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Burgundy
Access to the navigable rivers and canals of the Burgundy Region is often via the River Yonne which is navigable for some 65 miles with 26 locks from a junction with the River Seine at Montereau to join the Canal de Nivernais at Auxerre. There is also a connection with the Canal de Bourgogne at Laroche Migennes.
The Yonne actually has its source in the Morvan hills, and flows for over 150 miles before joining the Seine, but canalisation in the middle of the 19th Century concentrated on making it navigable for commercial traffic connecting the Canal de Nivernais, and the Canal de Bourgogne with the River Seine. Nowadays of course there’s little commercial traffic, but quite a lot of hire cruisers!
Travelling from the north towards the south-east from the junction with the Seine at the old town of Montereau-faut-Yonne, one passes through several quite interesting villages, Pont-sur-Yonne and Villeneuve-sur-Yonne before reaching a very attractive section and the charming medieval town of Joigny where it is well worth making a stop to explore; if you’re a lover of good food the well-known restaurant “La Cote St.Jacques” even has its own moorings!
From Joigny it’s only a short trip to the junction to Auxerre and the Canal de Nivernais, or slightly further to the junction with the Canal du Bourgogne at Laroche-Mignennes.
The Canal de Bourgogne (the Burgundy Canal) is arguably France’s second most important inland waterway, in terms at least of pleasure craft, after the Canal du Midi.
It runs for some 150 miles with 190 locks from the junction of the River Yonne at Laroche Migennes to a junction with the River Saône at St.Jean de Losne, and is probably the prettiest and most interesting of the several navigable routes from the English Channel to the Mediterranean used by yachtsmen.
Leaving the River Yonne at Laroche and heading south-east the canal runs fairly straight to the first port of any consequence, Brienon, which has useful moorings and is a hire-cruiser centre.
Next comes the interesting and popular tourist town of St.Florentin which boasts a wealth of old stone buildings, and again there are good moorings. Continuing south-eastward the canal climbs through Germigny, Percey, Flogny, Tronchoy, Cheney and Dannemoine you reach the town of Tonnerre, originally a Roman spa, where you can still see the Fosse Dionne, a circular basin fed by a spring that was the public washing place.
Still continuing to climb, the canal runs along the Armancon 
Valley past the 15th century Protestant Chateau of Tanlay and then the 16th Century chateau at Ancy-le-Franc, a beautiful example of Renaissance architecture, before reaching the town of Montbard which is a hire-cruiser base with useful moorings and a good market.
The next section is hard work as there are no less than 55 locks in the next 25 miles as the canal reaches its summit at Pouilly! However a stop-off and visit to the town of Venarey-les-Laumes, another hire-cruiser base and capital of the Auxois Region, provides an opportunity to get a panoramic view of the canal rising to its summit before you embark on the first set of locks! For the benefit of the less energetic there are several places along this section where you can moor up and take a break.
Once you have reached the summit at Pouilly, a pleasant town with a nice harbour, and a variety of restaurants, shops etc, the next challenge is the two miles long Pouilly Tunnel which is actually quite straightforward although you need to obtain a “passage ticket” which you can get from the lock-keeper before leaving the last lock.
From Pouilly to Dijon it’s literally all downhill along one of the most beautiful stretches of waterway anywhere in the world, running through the lovely village of Chateauneuf-en-Auxois with its 12th and 15th Century chateau and houses from the same period, and through glorious Burgundian countryside and many other attractive villages, such as Bligny-sur-Ouche, Fleurey-sur-Ouche and Velars-sur-Ouche before reaching the outskirts of Dijon at Plombieres-les-Dijon where there are useful moorings.
The city of Dijon has its own very pleasant harbour which enables one to explore this surprisingly attractive city with beautiful architecture, including buildings such as the cathedral, two interesting churches, the High Court (formerly the Burgundy parliament building) several museums and many good restaurants.
The Canal de Nivernais: Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful of the French inland waterways, the Canal de Nivernais links the Loire Valley to the Seine Valley via the Morvan Regional Park, running between a junction with the River Yonne at Auxerre for some 110 miles, with a similar number of locks, to join the Loire at St.Leger-des-Vignes
First opened in 1842, it’s now one of several routes taken by yachtsmen cruising from the English Channel through France to the Mediterranean, and apart from hire-cruisers there’s almost no commercial traffic on it nowadays. For much of its length the banks are planted with a variety of fruit trees and nut trees, and from Auxerre to Coulanges-sur-Yonne the towpath has been converted into a cycle-way.
Auxerre itself is an attractive city and a popular port, well worth spending time to explore and with good mooring facilities. As you leave there southbound the canal actually follows the course of the river for some while, through Champs-sur-Yonne where the canal is separated from the river by a stone wall to the village of Bailly, where there is a wine co-operative with medieval underground cellars open to visitors.
The canal continues to meander through this wonderful wine-growing region, passing many attractive villages worth exploring, while still maintaining a course more or less alongside the Yonne. At Mailly-le-Chateau there is a 16th century bridge over the Yonne and a boatmen’s chapel; the exceptionally attractive lock at La Place and the towns of Chatel-Censoir and Lucy-sur-Yonne are also interesting.
