Everyone knows that Robert Louis Stevenson journeyed through the Cévennes mountains with a donkey called Modestine. His travelogue Travels with a Donkey in the Cévenneswas published in 1879, and thousands of tourists follow in his footsteps every year.
Lesser known is his earlier waterway journey from Brussels to Paris in 1876, which is said to have inspired his most famous novel, Treasure Island.
This year marks 150 years since Robert Louis Stevenson set sail for Paris with no compass or map, travelling via canals and rivers. His travelogue, An Inland Voyage, published in 1878, recounts an extremely wet experience. It rained practically every day.
Map showing the routeRL Stevenson European Network
Sylvie Anthony, secretary of the association Sur les Canaux du Nord dans le Sillage de Robert Louis Stevenson, is a great fan.
“I live in Alaincourt (Aisne), where there is a museum, La Maison de Marie-Jeanne, about Robert Louis Stevenson. That is how I became interested in him and his work. So I joined the association, and then, in 2013, we created a European network, Dans les Traces de Robert Louis Stevenson, and now I am vice-president of that too.”
Although he never permanently lived in France, Robert Louis Stevenson was a great Francophile and visited the country many times, exploring almost every corner of it.
A painting marks Robert Louis Stevenson's travels through France atSur les Canaux du Nord Stevenson
“At that time it was quite rare for a writer to describe their travels and the people they met in a personal way rather than merely producing factual guidebooks. Robert Louis Stevenson was one of the first to produce modern-style travel books, and that was really how he started out as a writer. He loved France, a country he discovered as an adolescent while on holiday with his parents.
“Although he died very young, at the age of 44, he managed to do a lot. He originally began travelling for his health – the Scottish climate was not good for him – and after he finished studying he came back to France to avoid becoming the lawyer his parents wanted him to be. I’m sure lots of people can relate to that.
"I personally am not a traveller, but I am a great reader and I love meeting people, especially people who do travel,” says Ms Anthony.
You can follow the routes Robert Louis Stevenson travelled by bicycle, on foot or by boatAisne Tourist Office
To mark the 150th anniversary of RLS’s travels from Brussels to Paris, the association invited amateur and professional watercolour artists to submit views from anywhere along Robert Louis Stevenson’s route before July 15, 2026, for an exhibition to be held in Pont-sur-Sambre on November 7, 2026, and subsequently for inclusion in a Carnet de voyage illustré.
“I have read all his books with great pleasure,” says Ms Anthony.
“It is like travelling with him, and it is interesting to compare the countryside he describes with the countryside as it is today. Sometimes places have changed beyond recognition, and sometimes they have stayed the same. I love the fact that when he made this journey, Robert Louis Stevenson really didn’t know how he would travel or where he would stay along the way. He had no compass, and he doesn’t mention a map anywhere in his book either. It was a real adventure.”
Cycle along the banks of the Oise in CompiègneOliverouge 3/Shutterstock
Intrepid fans wanting to follow in RLS’s footsteps can do so by bicycle, on foot, or by using pleasure boats on the canals. It is only possible to travel by canoe on the rivers.
