When you live on a canal boat in France, an important decision is where to spend the winter. No matter where you go in France it’s cold. I hate to bust the myth, but even in the south of France. And cold is not ideal boating weather. On top of the cold, almost all of the canals and locks are closed from the end of October to the beginning of April. And if you have a canal boat it can’t travel anywhere. So that’s why it’s important to find a good place to spend winter, and we’re very glad we chose the port of Roanne. The below video was taken in early December and let me tell you it’s a lot colder now!
Experiencing all the seasons
A lot of canal boaters in France that come from Australia and New Zealand head back home for a southern hemisphere summer. But not us. Ivan and I want to experience a whole year with all the seasons in France. So here we are in the port of Roanne on our boat Laura for the winter.
A few months ago we were dreading winter. We thought we’d go stir crazy staying in the one place for months at a time. We thought we’d be bored and socially isolated. But instead it’s the opposite. We are incredibly happy and realise that out time here in Roanne will be one of the highlights from our trip.
So if you have a canal boat and you’re wondering what to do over winter, this post will hopefully describe what we love about Roanne and help you make the decision to winter here.
What is it about Roanne?
Why are we so happy here in Roanne? Mostly it’s the people. The port of Roanne has a lot of people who live on their boats throughout the winter. And that means Ivan and I are part of a community. There are French people as well as plenty of English speakers all living in the port. We have lots in common and there’s plenty of social interaction, which we love.
It’s also the people of Roanne. The locals are really proud of their port and are very friendly towards people who live on boats. When we speak to people at the laundromat, in restaurants and bars or in the supermarket and we tell them we live on a boat they are always happy to chat. And they love the fact that we’re from Australia.
We also meet lots of French people who walk around the port for their daily exercise and many of them have dogs. Ivan and I love dogs, and I think we’ve met just about all the dogs in Roanne. One day we came back to our boat to find a gift with a note from two sisters we met who have a chihuahua.
The note says “Happy Christmas. Here is a little Christmas present and souvenir of your passage in the Port of Roanne. We wish you fair winds and a good voyage with your beautiful boat Laura”. The gift was a tote bag with dogs on it. We were so touched with this lovely gesture. I tell you, French people are absolutely beautiful!.
Roanne has everything
With a population of about 40,000 people (more if you include the surrounding towns), Roanne has critical mass which means we can get everything we need. There’s farmers markets, supermarkets, bits and pieces for boats, restaurants, bars, museums and things to do. We don’t have a car but we can easily get groceries and obtain most things on foot or on our bikes. Other boaters have cars so we’ve scrounged lifts for things that are heavier and there’s a good bus service in town. We have a Lidl supermarket nearby with lots of stuff including Christmas gear.
Another benefit of Roanne is the connectivity. Lyon is the third largest city in France and is just over one hour away by train. From Lyon it’s easy to get to every region in France as well as make connections to other countries.
Roanne community events
Roanne has a good Mayor and council who are beautifying the town and there are lots of community events. Every year the port has a Christmas event for kids in early December where Saint Nicholas arrives on a boat. It’s a popular free event and because of the position of Laura we had front row seats.
I drank far too much mulled wine or vin chaud as it’s known in France. Four glasses if you must know. Yes four. Oops. I went out a bit too hard and fast with the Christmas cheer. Despite the headache the next day it was worth it.
Meeting some locals at a chateau
One day we stopped in at a music shop in Roanne. We got chatting to the owner who is in a band and he told us about a gig he was playing in a chateau nearby. So we bought tickets and had a wonderful experience that we’ll never forget.
The show had a number of acts including a magic show where I was called out of the audience. For some reason this often happens to me in magic shows. Don’t ask me why – I must have one of those faces. I was worried that I wouldn’t understand my instructions in French but when it came to my bit, it was easy.
The band was amazing – they are called Kadia and we’ll definitely see them again. We were embarrassed (but actually secretly thrilled) to have the lead singer welcome the two Australians in the audience. We met lots of people that night who wanted to talk to the Australians, one of whom is a university professor called Henri. We’ve stayed in touch with Henri and he wants to take us for an adventure in his car. Why not! See what I mean about French people? They are just gorgeous.
Christmas in Roanne
Christmas in France is very special and Roanne goes a bit crazy with the Christmas lights and decorations. It looks great.
There’s Christmas markets every night for a week or so with ice skating, food and lots of vin chaud to tempt me. Thankfully I learned my lesson and only drank one glass at a time. Or maybe two… Many of the boats in the port get into the Christmas spirit and are decorated with lights.
Yes, it’s definitely winter
So we’re very much enjoying ourselves in Roanne and winter is turning out to be a great time for us. And we’ve even had some snow, which is lovely. It doesn’t always snow in Roanne, so we feel pretty lucky. While the temperature has been getting down to minus six overnight, Laura the boat is coping well and we’re toasty warm.
Next post I’ll tell you about our Christmas and new year adventures in Colmar and Germany. But for now, for all those sweltering in summer in Australia, here’s some footage to hopefully cool you down a bit.
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