Fluviacarte 19

The Yonne (from Joigny to Auxerre), the Nivernais canal, the Vermenton branch, the Loire at Decize, the canal alongside the Loire (from Decize to Digoin), the Roanne canal at Digoin, the Canal du Centre, the Saône (from Chalon-sur-Saône to Saint-Jean-de-Losne), the Burgundy canal.

The "great loop" from Joigny to Chalon-sur-Saône is doubtless one of the most beautiful routes in France! From the Yonne to the Petite Saône, the charms of five canals rival each other:the Burgundy canal, the Canal du Centre, the canal from Roanne to Digoin, the canal alongside the Loire and the Canal du Nivernais. 745 km, 399 locks, drawbridges, tunnels, canal bridges and enchanting countryside…

A native of this country, Henri Vincenot called this region the "roof of the Western world".

In the heart of the Morvan, alongside the impressive vault of Pouilly under which flows the highest channel in France, three watersheds meet. They delimit three catchment areas: those of the Seine, the Loire and the Saône.

Thus, the Burgundy canal has a slope towards the Yonne, pleasant and hilly, and a slope towards the Saône, wild and wooded as far as the outskirts of Dijon.

The Canal du Nivernais has a slope towards the Yonne, opulent and steep, and a slope towards the Loire that is much tamer and more rustic.

On the other hand, there is little difference between the Saône or Loire slopes of the Canal du Centre, which snake between vineyards and grassland.