Discover the Canal du Midi – slicing south-west throughout the Occitanie area for 240km, this unbelievable waterway hyperlinks the Canal Latéral de la Garonne in Toulouse to the Mediterranean coast at Sète, passing by means of 63 locks and beneath greater than 300 bridges.
Ever because the Roman Empire, males had dreamed of a coast-to-coast waterway, however the issues of value and geography appeared insurmountable. The brightest brains puzzled over how to make sure a relentless stream of water and, specifically, the way to cross the best level, 190m above sea stage. However tax inspector Pierre-Paul Riquet was assured he may do it and in 1666, Louis XIV authorised him to start out work on the Canal Royal du Languedoc, offering employment for 1000’s of native staff.
Discover the Canal du Midi
The canal took 14 years to construct, decimating Riquet’s fortune, and when he died in 1680, there was nonetheless 4 km to finish, however after its completion in 1681, this liquid thoroughfare launched an financial and agricultural growth. No extra prolonged journeys crusing spherical Spain and paying hefty port taxes. Now barges may sail down the Garonne river from the Atlantic and alongside a steady canal to the Mediterranean.
Riquet understood that solely by harnessing the waters of the Montagne Noire within the division of Tarn may a canal cross the watershed. So in 1648, he settled in Revel finally discovering a spot the place mountain streams flowed by means of a slender gorge. Between 1667 and 1672, a military of staff created the lake of Saint-Ferréol on the border of Tarn and Haute-Garonne to retain water from the mountain behind an enormous dam – the primary of its sort in France. From there it was channelled to the watershed at Naurouze.
Right this moment, the best level on the route is marked by an obelisk while the lake at Saint-Férreol has develop into a well-liked place to swim and stroll by means of the pine-scented forest. Uncover how Riquet achieved the inconceivable within the Reservoir Museum at Enjoy Haute-Garonne.
The canal was not good, particularly the place it crossed rivers with fluctuating water ranges, however enhancements had been made by the Marquis de Vauban, army architect and Mr Repair-It to Louis XIV. Stroll by means of the Voûte Vauban, a 122-metre brick tunnel at Les Cammazes beneath the Montagne Noire and benefit from the mixture of historical past and pure historical past.
Renamed after the Revolution, the Canal du Midi noticed 300 years of economic visitors come to an finish in 1990, however immediately the UNESCO World Heritage website has a brand new lease of life as a leisure attraction. Take pleasure in a river cruise vacation, take a guided boating tour, or stroll or cycle the shady towpath. Lots of the 42,000 airplane bushes planted between Toulouse and Sète have been misplaced to illness, however a significant replanting programme is now utilizing species higher suited to the Mediterranean local weather.
Many cities and villages at canal stage provide exhibitions and actions beside the water. At Castelnaudary, take a brief tour cruise with commentary, hire a small boat for a day, or rent a motorbike. And at Port Lauragais, discover out extra in regards to the Canal on the Haute-Garonne Customer Centre, or perhaps hire a ship for a two-day mini cruise to Toulouse; town’s stunning previous city is only a 20-minute stroll from Port-Saint-Sauveur.
However it’s arduous to prime Riquet’s dwelling city of Béziers for waterway wonders. The 9 Locks of Fonseranes that kind that distinctive staircase. The Malpas tunnel, secretly excavated in simply three months with out royal authorisation. And the 19th century bridge that later diverted the route on the 7th lock, enabling boats on the Canal to cross over the Orb, 12 metres above its capricious water stage – Riquet, one feels, would have been critically impressed!
By Gillian Thornton, one of many UK’s main journey writers and an everyday author for The Good Life France Journal and web site.
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