A waterway, apart from busy roads, that links the English Channel to the Ocean: that's an open invitation for travellers to experience the ancient bargemen's life in an original way. The adventure begins in Saint Malo, the City of Corsairs. Starting off from the beautiful Emerald coast, you can go as far as to the dam of Arzal by following estuaries, coastal rivers and affluents. The varied landscapes you will come across harmoniously combine rural and maritime influences.

 Following towpaths or bobbing along the water, enjoy the delightful, green settings, adorned with richly flowered locks, mills and washing places. Bearing witness to the not long-gone past, they quietly relate the richness and dureness of vanished crafts. The Nantes to Brest canal experiences a second youth and leads you through another side of Brittany's nature that is well-worth discovering. Fitted out with good shoes, hikers of all abilities will enjoy paths suitable for great walks. The banks along these waterways are peppered with villages and towns labelled “Escales d'une Rive à l'Autre” that offer high quality stopping points, including water sports activities and accommodations.

 
 Discover the city of Rennes, a dynamic town with great architectural and religious heritage. In the north of Redon you will reach the “Grand Site Naturel of the Oust valley” with its rocky escarpments, ideal for climbing. Continue further in the countryside, and you'll be surprised to find a yachting resort on the crossroad of the navigable waterways of the West. This is where the Vilaine, river of the Dukes of Brittany, meets the Nantes to Brest canal and becomes maritime. Gliding on towards the sea, you'll arrive at La Roche Bernard, a small city of character which towers over the river from its rocky spur. The last rendez-vous before you finally reach the Atlantic Ocean is the dam of Arzal that holds back the fury of the Vilaine River. When the tides are high, you can observe migrating salmon and trout swimming upstream over the fish-ladder.