Marne–Rhine Canal-East

Understand

Marne–Rhine Canal is in north-eastern France. It connects the river Marne and with the port of Strasbourg on the Rhine. The original objective of the canal was to connect Paris and the north of France with Alsace and Lorraine, the Rhine, and Germany. The 313 km (194 mi) long canal was the longest in France when it opened in 1853. This itinerary cover the east side. The canal is suited for small barges , with a maximum size of 38.50 metres (126.3 ft) in length and 5.05 metres (16.6 ft) in width. There are many boat location services around the canal.

Get in

To access in the west side of the route , you can check Nancy#Get in To access the east side of the route , you can check Strasbourg#Get in The N4 and A4 roads follow the canal route

By boat

1 Nancy 2 Marina of Nancy 3 Marina of Varangéville 4 Dombasle-sur-Meurthe It has the marina Halte Nautique de Dombasle 5 Sommerviller 6 Halte Nautique de Crévic . It's in a picnic area 7 Halte Nautique d'Einville-aux-Jard 8 Halte Nautique d'Hénaménil It's in a picnic area with trees 500m from city center. 9 Halte Nautique de Xures 10 Port de Plaisance de Lagarde

11 Réchicourt Lock (Grande Ecluse de Réchicourt)The lock has a drop of 16 m, and replaces six older locks. It allows a boat to pass through in thirty minutes instead of six hours previously. This is the French lock with the greatest drop on a canal. 12 Réchicourt-le-Château 13 Xouaxange 14 Pont canal de la forge The road crosses under the channel 15 Port de Plaisance de Hesse 16 Port Plaisance Marina Niderviller / Altmuehl / Tannenheim 17 Niderviller tunnel (475 m) 18 Tunnel Niderviller - Arzviller

19 Saint-Louis-Arzviller inclined plane Is a bateaux lift on the canal and allows you to traverse the Vosges. The 44-metre high inclined plane, put into service in 1969, made it possible to replace these 17 locks, which were long (around ten hours), laborious and particularly water-consuming to cross. 20 Lutzelbourg 21 Saverne 22 Hochfelden 23 Souffelweyersheim 24 Strasbourg

By bike

A bike path runs parallel to the canal. In many villages there are bike rental services

Stay safe

Most of the boats you can rent do not require a boat license, so anybody can drive it with a half an hour training, mostly teaching some basic driving rules and the lock crossing procedure. Beware of cargo boats. They are heavy and can't turn easily, so get out of his way.