Harbour

Pont-de-vaux

3.9Reyssouze, FranceBurgundy and the Saône

Maximum length: 124 ft

River port with 225 berths on the Reyssouze, a short navigable canal linking Pont-de-Vaux to the Saône river, in the Ain department.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Enter from the Saône river and follow the 3.5 km canal de Pont-de-Vaux to the port. The single lock is worked by the crew from a green button inside the chamber, once to open the gates and once to run the cycle. Canal depth has been reported down to about 1.2 m, so deeper-draught craft should check the level before committing. Low current, no tidal constraint.

Practical

225 berths on pontoons, facilities clean and modern with modest fees. Fuel station on site. A Carrefour supermarket stands next to the port, with more shops, a bakery and restaurants in Pont-de-Vaux town 500 m away. Regular buses serve Mâcon, and the Lyon to Dijon railway at Fleurville is about an hour on foot. The office may not keep to posted hours and closes Sunday, though the toilets stay open until 22h00. Warte-kai and Ponton Camping aux Rives de Soleil, both 1.6 to 1.7 NM NW, take overflow.

Ashore

Musée Chintreuil in Pont-de-Vaux, dedicated to the 19th century landscape painter Antoine Chintreuil, born in the town. Saturday morning market on place Michel Poisat. Bresse farmland around the town, with AOC Volaille de Bresse poultry farms.