All types of routes
Cycle route along the Canal entre Champagne & Bourgogne
Official route
Jean-François Feutriez 
Agence d'Attractivité de la Haute-Marne 
Nicolas Pinson - France Vélo Tourisme 
ARTGE - Pierre Defontaine 
Mairie de Langres - leuropevueduciel.com 
Nicolas Pinson - France Vélo Tourisme 
Côte-d'Or Tourisme - A Muzard 
Nicolas Pinson - France Vélo Tourisme 
OT du Lac du Der 
ARTGE - Pierre Defontaine 
Jean-François Feutriez 
Agence d'attractivité de la Haute-Marne 
Vitry-le-François
Dijon
From the Champagne region’s lakes to the heart of Burgundy, the well-named Véloroute du Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne is a cycle route made for contemplative cyclists. Following the valleys of the Marne, Vingeanne and Saône, it leads you through beautiful countryside featuring forests, lakes and gentle-sided valleys. Starting from the town of Vitry-le-François, ride peacefully alongside the canal, away from motorized traffic, leaving the everyday bustle behind. Going through unspoilt parts, from one traditional village to the next, numerous further cycle trails have been laid out, presenting additional options, enabling riders to reach the lakes of Le Der, La Liez and La Vingeanne. Bathing is possible in these, making for particularly refreshing pauses on your route towards Burgundy and its capital, Dijon.
The Route
We present here the last stage of the Cycle Route which arrives in Burgundy and marks the confluence of the canal and the Saône.
Signposting and the state of the route
The Véloroute du Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne is fully open in both directions. It is signposted all the way along, with dedicated signage. The surface is rough and rustic south of the town of St-Dizier, between locks (écluses in French) No.50 and No.46, as well as on certain stretches between Percey-le-Grand and Pouilly-sur-Vingeanne.
Most of the cycle route follows the canal’s towpath, with just a few short stretches on roads shared with motorized vehicles, notably around the town of Langres.
Connections to further cycle routes
- Le canal de la Marne au Rhin at Vitry-le-François
- La Meuse à vélo - EuroVelo 19 at Langres
- La Voie Bleue - Moselle-Saône à vélo at Maxilly-sur-Saône
Gradients and elevation
Ascents: 645m
Descents: 491m
Lowest point: 102m
Highest point: 472m
Road types
42km (15%) By road
10km (4%) Unknown
226km (81%) Cycle path
Surface
215km (77%) Smooth
42km (15%) Unknown
17km (6%) Rough
4km (1%) Unpaved
Trains et transport sur Cycle route along the Canal entre Champagne & Bourgogne
Trains and transporting your bike along the Canal entre Bourgogne & Champagne
- From Paris, head either for the train station at Vitry-le-François or that at Langres, to then cycle directly southwards towards Burgundy.
- TER Bourgogne (Burgundy regional train services), with SNCF train station at Is-sur-Tille, 25km west of Beaumont-sur-Vingeanne; or then make use of either the train station at Dijon or the station at Auxonne if you want to join the cycle route from the south.
Specific transport information is given in each stage description.
"Accueil Vélo" accommodation on Cycle route along the Canal entre Champagne & Bourgogne
19 Accueil Vélo accommodations await you on Cycle route along the Canal entre Champagne & Bourgogne!
View accommodations on the map
The best stays to make the most of it
The 7 stages of Cycle route along the Canal entre Champagne & Bourgogne
1 Vitry-le-François / Saint-Dizier
Véloroute 53 between Vitry-le-François and Saint-Dizier reveals the region’s rich cultural and natural heritage. In Vitry-le-François, a town nicknamed the Cité Rose (or Pink Town) because of certain façades built from ruddy Savonnières stone, visit the grand central square, Place d'Armes, Notre-Dame Church and the Musée de la Batellerie. Then you cross two charming villages, Orconte and Eurville-Bienville. Once at Saint-Dizier, the castle’s medieval ramparts and the historic centre where the town’s industrial past mixes with modern pieces of architecture and street art add interest for inquisitive cyclists.
2 Saint-Dizier / Joinville
From Saint-Dizier, ride on to Joinville, a town marked by the French Renaissance and its links to the mighty Catholic family of de Guise. You cycle along the towpath beside the Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne. Along the véloroute, the Château de Bienville and the exceptional Château du Grand Jardin in Joinville provide opportunities for unforgettable visits. Do also take the time to wander around the streets of Joinville, a small town designated a Petite Cité de Caractère® for its rich heritage and the beauty of its gardens. During hot summer spells, stopping here for a night, you’ll appreciate the refreshing atmosphere.
3 Joinville / Chaumont
From Joinville, you ride southwards along the towpath beside the Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne for Chaumont, an historic little town known as the Cité des Contes de Champagne. There are some particularly beautiful meandering stretches between Donjeux and Vouécourt. As to the construction solutions on display at Condes, they demonstrate the skills of 19th-century canal engineers, what with a Freycinet-gauge lock, a two-way tunnel, a navigational aqueduct and a swing-footbridge. Learning about all this engineering brilliance, you’ll feel quite knowledgeable on the subject too!
4 Chaumont / Langres
From Chaumont, cycle off to rejoin the Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne and continue due south along the towpath. Right after Chaumont, before Foulain and Marnay-sur-Marne, the way takes you zigzagging beside lovely meanders. There’s a little detour that’s really worth the effort, to the Tufière de Rolampont, a petrifying waterfall that coats the moss that grows here with tufa limestone. The further you ride along the towpath, the more the dramatically perched historic town of Langres comes clearly into view. You will have to tackle the steep slope to get up to its ramparts, a walk around them offering wonderful views.
5 Langres / Percey-le-Grand
On this stage, you’ll enter the region of Bourgogne Franche-Comté. Leaving Langres, you’ll also cross an exceptional French watershed, from where the waters flow either to the North Sea, the Channel, or the Mediterranean! As a prologue to the watery theme, it’s possible to make a little cycling pilgrimage to the source of the Marne River. Having greeted the young Marne, then head along a mix of greenways and quiet country roads up to Heuilley-Cotton. And you’ll rejoin the reassuring watery ribbon of the Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne, the gentle surrounding landscapes forged by the Vingeanne River.
6 Percey-le-Grand / Pontailler-sur-Saône
The Canal entre Champagne & Bourgogne enters Burgundy in the commune of Chaume-et-Courchamps, near Percey-le-Grand. The countryside on either side of the canal reveals here and there a village grouped around its church, vast cultivated fields and imposing isolated farms surrounded by verdant woods. To refuel, you'll have to leave the protective canopy of the canal by bike and wander through the surrounding villages. You might as well take the opportunity to visit the castles of Fontaine-Française and Talmay, two not-to-be-missed sites on this stage. Shortly after Maxilly-sur-Saône, the canal joins the Saône, joining up with the Voie Bleue cycle route. Enjoy the exhilaration of southern Burgundy!
7 Pontailler-sur-Saône / Dijon
At Pontailler-sur-Saône, cross the river from west bank to east bank to then cycle southwards beside the waterway to Lamarche-sur-Saône. Having crossed the Saône again, you then leave the blue ribbon of the Saône Valley behind, entering Longchamp Forest. After riding along a series of forest tracks and stretches along quiet country roads, you cross a string of villages – Tellecey, Remilly-sur-Tille, Arc-sur-Tille and Couternon – before reaching the network of cycle paths set up across the bustling city of Dijon. This town is the terminus for this particular cycling adventure, with the very tempting prospect of exploring the historic, cultural and culinary capital of the Bourgogne Franche-Comté Region.