Canoeing in Strasbourg

Did you know that it was possible to canoe and kayak in Strasbourg? Personally, I didn’t know it until I saw some kayakers passing by one day on the Ill… Of course, this made me want to try it right away and I asked around. The association Strasbourg Eaux Vives, located rue Pierre de Coubertin (just next to the European Parliament), offers canoeing tours in Strasbourg and around the city.

Different walking tours are possible: the city center of Strasbourg, the tour of the Aar, the Rhin Tortu, the Wantzenau… The itineraries are more or less long, which allows to make a tour from 2 hours to a full day. Depending on the circuit, the hikes can be done independently or only with a guide. The crossing of Strasbourg, for example, requires to be supervised: it is normal and reassuring, the navigation in Strasbourg is not simple. There are currents, locks, dams, we cross Batorama boats… In short, it’s out of the question to go it alone!

Depending on the tour, the minimum number of participants ranges from one person for the Tour de l’Aar to 8 persons for the other tours. So you’ll have to organize your outing with a group of friends! This is simply due to the logistics involved in picking up participants and equipment at the finish line and returning them to the starting point.

Different types of boats are offered: the Canadian canoe, which can accommodate 2 people (plus a child), the “sit-on-top” kayak (large open kayaks, very stable and self-bailing) and finally the normal kayak. The latter is reserved for people who have already kayaked but the other boats are accessible to all.

On my side, I tested the circuit From Strasbourg to la Wantzenau, which passes by Strasbourg, Schiltigheim and la Wantzenau. What struck me right away was the calmness on the water! The departure is done in Strasbourg but you feel really elsewhere as soon as you put your boat on the river. We are immersed in nature, we glide quietly on the water and we have the impression of being far from the city! It’s very nice, I really loved the atmosphere.

Léa, from the blog team, also had the opportunity to do another circuit: 8 km on the Ill river and then the Steingiessen, in the heart of the Robertsau forest. Its originality: Strasbourg eau vives proposes you to take advantage of it to make a citizen and ecological action by collecting the waste which you will cross. Léa loved the beauty of this course, with its swans and blue dragonflies, the seaweed, the remarkable trees and the flowers reflected on the transparent water.

At the end of the tour, a member of the Strasbourg Eaux Vives team will pick up the participants and their kayak and bring them back to the starting point, in the association’s premises. If it’s time to eat, you can even plan a picnic, tables are available outside. That’s what I did at lunch, it was fun!

My photos of the canoeing trip in Strasbourg