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.

Schengen on the Moselle from the air, with vineyards and the European Museum on the bank

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.

Your boat

The limits come from the Canal des Vosges, the narrowest point of the whole route. If you do not fit there, you do not fit at all — there is no detour of comparable duration. Fields left blank are not checked.

Length overall maximum 38.5 m

Beam maximum 5.05 m

Draught maximum 1.8 m

Air draught maximum 3.5 m

Start and destination

Two directions, one calculator: south to the Mediterranean or north to Hamburg. And nobody has to go all the way — stop earlier and only those stages are calculated.

The classics from Luxembourg

The favourite destinations of Luxembourg captains — downstream into Germany, upstream into France. One click and the route is calculated.

Downstream — into Germany

TrierThe day trip — Porta Nigra within walking distance Bernkastel-KuesThe weekend — moor amid the half-timbered houses KoblenzThe holiday cruise — all the way to the Deutsches Eck

Upstream — into France

Sierck-les-BainsThe after-work run — a hop into France and back MetzThe weekend — cathedral in sight from the pontoon NancyThe week in Lorraine — via Metz

Direction South — to the Mediterranean (Cannes) North — to Hamburg

From

To

Other Mediterranean ports: the route is identical as far as Port-Saint-Louis. From there you follow the coast — Marseille, Toulon, Saint-Tropez, Nice. Those nautical miles are yours to work out; we only give the leg to Cannes because that is the one we have solid figures for.

Your pace

Locks cost more time than the cruising itself — considerably more on the Canal des Vosges. We allow a flat twenty minutes per lock. That is rough, but more honest than leaving them out.

Cruising hours per day

Cruising speed in knots

Calculating works without an account. To save and open later on your phone: Log in

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 2 stages

km 237.5

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

Harbour page →

61kilometres

6locks

2cruising days

0.3weeks

Calculated with 6 cruising hours per day and 8 knots, plus twenty minutes per lock.

Metz on the Moselle — Saint-Étienne cathedral and old town above the water

1

Schengen → Apach

Mosel · LU / DE / FR

6 km 0 locks 1 days 0.4 hours

The 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.
2

Apach → Metz

Moselle canalisée · FR

55 km 6 locks 1 days 5.7 hours

Beyond 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.

Your destination in detail: Metz

Metz is the finest weekend destination on the French Moselle: the marina on the plan d’eau lies at the foot of the old town, and from the pontoon you can see Saint-Étienne cathedral — whose Chagall windows alone are worth the trip. Medieval lanes, market halls and the Centre Pompidou-Metz are all within walking distance.

The six locks from Apach run in big chambers, often self-service — with the télécommande from the first lock you are self-sufficient. Out at ease against the current, back briskly with it: the classic weekend almost plans itself.

For the French locks we deliberately keep no individual data — the official VNF charts and notices to skippers are authoritative. The VNF vignette is required from Apach onward.

Good to know

Call or radio the plan d’eau marina early — its city-centre position makes it popular, especially on summer weekends.
On Saturdays the Metz market halls are compulsory — return-leg provisions included.
With an extra day, carry on to Nancy — from Metz it is the relaxed continuation of the same waterway.

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.

Download as PDF

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