Editions du Breil publishes a collection of guides to the navigable canals and rivers in France. They are mainly intended for the boating fratenity but are also useful for cyclists and trekkers who wish to discover the French waterways. Each guide has about 100 pages with detailed maps and tourist and technical information in English, French and German. The contents are constantly updated; each guide being renewed on average every two years.

The link between the rivers of Anjou and the Brittany canals is assured by the Loire river, officially navigable for a distance of 80 km between Nantes and Bouchemaine. The current is fast and a powerful motor is required to enable you to get through several difficult sections but the channel is well buoyed and even a boat with a substantial draft can make the journey.

The Sarthe and the Mayenne are the most important tributaries on the right bank of the Loire. No longer used for commercial traffic, these rivers, with the Oudon, are now open to leisure craft. Navigation conditions are easy as the locks are small and, for the most part, operated by lock-keepers.

The guide will give you information on lock operation, the annual closures (which affect each river one year in three) and bridge heights which are restricting upstream from Laval.

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