France » Canal du Midi

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Canal holiday on French water ways:
The Canal du Midi

From the Rhone into the Atlantic: Canal du Rhône à Sète / Canal du Midi / Canal lat. à la Garonne / Garonne
Suitability for house boat holiday: ******
Length: 240 km, Looks: 63 House

Information to the Canal du Midi
Very suitable for families and friends: however, where possible, try to plan your holidays on this canal outside of the main holiday season. Autumn in Midi can be extremely pleasant. However, towards October there is a risk of no more water being available to operate the canal.

Description  and istory to the Canal du Midi:
The world’s most famous canal! In 1662, Paul Riquet presented his great project, the Canal des Deux Mers, to King Louis XIV’s finance minister, Colbert. In 1665 he received permission to create a tributary at the highest planned point. However, he had to pay for the work himself. Having proved that enough water could be brought to the Seuil de Naurouze, the contract to build the canal was signed by Louis XIV in 1666. In 1669 the construction work began in Naurouze, in 1680 Riquet died almost penniless: however, his oldest son, Jean Mathias continued the work. The canal was passable as of December 1682. Between 1686 and 1694, Vauban subsequently undertook a number of improvements.
1856 was the canal’s best year, with some 110,000,000 tonne kilometres of materials and some 100,000 passengers being transported. Around 1980 the freight traffic was discontinued and tourism began to develop. In 1996, the canal was incorporated into the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The Esperance
The last cargo vessel on the midi: after the freight stopped, only hope remained…

Advantages: You will certainly not be bored. There is water everywhere, as well as food and restaurants. The endless rows of trees on the right and left banks of the canal offer pleasant shade, even in the middle of summer. Those who take their time will also come to appreciate the canal construction, which is over 300 years old.
Disadvantages: The canal has generally become the byword for house boat holidays during the past few years, which has unfortunately lead to the fact that, during the main season, traffic is similar to that at the Bastille in Paris. The associated traffic jams at the locks can be an exhausting and nerve-racking affair.


3 x wine transportation:

The last wine cargo vessel



Cuisine and cellars:
I would like to recommend to you a wonderful and complete website at this point:
Le Canal du Midi, by Philippe Calas, possibly the most knowledgeable authority on the canal.

waterways,  for house boat and canal holiday in France and Europe.