Saône Valley - What's new

Since 1st January 2004,the "LA SAONE" club has handed over the management and running of its site to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Haute-Saône, which still continuing to own it.

The information given here is available in the booklet called "LIVRET SERVICES PLUS" which is distributed from Easter onwards by members participating in the "Initiative for progress in the Saône Valley" who are mentioned on this site and who can be recognised around the Valley by the "QUALITE SAÔNE" sign that will be displayed outside or in the window.

The Saone discovered a new vocation: to offer all those prepared to “make haste slowly” the pastoral calm of its landscapes, still mercifully untouched by industrial and urban development.
The Saône rises at an altitude of 450 metres in the last Lorraine foothills of the Vosges massif, the river which gave its name to the department of the Haute-Saône is regarded as one of the most adapted to pleasure sailing. From there it flows to a more or less southerly direction for all of 472 kilometres before flowing into the Rhône in the heart of the city of Lyons.

The Saône is open to navigation throughout the year, except when it is in flood or the canals closed for maintenance work.
Touristic development and the improvement of the quality of the services have been encouraged : renovation of towpaths, improved signposting including touristic and cultural information panels, “progress initiative” for shopkeepers and tradesmen.
Each year there are between 5,000 and 6,000 pleasure boats which navigate the Saone.

With the financial support of the State Department for Small and Medium-sized Businesses, Trade, the Craft Industry and Consumption.

Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Haute-Saône
1 Grande Rue - BP 90079 - 70103 GRAY Cedex (France)
Tél. +33 (0)3 84 64 89 89 - Fax +33 (0)3 84 64 98 04