H2olidays

Locaboat

Burgundy Franche-Comte

A boat trip with the Pénichette in Southern Burgundy gives you the chance to discover the Canal du Centre, next to famous Chalonnais vineyards as Mercurey , Santenay or Montrachet . The Saône and the Seille offer many bathing opportunities. The Petite Saône at Gray and the Canal du Rhône au Rhin at Besançon are beautiful waterways with only a few locks. Going upstream the Canal de Vosges in direction Fontenoy-le-Château and Epinal , you pass the superb forests of the Vosges .

South Burgundy
St-Léger , Loisy
The base at St-Léger-sur-Dheune is ideally placed: cruising the Canal du Centre you pass through some of the most renowned vineyards of the Côte Chalonnaise . Along the twisting valley of the Dheune sparkle the varnished tile roofs of charming villages . At the foot of the Côte Chalonnaise are world-famous wine producing villages: Mercurey , Santenay with its 13 th century church of St-Jean-de-Naroise standing amid the vines, Montrachet , synonymous with fine whites, and Rully with its 12 th century castle.
Further south, the Saône and the Seille offer a voyage of discovery and many possibilities for swimming . Your route through this landscape of ponds and pastures leads to Louhans , classed “the prettiest detour in France”.

Saône Franche Comté
Scey-sur-Saone
The Saône is one of France's most attractive rivers, with few locks, rural scenery, and generously proportioned farmhouses, their windowboxes gay with flowers. On the forest floor too, the earth brings forth a generous offering of mushrooms. The well-preserved villages in the Maçonnais and the Dôle region are a constant delight. Climbing north on the Canal des Vosges through the forests of the Vosges you glide through an amphitheatre of ash, silver birch and other trees. The towns of Fontenoy-le-Château and Epinal reveal their many charms.
From Dôle to Besançon the Canal du Rhone au Rhin follows the course of the River Doubs past rocky cliffs and between wooded slopes. The arrival in Besançon is truly dramatic: A 394m long tunnel allows you to pass right underneath the great fortress built by Vauban in the 17th century and to make a complete circuit of the city by water.

The heritage
St Jean de Losne
This small village is known until today as "capital of sailors". The harbour , far wawy from the sea, is astonishing. The vineyards Côtes de Nuits and Côte de Beaune are famous around the world. The rectangular towers of the vineyard of Vouget outshine one of the most famous vineyards of the region.
Tournus
with its gallo-romanic past and the old buildings, this city is the international centre of roman studies. The abbey Saint-Philibert from the Merovingian epoch is only one example of the extraordinary roman art in Burgundy.
Louhans
Dating from the 15th and 16th century, the arcades and Facades along the "Grand Rue" offer a spectacle unique in France. The Hospital " Hôtel-dieu " accomodates an impressive ancient pharmacy. Another particularity ist the "Atelier d'imprimerie ": Here you can visit the last survivor of the ancient printing artisanry of France.
Saône , Seille and Doubs
According to the legend, the Doubs , father of the Saône , had to pick a husband of coequal beauty: the Rhône . This beautiful couple gave birth to a nice little river, the SEille . Indeed, the Seille meanders its way passing beautiful landscape and small, typical villages, where it is pleasant to take a rest.

Here are some cruising suggestions...

1 Week

Scey-sur-Saone - Scey-sur-Saone
Petite Saone
Scey-sur-Saone , Gray, Pontailler , Auxonne . Scey-sur-Saone
202 km - Locks: 26 - navigation: 5 : 0' / Day

St-Léger - St-Léger
Canal du Centre
St-Léger , Montceau-les-mînes , Paray-le-Monial St-Léger
138 km - Locks: 82 - navigation: 5 : 15' / Day

St-Léger - St-Léger
Canal du Centre, Saone , Seille
St-Léger , Chagny , Châlon , Tournus , Louhans . St-Léger
218 km - Locks: 41 - navigation: 5 : 0' / Day

St-Léger - Loisy
Seille , Saone , Canal du Centre
St-Léger , Chagny , Châlon , Tournus , Louhans Loisy
131 km - Locks: 23 - navigation: 3 : 30' / Day

Scey-sur-Saone - Scey-sur-Saone
Petite Saone , Saone , Canal des Vosges
Scey-sur-Saone , Port-sur-Saône , Corre , Fontenoy Scey-sur-Saone
136 km - Locks: 34 - navigation: 4 : 30' / Day

Loisy - Loisy 

Seille - Saône
Loisy , Louhans , Tournus , Mâcon , Loisy 

119 km - 8 locks -  3h / day


10 days

Scey-sur-Saone - Scey-sur-Saone
Petite Saone , Saone , Canal du Rhone au Rhin
Scey-sur-Saone , Gray, Auxonne , Dôle . Scey-sur-Saone
260 km - Locks: 46 - navigation: 5 : 0' / Day

St-Léger - St-Léger
Canal du Centre, Saône
St-Léger , Chagny , Verdun s/le Doubs , St Jean de Losne . St-Léger
196 km - Locks: 42 - navigation: 5 : 0' / Day

2 Weeks

Scey-sur-Saone - Scey-sur-Saone
Petite Saone , Saone
Scey-sur-Saone, Gray, Seurre, Tournus, Louhans. Scey-sur-Saone
484 km - Locks: 41 - navigation: 5 : 15' / Day

St-Léger - St-Léger
Canal du Centre, Saone, Seille , Canal du Rhone au Rhin
St-Léger, Chagny, Châlon, Seurre, Dôle, Besançon St-Léger
339 km - Locks: 86 - navigation: 5 : 0' / Day

St-Léger - Loisy
Seille, Saone, Canal du Centre
St-Léger, Châlon, Seurre, Verdun, Châlon, Tournus, Louhans Loisy
266 km - Locks: 27 - navigation: 3 : 30' / Day

Scey-sur-Saone - Scey-sur-Saone
Petite Saone, Saone, Canal du Rhone au Rhin
Scey-sur-Saone, Gray, Dôle, Besançon. Scey-sur-Saone
382 km - Locks: 94 - navigation: 5 : 30' / DayScey sur Saône - Loisy