Running through chalk cliffs the canal meets both the Yonne and Beuvron rivers at Clamecy, which is a very attractive town completely surrounded by water, with good moorings and which is ideal for an overnight stop.
Laving Clamecy, and climbing towards its summit, the canal continues to flow parallel to the course of the Yonne through Tannay, Monceaux-le-Comte, Chity-les-Mines, where silver used to be mined, and the old fortified town of Corbigny before reaching the summit near the Chateau of Marcilly, where, before beginning its descent the canal runs through three tunnels near the village of La Collancelle.
The approach to the tunnels is narrow, and runs in deep cuttings (from April to October there are organised walks from La Collancelle to view the interesting canal engineering works along this section). The three tunnels, La Collancelle (210 metres), Mouas (270 metres) and Breuilles (760 metres) don’t present any serious problem, but you must follow the instructions and obey the traffic lights. Once through the tunnels there are excellent mooring facilities near the Etang de Baye..
Having passed through several more locks the canal reaches the interesting small town of Chatillon-en-Bazois with its imposing chateau, and where there are moorings, but after Chatillon the canal follows a series of very tight curves, requiring care to avoid collision, before joining the River Aron at Fleury and entering the little port at Pannecot.
Passing the chateau at Vandenesse, through Cercy-la-Tour, and the lovely little villages of Verneuil and Champvert, we reach the town of St.Leger-des-Vignes where there are moorings before the canal joins the Loire through Decize prior to linking up with the Canal Lateral de la Loire.
The Canal Lateral de la Loire
This canal runs for some 120 miles through 40 locks from a junction with the Canal de Briare, at Briare, to a junction with the Canal du Centre at Digoin. The old port of Briare itself has good facilities, including a variety of restaurants, shops etc.
Having crossed the Loire at Briare the canal runs through Chatillon-sur-Loire, a very attractive small town where you can take a guided walk during the summer season; after passing the nuclear power station at Belleville the next place of interest is Cosne-sur-Loire, famous in the 18th century for its forges which supplied the navy with anchors and cannon – nowadays it’s a busy shopping centre. The towns of St.
Satur and St. Thibault are fairly unremarkable, but the next town, Sancerre is renowned for its wine and for views over the Loire Valley.
La Chapelle-Montlinard offers good mooring facilities and is a useful stop-over to visit La Charité-sur-Loire, an attractive town now famous for its bookshops and its 16th century stone bridge. Next comes the important canal port and barge town of Marseilles-les-Aubigny which used to be the point where the Canal Lateral joined the now defunct Canal de Berry – it’s still an important canal port, with a boatyard where former commercial barges are converted into “house-boats”
Continuing through a mainly wooded landscape and the port of Plagny (only some 6 miles for the Magny-Cours motor racing circuit, home of the French F1 Grand-Prix) you reach the city of Nevers, capital of the Nivernais region, and now with a pleasant harbour and a restaurant serving genuine Loire Whitebait. Nevers, with its large cathedral, Ducal Palace and other old buildings is well worth a visit.
The canal continues through a largely agricultural landscape, with a succession of small villages including Fleury, Decize, Gannay-sur-Loire and Paray-le-Frésil while passing interesting features such as the Abbaye de Sept-Fons until it reaches the 240 metre long Digoin Aqueduct, the town of Digoin itself and the Canal du Centre.
The Canal du Centre
This canal runs from a junction with the Canal Lateral à la Loire at Digoin for some 65 miles to the River Saone at Chalon-sur-Soane, and was originally constructed to carry coal, but nowadays the majority of the traffic using it is recreational rather than commercial.
From Digoin the canal runs through Palinges and Genelard to the pretty village of Ciry-le-Noble following which there is a stretch of very pleasant hilly countryside before the industrialised mining town of Montceau-les-Mines.
The summit level is reached near Montchanin, and after passing the village of Ecuisses there is another pleasant stretch of the canal through St Bérain-sur-Dheune and St.Leger-sur-Dheune to Dennevy and Cheilly-les-Marange.
Bordering the Cote d’Or vineyards the canal continues via Santenay, Chagny and Le Gauchard to the outskirts of Chalon-sur-Saone.
The Canal de Briare
The Canal de Briare links the Loire to the Seine from Briare to Buges, near Montargis It’s only just over 30 miles long, with some 36 locks, with many reminders of its origins in the 17th century.
The town of Briare is interesting in as much as its prosperity and history are inexorably linked to the waterways, and there is a museum devoted to this on the Blvd. Buyser.
In fact this pleasant canal plays an integral part in the life of many of the towns and villages through which it passes. Places of particular interest on, or close to, this attractive waterway include Rogny-les-Sept-Ecluses, a staircase of seven locks, and a popular hire-cruiser base, the nearby Chateau of la Bussiere, and Montargis, known as the “little Venice of the Gatinais” after its many small canals. Fully detailed Navigation & Tourist Guides (The Guides Fluvial) to these waters are available from Boating-in-France – see appendix 1 for details of how to order the Guides Fluvial
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