A cruise on the Saone and Canal du Rhone au Rhin

Sunrise on the river Saone just north of St-Jean-de-Losne

On Friday 19th September we arrived at Dole where Corinne had chartered a boat for the weekend. For the next three days we were going to be travelling on the Canal du Rhone au Rhin and venturing onto the river Saone. The boatspeed is limited and can only be described as leisurely, primarily to preserve the banks of the canals and to prevent incidents in the vacinity of the locks. As a result the distance we were going to be able to cover was restricted. However, visits to a number of small villages and towns along the canal and the Saone were possible.

The weather in France had not been reliable prior to the trip and we were quite lucky with the conditions, with clear blue skies throughout. This was possibly the last weekend where a trip on the canals would have been comfortable without using the onboard heating, because Autumn was clearly upon us and there was a noticeable chill in the air at night.

Autumn images

Having done a few trips on Irish canals a few years ago, I was not new to the experience, however having said this the French canals are different. The waterways appear to be wider and many of the locks are automated and extremely easy to use. Many villages have small docks where you can pull in and stay for a few hours or overnight, which is a convenient alternative to mooring up alongside a canal or riverbank overnight, as navigation by night is not allowed on the canals or rivers in France

The canals and locks create a great panorama with mature trees and a beautiful countryside surrounds you en route. Many beautiful houses and idyllic farms have been built along the canals over the years, and among them and worthy or mention are the lock keepers houses. Some have what appears to be a millrace to one side and a number also have small pools or a harbour for docking and turning.


We spent our first night docked at a small village called L'Abergement. Initial attempts to use the gas powered twin burner stove resulted in minor synges an burns, but finally a simple meal of fondue fresh bread and cold meats were washed down with a Cotes du Jura chardonnay.

We rose with the sun on Saturday morning, and it was not difficult to seek out the local boulangerie; the few inhabitants of the village that were on the move by foot, bicycle or car were all converging on the same point, and it seemed ludicrous to go against the grain at this early hour. My insticts and expectations were not disappointed and after coffee and some excellent croissants, with fresh bread and honey we were set up for the day. We cast off our lines and began our passage for the river Saone and the first town St-Jean-de-Losne.

St-Jean-de-Losne

Exiting the Canal du Rhone au Rhin you access the broad river Saone with low clay banks, and with it begin a brief excursion into Burgundy. Everything changes including the air you breath and smell, and the colours you see; the countryside is much flatter, the buildings are quite different with more brick employed in their construction, and the cattle were made up largely of a mixture of charolais and limousin varieties with very few montbelliard to be seen.

St-Jean-de-Losne is about 45 minutes downstream after exiting the canal system. It is not a large town but it is positioned on a major crossroads in canal and river terms. From this point you can access the Canal du Bourgogne the city of Dijon and onwards, or the south. Map of the French Canal System.

As I have indicated, St-Jean-de-Losne is now small and sleepy, and it is clear that this was not always the case because the town is dominated by a large marina basin where both leisure and commercial canal barges are tied up, and a number of boatyards and slipways would suggest that this area saw substantial commercial traffic in the past.

Barges at a slipway and yard at St-Jean-de-Losne

Auxonne is an hour and a half upstream and is accessed via a spur canal which cuts a corner off the route taken by the river Saone. Arriving from the south, your first view of the town is the fortifications and walls which you will eventually dock beside. Auxonne was a frontier town in the 17th century and as such was well fortified, being walled with ramparts, ditches, demi-lunes, tenailles, contre-gardes and redoubts beyond the walls. These works were commenced under the supervision of Francois de la Motte Villebret, Comte D'Aspermont and were continued after his death by Sebastien Le Prestre, Marquis le Vauban. The latter was responsible for some noteworthy buildings in Auxonne during this period; the Arsenal, which manufactured of cannon and munitions, was constructed in 1674, and the Caserne, a soldiers barracks, was constructed in 1688.

One of the entrances to the Arsenal designed by Vauban

The Comte D'Asperment's Porte Royale is an elegant structure and had iis insparation in the Italian classical tradition; the central gatehouse being akin to a triumphal arch. The two flanking pavillions give the overall design a strength and symmetry while also providing a means of access to the battlements.

The Porte Royale designed by Comte D'Asperment

Only in a number of places has the modern Burgundian town of Auxonne breached the perimeter walls where they still are standing. While the walls today are only partially preserved, they remain impressive and one gets an insight into the extent of the formidable defences that were originally constructed.

Auxonne is dominated by the church of Notre Dame. The south trancept is the oldest part dating to the 12th century with further works taking place during the 13th and 14th centuries. The grand portal was finally added in 1516 and is richly decorated with niches containing statues of the saints.

