Pont-Canal de Briare

Live your dreams of being a riverboat captain in Loiret and have a cruising holiday on the Canal de Briare, the oldest canal in Loiret. Its construction began in 1604 and it opened to navigation in 1642 between Briare and Montargis.  It has some remarkable works of art like the staircase of 7 locks at Rogny, the Ecluse de Mantelot lock at Châtillon-sur-Loire, the ‘gares d’eau de Briare’ and the famous Briare aqueduct.





The Briare aqueduct is renowned for the technical, human and aesthetic achievements that its construction represented.  It was built to carry the Canal Latéral over the River Loire. Construction work began in 1881. The masonry was by Eiffel and the metalwork by Daylé and Pillé under the direction of Project Engineer Léonce-Abel Mazoyer.  The aqueduct was opened on 16 September 1896.

The result is commensurate with the aims and means used in the operation : 662.69m long, supported by 15 beams 40m and 11.50m wide, suspended 11m above the river and weighing 13.68 tonnes.