This is Part II of our voyage in Laura the boat down the Burgundy Canal, where we travel from Montbard to St-Jean-de-Losne (for Part I click here). The Burgundy, or in French, le Canal de Bourgogne, is known as one of the most spectacular canals in France, and for good reason. During this voyage Ivan and I visited many ancient villages including Chateauneuf-en-Auxois, which has been designated as one of the most beautiful villages in France, travelled through lush countryside, ate fresh blackberries, apples and plums straight from the tree and travelled through a tunnel over 3km long. We also visited the city of Dijon, birthplace of Dijon mustard and Gustave Eiffel (Eiffel tower).
Leaving Montbard
Ivan and I spent a few days in Montbard catching up with friends and stocking up on essential supplies, such as beer and fresh produce. It may look like we bought a lot of beer. Probably because we did. The market, like all food markets in France, is simply the best way to buy food. You can buy anything you like, as long as it’s in season and everything is from the local area.
Peaceful nights
After Montbard we spent the next few nights at peaceful little towns such as Veneray-les-Laumes, Pont Royal and Saint Thibault. We caught up with our American friend Anita, who we met in Roanne, and her guests Kym and Bill and met a lovely Frenchman called Jean-Paul who was visiting in his camping car. We invited him to have apero with us and he brought along home made liqueur which was very potent. Oh la la!
We also visited the tiny town of Saucy, population of about 50 people. Ivan was looking his sauciest at the time.
Going through a lock
If you’ve ever wanted to see what it’s like cruising along the canals and going through a lock but you don’t have much time, well here you go. Here’s a sped up version of us along part of the Burgundy Canal.
The Pouilly-en-Auxois Tunnel
Our next stop was the town of Pouilly-en-Auxois which is home to a 3.3km tunnel, one of the longest canal tunnels in France. It’s not very high but Laura fit through easily.
It took about half an hour to get through the tunnel and Ivan did a magnificent job of keeping the boat straight and not pinballing off the sides.
Our next stop on the other side of the Pouilly-en-Auxois tunnel was a beautiful town called Vandernesse where you could see an ancient chateau on a hill in the distance.
Chateaneuf-en-Auxois
We ended up spending a few nights in Vandernesse because it was just so beautiful. The chateau in the distance was in the town of Chateaneuf-en-Auxois which has been designated as one of the most beautiful villages in France. Honestly, you have to see this place to believe it. The photos just don’t do it any justice, but hopefully you get the idea.
To get to Chateauneuf was a bit of a hike up a hill, but there was a lot to see along the way. And eat.
We left Vandernesse and continued down the Burgundy Canal. The weather was perfect and it was just magic winding our way along the canal with the chateau in the distance.
Lots of animals to see
It’s amazing what you see when you travel at a slow pace along the canals. There’s lots of birds, wildlife and farm animals.
Eating fresh produce
August meant ripe blackberries were EVERYWHERE along the canals. There were also apple and plum trees in abundance with the fruit just falling to the ground, as there was so much of it. We’d often head out with a plastic container and fill it up with fresh fruit. Here’s Ivan eating blackberries straight from the tree.
Dijon
The city of Dijon is on the Burgundy Canal so we stopped there for a few days. Dijon is famous for a number of reasons. It’s where dijon mustard comes from and it’s an internationally recognised centre for gastronomy. It’s also the birthplace of Gustave Eiffel, the engineer behind Paris’ famous landmark. There are five Michelin star restaurants in Dijon so we decided to head to one called l’Evidence. The food was magnificent! We ate so much that we needed an afternoon nap to recover.
Saint-Jean-de-Losne
The last stop on the Burgundy Canal was Saint-Jean-de-Losne which is where we bought our boat Laura 15 months ago. It’s a great port with lots of boats and we caught up with friends that we met along the way.
A group of us who live on boats decided to head to a local restaurant in SJdL that had karaoke. Our friend Sally was a superstar who got everyone going with her rendition of La Bamba. She is an absolute legend!
Encouraged by Sally’s amazing performance, some locals sang a French favourite called Les lacs du Connemara. What a fantastic night it was!
We were going to spend the final few weeks of our French adventure in SJDL getting the boat ready to sell, but decided to head off for a final cruise to Dole, which will be the subject of our next post. But in the meantime, here’s some more pictures of our last few weeks in France on the Burgundy Canal. It surely is heaven on earth.
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