It is a lane trimmed with hundred-year-old trees that impassively reflect off  smooth rivers. Vivid water runs along the banks to finally end in the Iroise sea, crossing granite villages on its way, and flowing past ancient abbeys and medieval strongholds, sites that have retained many  tracks of their past. This green garden of Eden, free of all car traffic, exhales the perfumes of wild flowers and woods all through the seasons. Today, as in the past times of its splendour, the mythical canal from Nantes to Brest immutably follows its green lane over 360 kilometers. The historical wealth and the beautiful landscapes are beginning to be rediscovered, after several centuries of oblivion, by those who seek for nature and authenticity.
 
 Nature has taken pleasure to draw wavy lines and curved courses, magnified by the mirroring lights playing on the water's surface. Wherever man has interfered to allow merchant ships through, the curves suddenly change into straight lines. Whether you choose to be on the water or aside, you'll notice the natural borders that separate one land from the next. Discovering the canal from Nantes to Brest is possible on a small house boat, on foot or by bike. Some even combine the three of them, but that takes some organization! You can go from one end to the other walking or hiking, in one go, to then proudly say : “I've done the canal!”

 You can also choose to leave the canal after a short section and continue your journey on one of the hiking trails nearby, which offer beautiful star-shaped tracks  starting off from most picturesque sites. Today, this unique heritage is widely emphasized. A label called “Escales d'une rive à l'autre”, From one bank to another, indicates those places on the banks of the waterways that are willing to develop heritage and services. Numerous quality stopping points are now to be found along the canal's edge, ready to welcome the visitors for a truly relaxing moment. Climbing, sailing, angling, canoeing and hiking: there is no way to get bored on the canal.

www.canaux-bretons.net
http://canal.nantes.brest.free.fr