It connects the river Marne and the Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne in Vitry-le-François with the port of Strasbourg on the Rhine.

The original objective of the canal was to connect Paris and the north of France with Alsace and Lorraine, the Rhine, and Germany.

The Saint-Louis-Arzviller inclined plane is located between Arzviller and Saint-Louis and its construction replaced 17 locks.

The route is now made up as follows: The western section, 131.4 km (81.6 mi) has 97 locks, 70 rising to the summit level and 27 down to the Moselle at Toul.

The eastern section, 159 km (99 mi), has 56 locks, 21 rising to the summit level crossing the Vosges watershed and 35 down to Strasbourg.