Detail of the Porch of the church of Notre Dame at Auxonne

As a second lieutenant and student at the Artillery School, Napoleon Bonaparte was based at Auxonne from 1788 to 1791. In 1857 the town's inahbitants erected a statue sculpted by Jouffroy to Bonaparte which is situated in the square in front of the Hotel de Ville and beside the Church of Notre Dame. The ground floor of the Chateau Louis XI is devoted to a collection of artifacts and some personal belongings of Napoleon; a number of sculptures, prints, swords and cabinets displaying a Sevres dinner service. Almost hidden away in a corner of the room can be found a glass cabinet, which contains possibly one of the more interesting exhibits on display. Inside is the solemn plaster death mask of Napoleon, which may be one of the plaster casts produced by Dr Francesco Antommarchi.

Statue of Napoleon at Auxoone

Napoleon Museum at Auxonne

After a good lunch prepared on board we lounged on the afterdeck in the warm afternoon sun enjoying the river life, and later went for a wander through the laneways and streets of Auxonne. We decided to depart around 6 p.m. after purchasing fresh supplies, and made our way through the lock and basin en route for the Saone. There was no chance of making St-Jean-de-Losne in daylight so we pulled into the rivers edge and tied the boat up for the night.

Parked on the riverbank, dinner was a grand affair with scallops, pasta and a salad. A simple plate of cheese closed the proceedings. The night was still and cloudless, and not a sound was to be heard from the slow moving river as it slipped past us. The countryside awoke gently just before dawn, and a gentle breeze edged its way downstream. As the sun reached above the trees it gave life to the river and the fish began to turn and roll in the surface of the water beside the boat.

Leaving Auxonne en route to the Saone

We decided to get some fresh bread from the small Sunday market at St-Jean-de-Losne, and also took the opportunity to look at the entrance and basin surrounding the Canal du Bourgogne. This was impressive very neat and well laid out. Time was not on our side, as we were due back in Dole by 5 p.m. for the handover of the boat. Once again we cast off our lines and made our way back to the Canal du Rhone au Rhin and the nine locks that separated us from Dole.

Along the way we shared the locks with another barge with seven Swiss guys on board. They had been released by their respective families and allowed to travel to France for a trip on the canals, where they presumably ate very well. We had a pleasant surprise however when we discovered they had provisioned the barge with wines from the Marcy vineyard at Saint-Prex. At least two of the guys were winemakers and we sampled two of their excellent wines as we travelled along. Arriving at Dole roughly on time we bid our farewells to our Swiss friends and brought Corinne's brother, sister-in-law and niece for a short spin on the boat.


It is my experience that your memories of a trip can fade quite quickly. The travel experience today is often rushed and difficult to absorb and appreciate. There is a certain irresistable natural inclination to relax that goes hand in hand with the pace of lfe while travelling on a canal. I like to think that this is something to do with the fact that canals were the first super highways of a Europe, and often better developed than the contemporary roads. They were initially constructed for transporting heavy goods and raw materials for industries that may have thoroughly disappeared today.

French canal development began in the 17th century, and the two canals I mention here commenced construction in the 18th century and became operational in the early 19th century. The main attraction for us today is that these canals take routes that motorways cannot. Motorways are a purely utilitarian and "a" to "b" experience, operating in a epoque where time is of the essence, and routes often block out views as they cut through towns or hillsides to shorten the route or prevent distraction. Travelling along the canals offers the senses the complete opposite. Canals may not always be direct, but they are often set into idyllic landscapes or sublime river systems, where motorways and modern roads do not exist or rarely venture. You immediately feel as if you have been cast off into another world. You cannot but appreciate the beautiful countryside, the blue flash of a kingfisher, or the easy and relaxed conversation of fellow travelers. For many years the canal network has blended into and been lost in the countryside, but the redevelopment and upgrading of the canal networks has brought about their recovery, and with it the rediscovery of a world lost in time.

Sunset on the river Saone just north of St-Jean-de-Losne

Besancon

View looking South over the rooftops of Besancon from Fort Griffon towards the Citadelle

I first arrived in Besancon in March of this year and have been back a number of times with Corinne (my better half). The East of France and the Franche Comte region had eluded me up to this time, and admittedly I knew few details of its history, culture and folklore; I was in general terms aware of the expansion of the Roman provinces in Gaul and a little more recent general history of the area but was totally unprepared for the uniqueness of the region incorporating the Doubs, Haut Doubs and Jura.

Upon leaving the train station at Besancon, I was driven away by Corinne's father on a circuitous route, which navigated its way through old fortifications, redoubts and ramparts in the north of the town and then eventually eastwards along the Doubs. This city is not big but impressive and located on a significant strategic site, on a vast sweeping bend in the river Doubs. It has been settled for many thousands of years, but came to prominence as Vesontio over two thousand years ago, when it was the first city of the Sequani tribe. They in turn came were subjugate by and came under the influence of the Romans, under the command of Julius Caesar, and despite a number of revolts during the early empire the site was further developed and romanised with an aquaduct, lavishly decorated buildings, an amphitheatre and triumphal arch known locally as "la porte noire".

