France – Marne-Rhine canal, Moselle, canal des Vosges

The canal de la Meuse joins with the Marne-Rhine canal in Troussey. We stayed on the Marne-Rhine canal until Toul. It’s a very short part but with many locks over a short distance (chaîne d’écluses) it takes time. We covered Sampigny – Toul in a day (that’s 18 locks) and stayed in Toul for the night. We didn’t see much of the city, but could get a glimpse of the St Etienne cathedral from the Moselle the next day. We stayed on the Moselle up to the point where it joins with the embranchement de Nancy where the canal des Vosges starts. Our stop-over for the day was Richardménil, nice spot but shallow waters (the keel was almost touching the bottom of the canal). The possibilities for mooring/marinas in the canal des Vosges are limited, so we stopped the next day in Charmes, then Epinal where we did visit the city. We camped in nature in-between locks the next two days and tested for the first time our outdoor shower on the deck. The last city on the canal and passage obligé before entering the petite Saône was Corre. Although we loved the canal de Vosges for its landscapes, it definitely was the slowest part of the trip because of the sheer number of locks. In addition, the water depth was often just enough for our boat (or just not, we hit the bottom a couple of times) which also meant that we had to clean our weed strainer several times a day to prevent the engine from overheating.

Marne-Rhine canal – some numbers: