La Collancelle offers several different ways to experience the canal and landscape: a boat trip through the tunnels, a canal section cut into the hillside and overgrown with dense vegetation, and walking and cycling routes. When planning your visit, it helps to distinguish between these options by how you want to explore. You can first decide whether you are more interested in the structures and a boat trip, nature, walking routes or cycling.

Explore the tunnels by boat

The Voûtes de La Collancelle consist of three tunnels named La Collancelle, Mouas and Breuilles. Their names make each structure specific, while the boat trip through them also makes this cultural attraction an active experience. The tunnels can be traversed by boat, and electric boats are also available for hire in Baye. If the tunnels are your main interest, you can therefore make the boat trip a focus of your visit. This is different from an outing focused on the path along the Rigole d'Yonne or a walking route.

Canal section and nature

Between Étang de Baye and the hamlet of Port-Brûlé, a four-kilometre stretch of canal runs through a cut in the hillside. Dense, wild vegetation characterises this section, which is known as the “little Amazon” (Petite Amazonie). For travellers interested in natural and waterside landscapes, the combination of canal engineering and wild vegetation is a distinctive feature. The nickname specifically draws attention to the vegetation that defines this section.

Walking routes by the ponds

At Port des Poujeats on the Bief de partage in La Collancelle, walking paths with educational information panels have been laid out around ponds. Here, the focus is on walking and the information along the paths, rather than travelling through the tunnels. If you are interested in walking routes and explanatory information, this combination offers a distinct point of interest. It gives you a different perspective on the landscape from a boat trip through the tunnels or a cycling route along the Rigole d'Yonne.

Cycling in the woods and along the Rigole

There are two distinct areas of interest for cycling. The Châtillon-en-Bazois–Chitry-les-Mines stage passes through the Bois de la Collancelle. At Port-Brûlé, visitors can follow a quiet route along the Rigole d'Yonne. The path along the Rigole has a rustic surface and is suitable for hybrid bikes (VTC), mountain bikes (VTT) and gravel bikes. When choosing a route, you can decide whether you are more interested in the stage through the woods or the quiet Rigole route, with its rustic surface and suitability for these types of bike.

Water sports and fishing at Étang de Baye

Étang de Baye is a place for water sports and fishing. This offers a different way to enjoy the water from a boat trip through the tunnels: the tunnels are about passing through by boat, while Étang de Baye is about water sports and fishing. When choosing activities for your trip, you can consider whether you are more interested in the canal structures and boat trip or would rather focus on water sports and fishing.

Discover more destinations: Maux, Lavault-De-Frétoy, Châtillon-En-Bazois, Saint-Honoré-Les-Bains, Corvol-D'embernard, La Nocle Maulaix, Villapourçon, Tintury

For the regional travel overview: Nièvre.