France’s 10 longest rivers

France has a large number of waterways winding their way through the country, and these are part of the charm of the towns and landscapes they cross. Here are the 10 longest of them.

What are the 10 longest rivers in France?

1. The Loire

The Loire is France’s longest river!

1,012 km long, the river begins its course in the Massif Central, in the south of France, and ends its journey in the Atlantic Ocean, near Saint-Nazaire. Along the way, the Loire skirts the region’s famous châteaux.

Despite being the longest river in France in the national rankings, the Loire is (only) the 12th longest river in Europe.

• Source: Mont Gerbier-de-Jonc
• Mouth: Atlantic Ocean
• Departments : Ardèche, Haute-Loire, Loire, Allier, Saône-et-Loire, Nièvre, Loiret, Cher, Loir-et-Cher, Indre-et-Loire, Maine-et-Loire, Loire-Atlantique
• Towns crossed: Nantes, Tours, Orléans

2. The Seine

The Seine is 777 km long and comes second in this ranking.

This river rises in the Côte d’Or department in France, on the Langres plateau. Without doubt the most famous, the Seine is the mythical river that flows through one of the most beautiful cities in the world: Paris!

• Source: Mont Gerbier-de-Jonc
• Mouth: Manche
• Departments : Côte d’Or, Aube, Marne, Seine-et-Marne, Essonne, Val-de-Marne, Paris, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-St-Denis, Val d’Oise, Yvelines, Eure, Seine-Maritime, Calvados
• Cities crossed : Paris, Le Havre

3. The Rhône

The Rhône is longer than the Seine! Let me explain…

The Rhône is 812 km long and therefore longer than the Seine, except that on French territory, the river only covers 545 km of its total distance before reaching Switzerland.

The Rhône is the most powerful river in France, with a flow of 1,710 m3/s, making it a capricious river that leaves its mark on the landscape.

In 1993, its uncontrolled flow caused devastating floods along its banks.

• Source: Swiss Alps
• Mouth: Mediterranean Sea
• Departments: Ain, Savoie, Haute-Savoie, Isère, Rhône, Drôme, Loire, Ardèche, Gard, Vaucluse, Bouches-du-Rhône
• Cities crossed : Lyon, Arles, Geneva

4. The Garonne

Like the Rhône, the Garonne crosses villages and borders. The river covers 521.9 km of its 647 km in France before reaching Spain.

The brown colour of its water does not mean it is dirty: it is the result of a chemical reaction between fresh water, rich in clay, and salt water containing sodium, magnesium and calcium. This phenomenon is called clay flocculation.

• Source: Spanish Central Pyrenees
• Mouth: Atlantic Ocean
• Departments: Haute-Garonne, Lot-et-Garonne, Tarn-et-Garonne, Gironde
• Towns crossed: Bordeaux, Toulouse, Agen Bordeaux, Toulouse, Agen

5. The Meuse

At 486 km long, the Meuse is the fifth longest river in France. With a total length of 950 km, the river follows its long and gentle course through France, the Netherlands and Belgium before emptying into the North Sea.

Formed in the Palaeozoic era, the Meuse is considered to be one of the oldest rivers in the world.

• Source: Châtelet-sur-Meuse in Haute-Marne
• Mouth: North Sea
• Departments: Haute-Marne, Vosges, Meuse, Ardennes
• Towns crossed : Liège, Rotterdam, Verdun

6. The Dordogne

The Dordogne rises at altitude on the Puy de Sancy in the Puy-de-Dôme, the highest mountain in the Massif Central. The river is 483 km long and flows into the Gironde estuary.

• Source: Puy de Sancy in Puy-de-Dôme
• Mouth: Gironde estuary
• Departments: Puy-de-Dôme, Corrèze, Cantal, Lot, Dordogne, Gironde
• Towns crossed : Bordeaux, Bergerac, Libourne

7. The Charente

Along its 381 km length, only one bridge crosses the Charente, the Martrou Viaduct. For many years, the Charente was one of France’s most important rivers.

All along its course, the river Charente flows past an array of elegant châteaux, endless Romanesque churches and charming towns.

• Source: Haute Vienne
• Mouth: Atlantic Ocean
• Departments: Haute-Vienne, Vienne, Charente, Charente-Maritime
• Towns crossed : Angoulême, Cognac, Saintes and Rochefort

8. The Adour

France’s eighth largest river is in the Basque country!

Classified as a Natura 2000 site, the Adour is 308 km long and flows through the towns of Bayonne and Dax.

• Source: l’Adour du Tourmalet , l’Adour de Payolle and l’Adour de Lesponne
• Mouth: Bay of Biscay in the Landes department
• Departments: Hautes-Pyrénées, Gascony Hautes-Pyrénées, Gers, Landes, Pyrénées-Atlantiques
• Towns crossed: Tarbes, Dax, Bayonne

9. The Somme

Crossing only two départements, the Aisne and the Somme, the Somme river is 308 km long. Its waters are home to a myriad of fish including whitefish, pike, brown trout, sea trout and salmon…

• Source: Fonsommes (Aisne)
• Mouth: Channel
• Departments: Aisne, Somme
• Towns crossed: Saint-Quentin, Péronne, Amiens and Abbeville

10. The Vilaine

This ranking ends with the Vilaine, a 218 km long river in the west of France, in Brittany!

The river rises at Juvigné in Mayenne and flows into the Atlantic Ocean. Together with the Ille, the other river that flows through Rennes, it forms the name of the department: Ille-et-Vilaine.

• Source: Mayenne
• Mouth: Atlantic Ocean
• Departments : Mayenne, Ille-et-Vilaine, Loire-Atlantique, Morbihan
• Town: Rennes