Boating In France River Loire

The River Loire
The longest river in France, running for about 600 miles northward from its source in the Massif through Burgundy Orleans, Tours and Angers to the Atlantic west of Nantes. One of the most attractive, and one of the most famous of French rivers, it may come as a surprise to learn that most of its length is not navigable as it’s so shallow! This wasn’t always the case, and at one time almost 500 miles of it was used by commercial traffic, but now it is mainly silted up and most of it is only navigable by  canoeists

However the 60 mile section from Nantes to Angers is deep enough to accommodate large pleasure cruisers and is a very attractive proposition, with churches, castles and islands as you approach the Loire Valley region with its world-famous chateaux.

Leaving Nantes the Loire is very wide, but with sandbanks and islands galore, so it’s important for cruisers to stay within the buoyed channel at all times to avoid running aground. The river flows through several interesting villages such as Le Haut Village, Thouaré, Mauves-sur-Loire, Oudon (where there are useful moorings) Champtoceaux,    Challonnes-sur-Loire, and  Ingrandes further up-stream where again there are moorings.

Further still up-stream lies the interesting small town of Ancenis, where it’s possible to moor at the old quay used by the Loire passenger steamers in years gone by, and the old town with its castle are worth a visit. Ancenis is the gateway to Anjou, and the 16th century chateau is impressive.

At Bouchemaine there is a junction with the (mainly un-navigable) Loire itself continuing eastward, and the canalised River Maine running northward through meadowland to Angers.

Angers itself is a large town, famous for its black slate roofs, with a fine harbour with water and electricity, situated opposite the castle which was the seat of the Dukes of Anjou. It’s an interesting but very busy town worth a visit.

Although this is about the extent of cruising possibilities on the Loire itself, it’s by no means the limit to cruising in this region, and the main attraction of the Loire is as an access to the Maine and other interesting rivers in Anjou. Indeed for many Angers is best known for being the starting point for exploring the rivers Sarthe and Mayenne and the Anjou region.

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