In only a few kilometers, several major waterways form an exceptional river crossroads around the small town of Saint-Jean-de-Losne. It is built on the bank of the Saône. This is where the Burgundy canal begins. Nearby, the Canal du Rhône au Rhin, the Doubs, the Canal du Centre and the Canal d'Entre Champagne et Bourgogne also join the Saône. This nautical star makes it a place where bargemen used to meet between two charters, either on the quays of the Saône, or in the water station.
The old and the new
It is here that the old timers put their bags down when they retired; here that the children were schooled while their parents were sailing. Until recently, Saint-Jean-de-Losne was home to a charter exchange, a supply ship and several important shipyards. The new generation is still in the business, but often as employees on board the Rhodaniens, the 3,000-ton ships that travel between Fos-sur-Mer and Saint-Jean-de-Losne.
A change of template
The Saône is wide and majestic here. The Saint-Jean-de-Losne reach marks the change of gauge. Downstream and from the Mediterranean, the locks measure 190 by 12 meters. Upstream, they are reduced to the Freycinet gauge, i.e. 40 by 5.10 m. In this direction, it is enough to navigate a few kilometers to taste a Petite Saône which becomes narrow and sinuous.
A variety of destinations
The Canal de Bourgogne has a lot of charm. As soon as you pass Dijon, it follows the valley of the Ouche in a steep and particularly pleasant landscape. Towards the east, it is the Canal du Rhône au Rhin that one can embark on. In a few locks, you can go from Burgundy to the Jura via Dôle and the Doubs. Following the Saône downstream, one reaches the Canal du Centre, one of the waterways to the Seine and Paris.
A major river port
If the quays of the Saône have their charm, the water station is emblematic of Saint-Jean-de-Losne. This basin was dug to shelter boats from the Saône's floods and is now one of the largest river marinas in France, with a capacity of 650 boats. Pleasure boating rubs shoulders with inland waterway tourism and the shipyards that repair or modify old commercial boats, to convert them into accommodation or hotel barges.
A strong river atmosphere
There is a cosmopolitan atmosphere around the Water Station. Many foreign boaters have turned their moorings here to never leave. This mixture with the "penichards" who fit out their boats and the descendants of the bargemen's families is found around the events that are the Pardon de la batellerie and the Salon fluvial.
With its recognized professionals and the diversity of river activities that take place there, Saint-Jean-de-Losne is a place of passage that is almost obligatory for all those who navigate or wish to do so. The site, with its shipyards and its boats under construction, offers a wide panorama of river activities. The offer of second-hand boats is important and if you are looking to buy a boat, you will probably have to come here to see one or the other of those moored in Saint-Jean-de-Losne.
