Spring 2022

Sète
France to the Mediterranean
from the Strasbourg region
or from Germany may
well be motoring along the
southern arm of the Canal
du Rhône au Rhin and
experiencing mile after mile
of spectacular scenery along
the Doubs valley.
At the Mediterranean end
of the Rhône, the skipper
has the choice of either
continuing almost to the end
and branching off at Port-
St-Louis or joining the Petit
Rhône which enables a boat
to transfer to the Rhône
à Séte Canal and motor
through the Camargue
to reach a more westerly
Mediterranean port.
Saône: St-Jean-de-Losne
to Lyon
Yachts bound for the Mediterranean by way of
the northern waterways will eventually reach
the important junction at
St-Jean-de-Losne. On the
way there, some will have
sampled the considerable
attractions of the Canal de
Bourgogne, others will have
chosen the Marne route
through the Champagne
region. Boats passagemaking
from Strasbourg
and the north-east will have
emerged from the Canal du
Rhône au Rhin and others
may have experienced
the delights of the Petite
Saône. Only those who have
taken the most westerly
Bourbonnais route will miss
St-Jean-de-Losne, meeting
the Saône 57km downriver
at Chalon-sur-Saône.
Having arrived at St-Jean-de-Losne, via the
various routes from the north, west or east,
crews should anticipate a marked contrast in
their surroundings once through the first of the
Saône’s massive locks (Seurre). The channel
widens from a modest 12–15m in the Petite
Saône to a minimum of 40m and at times the
90 | The Good Life France