Overview
The Canal du Rhône au Rhin is a 237 km long canal that connects the Rhone River with the Rhine River. It is one of the popular routes for boats transiting from the Mediterranean Sea to the North Sea. We saw numerous sailboats on the canal that were transiting. We spent a couple weeks this past July travelling the length of the canal.
From west to east the canal starts on the Saône river just north of our home base of St-Jean-de-Losne, heading east-northeast to finally terminate about 13 km from the Rhine in the city of Mulhouse. To enter the Rhine you have to take the short Huningue Canal to the Niffer lock.
Locking up… from the Saône to Montreaux-Chateau
Leaving the Saône just north of our home port of St-Jean-de-Losne the canal rises through 75 locks to top out 175 km later and 160m higher in the little town of Montreaux-Chateau. For this part to of the canal lock operation is “automatic” with the use of remote that was given to us at the first lock entering the canal from the Saône.
Our itenary for this section:
| From | To | Dist (Km) | # Locks | Time (Hrs) |
| St-Jean | Dole | 21 | 7 | 4.5 |
| Dole | Ranchon | 20 | 7 | 4.5 |
| Ranchon | Besancon | 35 | 11 | 8.2 |
| Besancon | Fourbanne | 29 | 8 | 5.9 |
| Fourbanne | L’Isle-sur-le-Doubs | 37 | 15 | 7.9 |
| L’Isle | Montbeliard | 24 | 12 | 5.3 |
| Montbeliard | Montreaux | 22 | 12 | 4.9 |
Dole
The three day cruise from St Jean to Besancon has become one our favorite short trips for visiting friends. Dole is a lovely town with an the city mooring is near the city center.
And you can’t miss the Pasteur museum (Louis was born here and they are very proud of the fact).
From the Saône to Dole is almost entirely in the canal and there is one ~5Km stretch through an “industrial zone” (a chemical plant of some kind). But there are some very pretty parts and the section as you leave Dole is particularly attractive.
Besancon
The approach to the city of Besancon is one of the most dramatic on the entire French canal system. The view of “The Citadel” from the river is amazing. The stretch from Dole to Besancon is mostly in the Doubs, the river that supplies most of the water for the canal.
Besancon has a long storied past reaching back to the Roman era and there are Roman ruins scattered throughout the city. You have the choice on entering Besancon of taking the tunnel under the Citadel or staying in the river and doing La Boucle around the old city.
The walk up to the Citadel is steep but the views are amazing. The Citadel (designed by Vauban in 1684) is now a museum and zoo and definitely worth a visit.
Montbellaird
Three or four days of cruising brings you to the next major stop on the canal, Montbeliard (though there are several lovely little towns on the way). This is also where you have to contact the VNF if you are continuing east.
Montbeliard is a big city with great restaurants and excellent train service (for visiting guests). There is really lovely park near the marina and the city center is a short walk away. And the walk into town takes you right past the Musée du Château des Ducs de Wurtemberg.
Montreux-Chateau
One easy day from Montbeliard takes you to the top of the Canal, 160 meters above the Saône. Leaving Montbelliard you pass through the industrial town of Sochaux. And just past Sochaux you pass over the Allan river on a canal bridge.
There is not a lot in Montreaux (not even the ruins of a chateau, just a hill where it used to be) but it is a good place to rest up for the lock chains to come.
Locking Down to Mulhouse
We started the day from Montreau by dropping off our lock remote at the first lock of the day (#2) and meeting our itinerant lock-keeper. From here to Mulhouse (34 KM) all 37 locks are manually operated by a VNF eclusier who accompanies you all day.
| From | To | Dist (Km) | # Locks | Time (Hrs) |
| Montreux | Dannemarie | 10 | 15 | 4.0 |
| Dannemarie | Mulhouse | 23 | 23 | 7.0 |
The first 10 locks are all in 2 Km before they start to spread out a bit. We were told when we arrived in Dannemarie that we would have to wait a day to proceed as they were “full”. Since each boat (or two boats travelling together) requires a lock-keeper, they can only handle so many boats a day.
Fortunately Dannemarie has a few restaurants and a decent supermarket and we lucked into a free concert on the canal.
Mulhouse and the Rhine
Another long day of locking with a friendly lock-keeper and you arrive in the city of Mulhouse. The locks are spaced a bit farther apart and there is one swing bridge.
Mulhouse has a great old downtown area, lots of shopping and the national auto museum of France (a must see). And, as usual, the city marina is right in the middle of the old city.
To reach the Rhine river from Mulhouse is an easy 13 Km on the Canal de Huningue where it joins the Grand Canal d’Alsace (the canalized Rhine River). No time this year to go further but next year we plan on a grand loop that will take us from Mulhouse up to Strasbourg.
Our Adventures 