Hotels in Decize

Decize is a small Nivernais town where the Loire and the Canal latéral meet, its old centre sitting on what's effectively an island ringed by water. It's the kind of place people pass through rather than seek out: a stop on the Loire cycling route (La Loire à Vélo) and for canal boaters, with a handful of medieval streets, a former priory church, and not much in the way of headline sights.

Be honest: there's little here to fill more than half a day, and the town's economy still shows the scars of the sugar refinery and other industry that once employed it. What it does offer is a quiet, unpretentious base for exploring the wider Nivernais countryside and the Loire valley without the crowds or prices of the bigger châteaux towns. Stay near the old town by the river for easy access to the canal towpath and the best of what little there is to see on foot.