The Moselle — in both directions
Rosé on the Croisette or a fish roll on the Elbe?
Both begin on your doorstep. Southward it is roughly 1,100 kilometres and 145 locks to the Mediterranean; northward roughly 1,000 kilometres and 24 locks to Hamburg. Enter your boat and you will see whether it fits and how long the journey takes at your pace.
What this planner does — and does not do
It calculates stages, not a route. The journey involves around 145 locks; we have stage figures, not the position of each one. The Canal des Vosges alone has 93 — we do not reproduce those from memory but point to the VNF charts. The Moselle is different: the actual locks are listed below with kilometre and radio channel.
On your route (Moselle km 229.5–242.2)
No known closures and no critical water levels on the Moselle section.
Covers the Moselle down to Apach. Beyond the French border (VNF area) we have no official notices — check the avis à la batellerie there. Water levels & floods · Locks & weirs
Your route in 8 stages
Schengen Marina Schwebsange
The last fuel berth on the Luxembourg Moselle. If you set off from here, leave with full tanks and fresh water — the next reliable supply is in France.
- Fuel
- Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 17:00, closed Sundays
- Harbour office
- 1 April to 31 October, daily 10:00–13:00 and 14:00–18:00
- Phone
- +352 23 66 44 60
Calculated with 6 cruising hours per day and 8 knots, plus twenty minutes per lock.
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1
Schengen → Apach
Mosel · LU / DE / FR
6 km 0 locks 1 days 0.4 hoursThe familiar part. From Schengen the Mosel becomes the Moselle, the border running down the middle. The last chance to refuel on the Luxembourg Moselle is Schwebsange.
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2
Apach → Metz
Moselle canalisée · FR
55 km 6 locks 1 days 5.7 hoursBeyond Apach, France begins at full gauge: wide chambers, self-service at many locks, industrial scenery around Thionville. In Metz you moor right in the city — the marina on the plan d’eau is one of the finest urban berths of the whole route.
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3
Metz → Neuves-Maisons
Moselle canalisée · FR
93 km 8 locks 2 days 8.9 hoursFrom Metz the canalised Moselle winds on southward, past Pont-à-Mousson and Toul with its ramparts. At Neuves-Maisons the large-gauge waterway ends — from here the Canal des Vosges takes over.
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4
Neuves-Maisons → Corre
Canal des Vosges · FR
122 km 93 locks 7 days 39.2 hoursThe decisive stage. 93 locks over 122 kilometres, chambers of 38.50 by 5.05 metres, air draught 3.50 m, draught 1.80 m. Over the summit level at 360 metres. Reckon on ten to fifteen locks a day, no more. Supplies are sparse.
This is the narrowest point of the entire route. If your boat is going to fail anywhere, it is here.
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5
Corre → Auxonne
Petite Saône · FR
175 km 19 locks 4 days 18.1 hoursThe Petite Saône is the finest stretch of the trip: calm, rural, almost no commercial traffic. Nineteen more small-gauge locks, then it opens up.
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6
Auxonne → Lyon
Saône (Großschifffahrt) · FR
190 km 5 locks 3 days 14.5 hoursFrom Auxonne, large gauge: five locks of 185 by 12 metres, push-tows up to 3000 tonnes. The character changes and the pace picks up.
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7
Lyon → Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône
Rhône · FR
325 km 12 locks 5 days 25.9 hoursTwelve locks, one of them at Bollène with a 23-metre lift — among the highest in Europe. The current runs with you at four to seven km/h, saving time but making berthing demanding. Going downstream is far easier than up.
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8
Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône → Cannes
Mittelmeer · FR
300 km 1 locks 4 days 20.6 hoursFrom here it is sea passage, not inland navigation. From Port-Saint-Louis you lock out to sea, then follow the coast past Marseille and Saint-Tropez to Cannes. This is a different environment with different demands on boat, equipment and licence.
This stage goes to sea. It requires seagoing equipment, a suitable navigation area and matching weather — it is not inland water.
Other destination AI-assisted
The calculation above goes to the chosen stage end. Beyond that — Marseille, Nice, Barcelona, Venice — you get an orientation here. It is expressly not a distance calculation.
Written by an AI and not verified. Deliberately without distances or times — they would otherwise sit beside the verified figures above without the same basis.
The Moselle in detail
For the first part of the route we have real data: every lock with kilometre, leisure-craft chamber and radio channel.
| Moselle kilometre | Place to call at | Leisure lock | VHF channel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 242.4 | Apach Lock | keine | Channel 20 |
| 229.9 | Stadtbredimus / Palzem Lock | 18 m x 3,30 m | Channel 20 |
| 212.8 | Grevenmacher / Wellen Lock | 18 m x 3,30 m | Channel 18 |
| 195.8 | Trier Lock | 18 m x 3,30 m | Channel 79 |
| 166.2 | Detzem Lock | 18 m x 3,30 m | Channel 78 |
| 141.5 | Wintrich Lock | 18 m x 3,30 m | Channel 22 |
| 123.8 | Zeltingen Lock | 18 m x 3,30 m | Channel 20 |
| 103 | Enkirch Lock | 18 m x 3,30 m | Channel 18 |
| 78.4 | St. Aldegund Lock | 18 m x 3,30 m | Channel 82 |
| 59.4 | Fankel Lock | 18 m x 3,30 m | Channel 81 |
| 37.1 | Müden Lock | 18 m x 3,30 m | Channel 79 |
| 20.8 | Lehmen Lock | 18 m x 3,30 m | Channel 78 |
| 1.9 | Koblenz Lock | 18 m x 3,30 m | Channel 20 |
From Apach upstream the VNF licence is compulsory in France. For the locks there and everything beyond you need the official charts — we deliberately do not reproduce them here.
Take it with you
As a PDF to print — aboard, paper helps where there is no signal. Signed in, you can open saved plans on any device, including on your phone underway.
Not passage planning
This calculation does not replace passage planning. Lock operating hours, closures, water levels, licences and the weather on the Rhône and the Mediterranean are yours to check. The figures are guidance, not promises.
Sources: WSA Mosel-Saar-Lahn — Mosel · VNF — Voies navigables de France · Canal des Vosges — Wikipedia · Rhône — Wikipedia