boat arrives through Les Bateaux Belmond, the house's fleet of slow vessels. Belmond announced the Paris programme on 2 November, in its news for 2027. It is the first time Marguerite has worked the capital.
Guests book her whole. There is no cabin-by-cabin sale and no strangers at dinner. The party takes the boat as a floating residence for Christmas, New Year or a birthday that happens to fall in December.
The river
The route follows the Seine through the centre of the city in festive season, when Paris is at its most lit. Marguerite passes the landmarks at walking pace, which is the right speed for them.
A dedicated Guest Experience Manager runs the days. The itinerary includes exclusive access to Parisian attractions and to LVMH maisons, so the hours ashore are arranged before anyone steps off the gangway. Belmond has not published the full list of doors.
Paris in December is a city to be seen from the water, with the heating on.
The Splendid EditThe table
Food leads the programme. Dominique Crenn, the Michelin-starred chef, has written the festive menus. She already cooks for Marguerite in Burgundy, so the boat arrives in Paris with her kitchen habits intact.
Dinner is intimate by design. Eight guests, one table, the river sliding past the windows. The festive season suits that scale. A long dinner on a still boat leaves time for the conversation that Christmas usually crowds out.
Seating in the salon aboard Marguerite, A Belmond Boat. Courtesy of Belmond.
The boat
Marguerite is a rebuilt barge, newly reimagined for Belmond, with a salon in greens, mustard and warm timber. The room reads like a small hotel lounge that happens to float. Wide windows keep the water in view from every seat.
For a family planning a Parisian Christmas, the appeal is practical as much as pretty. The suitcases stay in one room, the hotel is the transport, and the city comes to the window. Bookings for the 2027 season sit with Belmond.