France - The Canal du Midi
Carcasson, Toulouse, Sete, Bezier plus canalside vineyards and cafes
The Canal du Midi has been designated a World Heritage Site by Unesco and what was once a crucial trade route is now a major tourist attraction. The canal starts at Toulouse and ends in Sete - a distance of 240 kilometers.
The best way to enjoy the canal is at the helm of your own boat. Unfortunately, most of us don't own a luxurious motor cruiser but you can pretend you do if you hire a self-drive cruiser, as we did.
France - The Canal du Midi - Starting the Cruise
We flew to Toulouse where transport had been arranged to take us Port Cassafiéres where our comfortable cabin cruiser was waiting for us at the nearby little canalside village of Le Somail. Streamlined and sparkling, with bicycles strapped onto her back and comfortable chairs arranged on her sun deck, she looked beautiful and welcoming
A cruise through this beautiful region of France is truly a cruise through history. The banks of the Canal du Midi are lined with peaceful villages, great cathedrals, chateaux and palaces. Places like the fortified medieval city of Carcassonne and the ancient city of Bezier look wonderful at any time but especially lovely when seen from the canal. .
Orderly rows of poplar trees line the banks, poppy-filled fields are glimpsed through their branches, and men sit silently hunched over their fishing lines. It's a view of tranquility that has changed little since artists such as Renoir and Monet were transferring the beauty of rural France onto their canvases.
Our cruiser was equipped with everything you could possibly need: waterway guides, a fully equipped
kitchen, and even a shelf of books and magazines for holiday reading. The company we rented our boat from,Crown Blue Line, has seventeen departure bases throughout France.
France - The Canal du Midi - Managing the Locks
The Canal du Midi is crossed by more than 100 locks, These are the mechanism that allows you to proceed from one level of the canal to another and, like it or not, you must learn how to negotiate your boat through them. It's not quite as complicated as it looks and there's usually a lock-keeper alongside to assist should you get into trouble.
One of the nicest things about a canal cruising holiday is the complete freedom of it all.You are in your own comfortable floating home and you can do exactly as you wish. It's not for people in a hurry. I doubt we did more than five miles an hour (or 'knots' when you are on the water) , which is perfect for observing birds and water fowl. The locks seems to take ages to fill or empty but this is an opportunity to chat to other holiday-makers as you wait your turn to enter the lock. Holidays don't come more relaxing than this.
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