Roman Amphitheatre remains at Besanson

Neptune Mosaic found on the site of the Abbey of St. Paul in 1973, Musee des Beaux-Arts et d'Archeologie de Besancon.

Reading the ancient historian's and source's descriptions of places, and routes taken, it is easy to be misled by dry narratives evoking generic landscapes, mountains, rivers and passes, however Julius Caesar in his De Bello Gallico describes this settlement with extraordinary clarity, care and conciseness. Roman preparations for war left little to chance and Julius Caesar identified a base that could sustain his armies in Winter and through the Summer, with the unsettled and enemy frontiers not too distant.

Book 1:38 recounts as follows:

"When he had proceeded three days' journey, word was brought to him that Ariovistus was hastening with all his forces to seize on Vesontio, which is the largest town of the Sequani, and had advanced three days' journey from its territories. Caesar thought that he ought to take the greatest precautions lest this should happen, for there was in that town a most ample supply of every thing which was serviceable for war; and so fortified was it by the nature of the ground, as to afford a great facility for protracting the war, inasmuch as the river Doubs almost surrounds the whole town, as though it were traced round it with a pair of compasses. A mountain of great height shuts in the remaining space, which is not more than 600 feet, where the river leaves a gap, in such a manner that the roots of that mountain extend to the river's bank on either side. A wall thrown around it makes a citadel of this [mountain], and connects it with the town. Hither Caesar hastens by forced marches by night and day, and, after having seized the town, stations a garrison there."

An early incription refering to Vesontio possibly dating to the period of the Emperor Trajan

Following the demise of the provinces of Roman Gaul, Besancon was eventually incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire until it came under the influence of the Dukes of Burgundy, and thence following a strategic marriage, the Habsburgs. In 1674 Besancon became a French town and a few years later the city was in effect transformed by the arrival of the military architect Sebastien le Prestre de Vauban. He was commissioned by Louis XIV primarily to redesign and reconstruct the Citadelle, a grand task which took 30 years, being completed in 1711.

Other fortifications, on hilltops around the city received attention including Fort Griffon, and these forts, ramparts redoubts and defences still dominate and characterise the city today. These new strategic defences were planned in great detail and utilised the local contours, terrain and features of the land upon which they were constructed, a particular feature of Vauban's planning and engineering; the Roman amphitheatre was incorporated and utilised in the establishment of some of the outer defences and ramparts at Fort Griffon.

View of the inner entrance gate of the Vauban Citadelle

Palais Granvelle 16th Century

Buildings on the banks of the Doubs in Besancon

One of my primary interests when arriving in a town is to discover the food and local produce, and local markets are key to this experience. In Besancon, as with most French cities and towns, there is a covered market selling produce daily and an open air market in front of the Musee des Beaux-Arts et Archeologie selling fresh fruit and vegetables.

Before I ever thought of visiting Besancon I was aware of the two most famous cheeses produced in the area; Mont D'Or and Comte. The local breed of cow is the Montbeliard, and these cute docile beauvines are primarily used for dairy production. Smoked hams and sausages called saucise de morteau are full of flavour and are traditionally boiled and served with boiled cabbage and potatoes. However, more modern recipes combine the saucise with reductions of local wines, such as a Poulsard. Artisanal charcuteries such as the one operated by Pierrette and Daniel Buchiex [www.lafermettecomtoise.com] produce a wonderful selection of cured meats and charcuterie; not always shaped in the familiar manner of a sausage, a small square not dissimilar to a pont leveque make these cured meats very tempting indeed. While some features and characteristics of Besancon are thoroughly French, there is an undeniable connection and suggestion of a German or Swiss tradition and the proximity of the Swiss border and the mountains is inescapable.


One surprise for me was the fact that the Theatre in Besancon was built to the designs of Claude Nicolas Ledoux. Ledoux, a unique architect for his time, was favoured by royal commissions for a period prior to the revolution and was commissioned to design and build the Royal Saltworks at Arc-et-Senans, not far from Besancon. He has since gained notoriety for his futuristic designs and projects proposed in the area of the Loue valley, but sadly many of these were not undertaken. The designs produced by Ledoux for the theatre were ground breaking for the time, and incorporated a sunken orchestra and sound box behind it, to project and enhance the acoustics of the theatre. Unfortunately, due to a fire all that remains today of the original theatre is the exterior facade.

In my recent adventures, I have also visited the Royal Saltworks, Haut doubs, Loue river valley and other places of interest in the region and hope you will visit this webpage again in the coming weeks to catch up, or take some time out during your day to see these places and read my comments.