The Pont-canal de Briare is the largest metal canal bridge in France. It is 662 metres long in total, consists of fifteen metal sections and is accompanied by elevated pedestrian walkways. Anyone wishing to rent a holiday apartment can consider Briare as a destination for this purpose.
Water
The Canal de Briare connects Briare with Montargis and, via the Loing, provides a link between the Loire and the Seine. It has 36 locks and is 57 kilometres long.
The Canal de Briare passes through Briare and there has a lock located in the Loire called Baraban. The Usine élévatoire also continues to supply the canal: it was built in 1895 by engineers La Vallée and Huet and pumps water from the Loire 45 metres higher to the summit level.
The marina in Briare has 88 berths. Its lock connects the two harbour areas.
Paths and Boats
The 14-kilometre Loire et Vignes cycling route between Briare and Gien is fully operational and signposted. Together with the Loire à Vélo route, it enables a tourist cycling and VTC loop of around 27 kilometres.
The Scandibérique runs for 75 kilometres between Nargis and Briare along the towpaths of the Loing and Briare canals. The Loire à Vélo also offers a 21-kilometre stage from Beaulieu-sur-Loire to Briare, which follows hydraulic engineering structures and natural areas along the Loire to the marinas of Briare.
Sightseeing cruises on the Henri IV boat pass over the Pont-canal and through a lock. At Bateaux-Barbecue Le pouce Do, you can barbecue on doughnut-shaped boats while exploring the picturesque canal.
Culture
The Musée des Deux Marines et du Pont-canal features a reconstructed Loire quay, boat hulls, fishing equipment, ropes and traditional craft shops, including a clog maker, carpenter and cooper. The museum also tells the history of Briare as a town of boatmen at the confluence of the Loire, the Canal de Briare and the Canal latéral à la Loire.
The Musée des Émaux et de la Mosaïque is housed in the former residence of its founder, Jean-Félix Bapterosses, and traces 160 years of industrial art. Exhibits include faience, beads, buttons, enamel mosaics, archival documents, machinery and a film about the production of enamel. The museum also presents 19th- and 20th-century mosaics by Eugène Grasset and Victor Vasarely.
The Church of Saint-Étienne is a Romanesque-Byzantine building with interior domes and an exterior mosaic of the Angel of the Martyrdom of Saint Stephen by Eugène Grasset. Its interior floor is completely covered with mosaics featuring symbolic motifs. The church is listed in France’s supplementary inventory of historic monuments.
The Town and Local Impressions
The free Médaillon-de-Bapterosses trail is an approximately one-and-a-half-hour outdoor urban treasure hunt conducted using the Baludik app.
La Maison du Pont-Canal offers a selection of regional gastronomic specialities, including biscuits, wines, preserves, terrines, chocolates and honey.
At the Centre municipal d'expositions de Trousse-Barrière, the former dining room features a remarkable Renaissance-style coffered ceiling. Individual visits are free at any time.
Other places: Cléry-Saint-André, Césarville-Dossainville, Saint-Jean-De-Braye, Vennecy, Nogent-Sur-Vernisson, Sandillon, Vrigny, Cravant.
