Crown Blue Line

Burgundy offers an extensive cruising ground on both canals and rivers, with equally diverse landscapes: lush pastures, vast plains, vineyard-covered hills and forests. In the wine capital of France, wine-lovers will be spoilt for choice when choosing wine to accompany a gourmet meal: Gevrey-Chambertin, Vosne-Romanée, Nuits St George and Pommard.

Saint Jean de Losne - Chagny and return : Saône + Canal du Centre 175 km ; 28 locks ; 35 hours cruising

Highlights: Nicephore Niepce museum at Châlon, vineyards at Chagny, Nuits St George, Beaune

Saint Jean de Losne – Louhans and return : Saône + Seille 293 km ; 16 locks ; 38 hours cruising

Highlights: Magnificent Chalôn, Tournus, Market town of Louhans; excellent fishing

Saint Jean de Losne – Besançon and return : Doubs 150 km; 48 locks; 32 hours cruising

Highlights: Dole, pasteur’s birth place, Oselle , Besançon Citadel

Fontenoy le Chateau – Charmes and return : Canal de l’Est 130 km ; 130 locks ; 43 hours cruising

Highlights: Wooded countryside, home to deer and game birds; Epinal, capital of the Vosges

Fontenoy le Chateau – St Jean de Losne ONE WAY: Canal de l’Est + Saône 160 km ; 33 locks ; 32 hours cruising

Highlights: Glass crystal works at La Rochere, spanish houses at Scey, Gray, Auxonne including a museum of Bonaparte’s life

Fontenoy le Chateau – Gray and return 200 km; 30 locks; 35 hours cruising

Highlights: Glass crystal works at La Rochere, spanish houses at Scey, Gray

Connoisseur

The Saone:The Beautiful clear waters of the Saone run from Burgundy to Franche Comté. In the north the river meanders gently through a scenic valley where you can stop off at towns such as Jussey, famous for it’s many flower-adorned fountains streets lined with pretty painted Spanish houses.Downstream, Gray, your Connoisseur base, is a town rich in heritage and was one of the leading river ports in the 19th century for the wine, wheat and iron trades. Dip into the culture and take advantage of the many sights it offers including the 15th century Notre Dame basilica.
Cruising southwards, discover the small walled city of Auxonne, an historic town with half-timbered houses and a museum in honour of Napoleon, who was garrisoned here. At St Jean de Losne, the waterways cross and the Saone widens out majestically to reveal the Medieval towns of Chalon sur Saone and Tournus further downstream: let them entice you ashore with their beautiful chapels and museums.
From the Saone runs the Canal de Rhone au Rhin, which has plenty to offer within it’s ruged countryside. The two towns of Dole and Besancon are both full of interest and quite spectacular when seen from the water. The canal borrows long sections of the River Doubs, winding between steep cliffs, wooded hillsides and picturesque villages.
Similarly, take the opportunity to cruise the Canal de Centre, which runs through some of the finest vineyards and idyllic towns in the region, and is a popular destination with historians.

The Seille: The river Seille is one of the prettiest small rivers in France, where cruising is peaceful and the rural banks are a perfect setting for fishermen and nature lovers alike.
As you cruise through this enchanting world, don’t miss the opportunity to go upstream to visit the market town of Louhans, the capital of the Bresse region. It boasts a picturesque arcaded town and a lively Monday market specialising in livestock and local delicacies.

One week cruises:

Petite Saone cruise : Gray to Corre and return : 200km /30 locks

Saone and Canal de Bourgogne cruise :Gray to Dijon and return :194km / 52 locks

Seille, Saone and Canal du Rhone au Rhin cruise :Branges to Dole and return :310km / 32 locks

Seille, Saone and the Canal du Centre cruise :Branges to Chagny and return :176km / 36 locks

Seille cruise :Gray to Branges ONE WAY :212km / 12 locks

Two week cruises:

Seille, Saone and Canal du Bourgogne cruise :Branges to Dijon and return :356 km/ 56 locks

Seille, Soane and Canal du Centre cruise :Branges to Monceau les Mines and return :268 km / 90 locks

Nicols

The many charms of Franche Comte

From Dole and Montbeliard:
Dole, ancient capital of la Comte, doorway to the Jura and birthplace of Pasteur, situated in the heart of a marvellous region gifted with one of the most beautiful navigation areas offering a very large choice of cruising: le Canal du Rhone au Rhin (infact it’s the Doubs) with Besançon and citadel of Vauban, Baumes les Dames, the charm of Comtois villages and market towns, wild beauty of fauna and flora in the superb deeply embanked valleys.
You can cruise upstream one way to Port sur Soane or Champigny les Langres, or the Burgundy canal beyond St Jean de Losne.

From Dole
One week return cruises:

Dole, Baume les Dames and return; 180 kms, 52 locks
Dole, Mantoche and return; 150 kms, 24 locks
Dole, Verdun sur le Doubs and return; 80 kms, 28 locks

Two week return cruises :

Dole, Montbeliard and return; 292 kms, 104 locks
Dole, Selles and return; 390kms, 100 locks

One week, one way cruise:
Dole – Montbeliard ; 146 kms, 52 locks
Dole – Port sur Saone ; 169 kms, 24 locks

From Montbeliard
One week return cruise
Montebeliard, Besançon and return; 182kms, 72 locks

SAONE VALLEY, the green island

From Port sur Saone:
From here you will navigate along peaceful waterways, dotted with typical small villages revealing the history of the river: Port sur Saone, Gallo roman village in the origin, Gray fascinating with it’s patrimonial treasures, unless you have chosen to sail to the esat to discover the densely wooded countryside of the Vosges: here you will be charmed by the calm of unspoilt nature – so don’t forget your binoculars.

