The Canal du Loing () is a 49.4 km long

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface fl ...

which connects the

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plate ...

at Saint-Mammès to the

Briare Canal The Briare Canal (french: Canal de Briare, ) is one of the oldest canals in France. Its construction started in 1604. It was the first summit level canal in Europe that was built using pound locks, connecting the Rhone-Saône and Seine valleys. ...

just north of

Montargis Montargis () is a commune in the Loiret department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. Montargis is the seventh most populous commune in the Loiret, after Orléans and its suburbs. It is near a large forest, and contains light industry and farming, i ...

, in central France. It runs through the

Loiret Loiret (; ) is a department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of north-central France. It takes its name from the river Loiret, which is contained wholly within the department. In 2019, Loiret had a population of 680,434.

and

Seine-et-Marne Seine-et-Marne () is a department in the Île-de-France region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square kilometres (2,284 square miles); it roughly covers its ...

''départements''.

History

Philippe II, Duke of Orléans Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (Philippe Charles; 2 August 1674 – 2 December 1723), was a French prince, soldier, and statesman who served as Regent of the Kingdom of France from 1715 to 1723. He is referred to in French as ''le Régent''. H ...

sought letters patent to build the canal in 1720, and it was completed in 1723. 3815 barges passed through in 1752 alone. Lock 20 is disused today, leaving 19

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

s. The total fall is about 37m. The canal is lateral to the river

Loing The Loing () is a long river in central France, a left tributary of the Seine. Its source is in Sainte-Colombe-sur-Loing, in the southwestern of the department of Yonne, and it flows into the Seine in Saint-Mammès, near Moret-sur-Loing. It ...

except in two places where the river is used as part of the canal. The Canal du Loing is part of the Bourbonnais route from Saint-Mammès on the

Chalon-sur-Saône Chalon-sur-Saône (, literally ''Chalon on Saône'') is a city in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is the largest city in the department; h ...

on the river

Saône The Saône ( , ; frp, Sona; lat, Arar) is a river in eastern France. It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department and joining the Rhône in Lyon, at the southern end of the Presqu'île. The name der ...

Current use

The valley is wooded and pleasant throughout, with lakes resulting from former gravel pits. Commercial traffic has declined significantly, but the canal remains open all year round to accommodate barges, mostly carrying grain for export. The route is popular with private boats, and also sees some hire boats and

hotel barge A hotel barge (fr. ''péniche hôtel'') is a barge that has been built or converted to serve as a hotel or other kind of lodging. Hotel barges are generally found on rivers and canals in Europe, and may be used for river cruises or permanently moo ...

References

External links

Structurae website translated

Canal du Loing
maps and details of places, ports and moorings on the canal, by the author of ''Inland Waterways of France'', 8th ed., 2010, Imray
Navigation details for 80 French rivers and canals
(French waterways website section) {{DEFAULTSORT:Canal Du Loing

Canals opened in 1723 1723 establishments in France

History

Current use

See also

References

External links