Fluviacarte Guide 9 - La Meuse et son canal, le canal des Vosges et la Sambre belge

The Belgian Sambre (from Namur to Jeumont), the Belgian Meuse (from the Dutch border north of Liège, as far as Givet), the Meuse canal (ex East canal – North branch), the loop Toul/Neuves-Maisons/Nancy (Moselle, canal from the Marne to the Rhine, Nancy branch), the Canal des Vosges (ex East canal – South branch).

The outstanding European river. The vital artery of Wallonia and hingepin of the Belgian wide network, the Meusehas made Liège the second-largest European river port. In spite of its reputation as a waterway flanked by concrete and industry, in Belgium, the river has some beautiful pleasure ports and its hilly countryside rivals the beauty of the towns along the way.

In France, the magnificent waterway was long known as the "East canal". Today, it is known as the Meuse canal. Its route through the Ardennes is magnificent. We rejoin the river at Nancy by taking the canal from the Marne to the Rhine, then the Moselle, before rejoining the Canal des Vosges, which runs alongside the Moselle. And, shortly after Épinal, we begin the slow descent towards the Petite Saône, which we find at Corre.

Another pretty Franco-Belgian transit channel, the Sambre, very sinuous from Namur to Erqueline, serves numerous sites of tourist interest in the Hainaut. It is, or rather was, a pleasant alternative to the Meuse. But, unfortunately, since the closure of the canal from the Sambre to the Oise, in France, it is no longer possible to use it to reach the Paris basin.