Day 5 - Montargis to Briare

Montargis, where the Loing Canal, the Orlean Canal, and the Briare Canal conflue [sic], bills itself as the Venice of France. I have never before seen a place where three canals come together and I was gobsmacked. There is a high bridge for bicyclists, and it is an amazing panorama . 

We continued up the Canal de Briare. Paris is at 35 meters above sea level, today we crested our first major divide near Rogny-les-Sept-Écluses (Rogny of the Seven Locks), at 165 m. Goodbye, watershed of the Seine; Hello, watershed of the Loire. Then, whoosh, downhill to Briare and the Loire (122) m.  Here are the seven locks today.

The locks at Rogny (not in use today), reminded me of the “Flight of Five” locks, at Lockport, New York, where the western end of the Erie Canal climbs over the Niagara escarpment. Because a boat needs to transit the whole series of locks before another boat can start in at the top (or bottom), both of these lock-staircases were eventually replaced with locks adjacent that were more efficient to operate.  Here's a postcard from when the Flight of Five was in action.