Europe's Waterways

Starting in the Camargue, we travel up the Rhône, the most voluminous river in the country, past Arles, Avignon and Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The route then follows the wild Ardèche into France’s Massif Central.

The journey takes us to eastern Germany. From the Mecklenburg Lake District, the route follows the rivers Havel and Spree through Berlin into the Spree floodplains in Brandenburg.

Always upstream, today’s journey takes us to the Netherlands and Belgium. From the North Sea and the port city of Rotterdam, we travel along the Maas. Passing Venlo, Maastricht and Liège, the route follows the Ourthe river into the Belgian Ardennes.

Starting in the lagoon city of Venice, the journey follows Italy’s longest river, the Po. From its delta, we travel by way of Cremona, Vercelli and Turin up to its source in the Cottian Alps.

Venturing upstream on Europe's waterways, the series discovers five regions of the continent from an unknown perspective and visits people who live from, on and with water. Rivers, canals, lake regions, they have shaped Europe's cultures for centuries - they are a place to live, transport arteries and sources of energy. Five journeys on watercourses broad and narrow lead to Italy, Germany, France, Poland, Holland and Belgium.