• Mary Buckley

'Bonjour' French Canals

A memorable holiday I enjoyed with my family last year was hiring a canal boat and touring some of France’s scenic canals in the Loire Valley. We picked up our huge 43 foot boat in Decize then cruised for seven days one way before returning our boat to Chatillion-sur-Loire.

Neither my husband or I are boaties, but we picked up the driving very quickly. The boats go slowly, so there is plenty of time to react when steering. It takes the first day to get used to the driving and maneuver the initial mooring, which is nerve wracking. Once that is overcome the rest of the holiday is plain sailing.

The trip’s first highlight was mooring at Le Guetin after passing through the dramatic Pont-canal which spans the Loire River and changes about 10 metres in height over two locks.  We rode our bikes about 12 kilometres round trip to visit a beautiful medieval village called Appremont. This is such a picturesque village and an easy flat bike ride to reach from the canal.

Continuing along the peaceful canal we visited a small town La-Charite-sur-Loire that can be reached by a 10 minute cycle from the canal. Again this features lovely views of the Loire and another historic village that is worth a wander through. It is interesting to see the various churches that are always the centre of these small towns.

That night we moored at St Thibult which is in the valley under the beautiful town Sancerre. The next day we rode (and walked some of the way) up the steep hill to visit Sancerre, which is the centre of this wine-making region. There are organised wine tours in the area if you wish to venture further than the area adjacent to the canal. We enjoyed wandering through the town and climbed up the Fief’s Tower for a spectacular view over the entire region.

We continued our cruise up the canal that afternoon to Belleville-sur-Loire, a sleepy village with a scattering of eateries along the canal.  The following day we set off for Briare and travelled across the magnificent Le Pont Canal, which is the longest canal bridge in Europe and engineered in part by the famous Mr Gustave Eiffel.

Briare is a decent sized town and well worth mooring for at least a night. It is the meeting point of two main French canals, the Loire and the Braire. There are lovely bike rides and walks around the two picturesque canals and plenty of restaurants to choose from.  We finished our cruise on day seven in Chatillion-Sur-Loire, another small picturesque village on a hill.

To summarise our week, our canal cruise was a perfect mixture of exploration and relaxation with some beautiful French countryside to enjoy along the way.  

If you would like further details so that you can plan your own Canal Boat holiday in Europe, please contact myself or one of my team of Europe Travel Experts.

helloworld Milford, Corner Kitchener and Milford Road, Milford, 09 489 2597, milford@helloworld.co.nz

 


Issuu 68 August 2016