One week return cruises:
Port sur Saone, Mantoche and return; 212 kms, 24 locks
Port sur Saone, Epinal and return; 184 kms, 124 locks

Two week return cruises :
Port sur Saone, St Jean de Losne, Chalon sur Saone, Tournus and return ;412 kms, 42 locks

One week, one way cruise:
Port sur Saone – Dole ;169 kms, 24 locks

Locaboat

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 Mâconnais 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. To arrive in Besançon is truly dramatic. A tunnel 394m long alIows 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.

One week cruises from Scey sur Saone

Scey, Gray, Pontailler, Auxonne and RETURN ; 202 km ; 26 locks ; 5hr cruising per day

Scey, Port sur Saone, Corre, Fontenoy and RETURN; 136 km ; 34 locks ; 4hr30 cruising per day

Ten/Eleven day cruises

Scey, Gray, Auxonne, Dole and RETURN; 260 km; 46 locks; 5hr cruising per day

Two week cruises

Scey, Gray, Seurre, Tournus, Louhans and RETURN; 484 km; 41 locks; 5hr15 cruising per day

Scey, Gray, Dole, Besançon and RETURN; 382 km; 94 locks; 5hr30 cruising per day

Saone-et-Loire : St.Leger-sur-Dheune
The base of St Léger-sur-Dheune is ideally placed to enlarge the possibilities for one-way cruises. Cruising the Canal du Centre you pass through some of the most reknowned 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-farnous wine- producing villages: Mercurey, Santenay with its 13th century church of St Jean de Naroise standing amid the vines, Montrachet, synonymous with fine whites, and Rully with its 12th century castle. Further south, the Saône and the Seille offer a voyage of discovery. The Seille in particular makes a delightful side-trip: your route through this landscape of ponds and pastures leads to Louhans, the capital of Bresse; its arcades and its facades which date back to the 15th and 16th centuries are unique.

One week cruises from St Leger sur Dheune
St Leger, Chalon sur Saone,Tournus, Louhans, Loisy ONE WAY; 131 km; 23 locks; 3hr30 cruising per day

St Leger, Chagny, Chalon, Tournus, Louhans and RETURN; 218 km; 41 locks; 5hr cruising per day

St Leger, Monceau-les-Mines, Paray le Monial and RETURN; 138 km; 82 locks; 5hr15 cruising per day

Ten/eleven day cruises

St Leger, Chagny, Verdun sur le Doubs, St Jean de Losne and RETURN; 196 km; 42 locks; 5hr cruising per day

Two week cruises

St Leger, Chagny, Chalon, Seurre, Dole, Besancon and RETURN; 339 km; 86 locks; 5 hr cruising per day

Pavillon Saone

Tournus is ideally situated in southern Burgundy, offering a vast network of waterays allowing all kinds of navigation at any time of year. There is no need to decide in advance the direction that you will take. Let yourself be guided by the base manager or your particular interests.

River Saone. On the River Saone, travel north pausing at Chalon-sur-Saone, city of art and history. Visit St.Vincent’s cathedral, and the photography museum. At Verdun sur le Doubs, try the famous ‘Pochouse’, a bouillabiasse of freshwater fish, freshness gauranteed! Winding north, stop off at St Jean de Losne, where you can visit the quaint Mariner’s Museum, Auxonne, home to Napoleon during his formative years and where a magnificent museum traces his history, and Gray. Cruising to Corre via Gray are 300 km of peaceful cruising.      If you choose to travel south, traverse the vineyards
of Macon, Beaujolais and the Lyon hillsides. Stop off at Macon, the rock of Solutré, the Touroparc, the Museum of Guilds, the hamlet of wines . You can cruise southwards as far as Lyon, covering 112 km.

La Seille. This pretty little river, just 40 km long, is a fisherman’s paradise. After just 8 hours cruising, explore Louhans, with it’s 157 Medieval arcades. Don’t miss the ancient pharmacy, the printing museum and the Monday market where you will find the famous Bresse chickens, among a vast variety of livestock. Stop at Cuisery to visit the port, the Hostellerie Bressanne, and take a look at the typical farms and ‘needle wier’ at la Truchère. The 4 locks are maunually operated and are open on public holidays.

Le Canal du Centre.Linking the Saone and the Loire, the ‘Canal du Centre’ does not have too many locks. It passes through vineyards, Medieval towns and villages. A cruise rich in architecture, history and gastronomy.

Le Canal du Rhône au Rhin. Discover the Franch Comte on alternating canal and river cruising. A visit to Dole is a must, and if you choose to cruise further, the citadel at Besancon will be a just reward.

Le Canal de Bourgogne. Plenty of locks to keep you fit ; you will have earned a rest when you reach Dijon, the home of the Dukes of Burgundy.

Le Canal de la Saone à la Marne. Amid forests and fields, this quiet canal is well worth discovering.

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