Loire Marine Heritage Weekend

Châteauneuf-sur-Loire’s Musée de la marine de Loire explores the river and its canal network through guided visits grounded in navigation history. Museum interpretation connects waterways, vessels and the communities whose livelihoods depended on moving goods and people. A seamanship demonstration by Les Mariniers de Vitry-aux-Loges adds a practical dimension, showing skills that are difficult to understand through objects alone. The volunteer association also builds river-navy boats, keeping construction knowledge alive alongside handling techniques. In Châteauneuf-sur-Loire, the programme turns maritime heritage into an active encounter with craft, collective memory and the engineered network that linked the Loire to its surrounding canals from the museum collection to a practical demonstration on site.