Boating In France - Aquitane, Gascony & The Lot

The River Baise: Navigation on the River Baise is a relatively recent innovation, and the wild charm of this river from Buzet-sur-Baise to Valence-sur-Baise, a distance of around 40 miles with 20 locks,  returning over the same route makes for an interesting week or so’s cruise.

There are a good number of places of interest en-route, such as Vianne, a pleasant town known particularly for its glassworks and Friday evening market, the beautiful town of Nérac with the remains of Henri 1V’s chateau, the chateau of Pomerade, Moncrabeau, Condom, and of course Valence-sur-Baise itself which is a bastide town established in 1274 by Cistercian monks.

The River Garonne: The Garonne River rises on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees, and runs for some 350 miles to the Atlantic at Bordeaux. The navigable length is tidal, and requires more experience than is needed for most of France’s inland waterways - From Bordeaux south to Castes-en-Dorthe it is subject to strong tides and navigation can be quite challenging, requiring great care and sailing experience, so most of this section is not normally available to hire craft; indeed a full international licence is required to navigate the river to seaward of Castets towards Bordeaux .

The Canal de Garonne (previously known as the Canal Lateral) was originally constructed in the middle of the 19th century to avoid the difficult conditions prevailing on the River Garonne, and its path therefore runs more or less parallel with the river. It runs from Castets-en-Dorthe, where it joins the Garonne River, for some 120 miles south-westwards through some 50 or so locks to Toulouse where it joins the Canal du Midi. It also has a link to the River Tarn at Moissac.

Heading south-east from Castets-en-Dorthe along the canal there are many attractive and interesting villages, notably Meilhan, from where you can climb the hill to the look-out to enjoy the view across the Garonne Valley,  Marmande which is the agricultural capital of the region, and famous for its tomatoes,  Tonneins which is home to the (doubtless now non-PC!) Royal Tobacco factory,  open to the public along with a miniature vehicle museum and the ancient fortified town of Damazan.

The next port of call is Buzet-sur-Baise, which is the principal town of this small wine-growing region, and where there are excellent mooring facilities. From Buzet you have the choice of heading south down the River Baise (see above) or continuing south-eastward along the canal towards Montech and Tououse.

Leaving Buzet on the Canal de Garonne you travel through the area of the Gascony countryside famous since the 16th century for its pigeon houses, and you can actually spot many different designs of “pigeonnier” as you cruise along the canal. Arriving at
Agen you’ll cross a magnificent 550 metre long canal bridge which was constructed around 1840. Agen itself (“the capital of prunes” with a prune museum!) is the principal city of the Lot-et-Garonne department and used to mark to boundary between the lands ruled by the king of France and those rules by the king of England. There are excellent mooring facilities here too.

Heading east from Agen the canal runs close to the river, through the very attractive village of Auvillar which is well worth a stop. The next town of note is Moissac, famous for its 11th century cloistered abbey and for its swing-bridge close to where the canal is effectively the middle of a wide street!  There are excellent mooring facilities at the harbour.

Shortly after leaving Moissac there is a 350 metre aqueduct and a junction with a lock leading into the River Tarn (see chapter) followed by a few more locks before reaching Castelsarrasin,  followed by the interesting Montech Water Slope – this is a system whereby barges (not pleasure craft) take a different route through a 440 metre trough in which the barge floats and is pushed up a slope by a pair of diesel locomotives – boats under 20 metres long (i.e. virtually all hire cruisers) have to use the next five locks instead of the Water Slope though.

From Montech there is the possibility of taking a 6 mile detour or excursion along the recently opened Canal de Montech to the interesting town of Montauban, where there is a town-centre harbour and moorings. Montauban is an interesting town, with a 14th century bridge, arcades and a fine 17th century Archbishops Palace.

Leaving Montech the canal runs close to the railway line all the way to Toulouse and although the countryside is pleasant with many orchards, and canal-side villages, as you approach Toulouse it becomes increasingly industrial although of course the old city of Toulouse itself is beautiful. There are good secure moorings available at the city’s Port Saint-Sauveur.

The River Lot: At some 300 miles The Lot is France’s 7th longest river, rising in the hills of Lozere and flowing westward to join the Garonne at Aiguillon. It was first made partly navigable in the 12th century, and further developed in 17th and 19th centuries, until it fell into disuse in the first half of the 20th century. It remained more or less closed to navigation until 1991 when restoration began with the aim of attracting leisure craft. Restoration has continued ever since, and now there are many miles of this lovely river and its wild and beautiful valley navigable by pleasure craft.

Unfortunately there is one section of the Lot, from Lustrac to Luzech, which is not yet navigable so for the present one must choose to explore either the western part of the river, between the junction with the Garonne and Lustrac or the eastern part between Luzech and St.Cirq-Lapopie.

For those who choose to explore the Lot valley other than by boat there is a dedicated and specially signposted Lot Valley Bicycle Trail which follows the river closely from Aiguillon to Solturac – it passes through most of the main ports, and cyclists can make use of those ports’ facilities.



The navigable eastern section of the River Lot, from Luzech in the west to Saint Cirq Lapopie is one of the wilder sections of the river and makes for an interesting week or so’s cruise.

Leaving Luzech the river runs through Caix, from where it’s easy to visit the chateau, then continues through Parnac with its local wine caves, and thence through several interesting villages to the large lock and historic bridge at Valentré.

The first major port is at Cahors, a bustling small town well worth a visit -  there are good mooring facilities.

Continuing eastward en-route to Saint Cirq-Lapopie you pass through Acambat, famous for its brewery, Vers, where Jeffrey and Sally Stride have their art gallery and Bouziés, noted for its suspension bridge, and as a popular boat-hire base.

  Saint Cirq-Lapopie is a really beautiful village, particularly noted for its craftsmen - and there is a nearby chateau too. However it is a very popular tourist destination and gets crowded during the high season. Effectively St Cirq is as far as you can get along this section of the Lot, although we understand there are plans to extend the navigable section further east in the future.

A fully detailed Navigation & Tourist Guide (The Guide Fluvial Lot) to these waters is available from Boating-in-France – see appendix 1 for details of how to order the Guides Fluvial