Briare aqueduct

Saturday
This morning we returned to Briare to explore it properly in good light. We started with the 19th century Church of Saint-Etienne in Briare, which was built on the site of an earlier church and combines elements taken from both byzantine and gothic styles of architecture, and has some beautiful decorative elements on the facade, made using the highly reputed local ceramics. Then we progressed to the aqueduct, which carries the Canal latéral à la Loire over the River Loire on its journey to the River Seine. At 662 metres in length, the aqueduct was, for a long time, the longest steel canal aqueduct in Europe, until it lost its title to the Magdeburg Water Bridge which crosses the Elbe in Germany and is 918 metres long. The Briare aqueduct was designed by the engineers Léonce-Abel Mazoyer and Charles Sigault. The masonry abutments and piers were completed between 1890 and 1896 by Gustave Eiffel and the steel channel was completed by Daydé & Pillé of Creil. The aqueduct was inaugurated on 16 September 1896. From the river, the aqueduct just looks like any old rail bridge but, as you can see from the picture, the aqueduct is in fact quite decorative, with a line of standard lamps on each side of aqueduct, and each end being marked by two ornamental columns in imitation of the Pont Alexandre III in Paris. We walked all the way across the aqueduct and back, quite exhausting in the extreme heat (the temperature was to top out at about 33C), then some more walking along the river and the canal, ending up at the port, where there are numerous pleasure boats moored, making a most picturesque scene, and it was here that we stopped for lunch. The flowers everywhere were magnificent - many bridges lined with glorious flower boxes - a riot of color. In the afternoon, we drove a little further south to the beautiful and renowned medieval hilltop wine town of Sancerre. We took the walking tour, exploring its narrow winding streets and historic buildings. We climbed the 'Tour des Fiefs', an ancient stone tower dating from the 14th century and once part of the original château, from which there were sweeping views over the vineyards and the Loire in the distance. A full and enjoyable day!