Harbour

Port de Briare

Briare, France

Maximum length: 30 m
VHF channel: 12
Maximum draught: 1.2 m

Inland marina on the Briare canal in the Loiret department, at the junction with the Canal latéral à la Loire, 150 km south of Paris.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Reached by the Briare canal from the north or the Canal latéral à la Loire from the south. Maximum draught 1,2 m. VHF channel 12. Locks operated by Voies navigables de France with standard inland waterway hours. The Pont-canal de Briare, a 662 m iron aqueduct built by Gustave Eiffel's company and opened in 1896, crosses the Loire just upstream of the port.

Practical

80 berths for river cruisers and barges. Water and electricity at the pontoons. Fuel available at the port. Sanitary block with showers. Bread, grocery and a supermarket within 600 m. Hire base for self-drive canal boats on site.

Ashore

Pont-canal de Briare walkable across the Loire at 400 m, the longest navigable aqueduct in Europe when built. Musée des Deux Marines et du Pont-Canal in the town at 500 m. Loire à Vélo cycle route passes along the quay.

History

The Briare canal, opened in 1642, is one of the oldest summit canals in Europe. It was commissioned by Henri IV and completed under Louis XIII to link the Loire to the Seine via the Loing.