bowls parks in some towns and villages facilitate evening competitions.
You’ll see people playing boules as you cycle
One of the more unusual sports encountered on the canal is water jousting or joutes nautiques, where two teams in heavy rowing boats equipped with an elevated platform at the stern row towards each other. A jouster carrying a wooden lance and a shield stands on each platform; each uses his lance to try and push his opponent off his platform and into the canal. Sète is the major centre for joutes, but it is popular all along the canal.
Cycling the Canal du Midi
France is one of the most cycling-friendly countries in the world. Up to 20 million French people cycle annually and much of the country is geared towards the activity. Occitanie is working hard to establish itself as the cycling holiday centre of France, and the local authorities are expanding an already extensive network of cycle tracks. Some of these incorporate parts of the towpath and offer the cyclist an opportunity to explore surrounding countryside safely and easily.
Food, fresh water and accommodation are readily available close to the canal, and towns and villages along the route make cyclists very welcome. Towns provide safe parking and hotels usually have secure areas for bikes. Café owners won’t mind if you arrive smeared in mud, grease or oil.
Cars are excluded from most of the towpath; roads are rural and relatively free of traffic. Plane trees shade most of the canal’s length, although these are dying away as a result of the canker stain spreading rapidly through the trees (see ‘Shade and the plane trees’, below). These trees give some shelter from sun or rain.
Food, fresh water and accommodation are readily available close to the canal
It is easy to divide the cycle into manageable stages. There are plenty of stopping points, allowing you to pace yourself. Those looking for a greater challenge can make excursions into nearby mountains or explore forest and marsh tracks.
This guide divides the canal into five stages:
Toulouse to Port Lauragais
Port Lauragais to Carcassonne
Carcassonne to Homps
Homps to Béziers
Béziers to Sète.
Information is also given on short detours to sights close to the canal and longer excursions into the surrounding countryside. The excursions are to:
St-Ferréol, the reservoir that feeds the canal
Lastours, a former Cathar stronghold
Minerve, a Cathar town set above the Cesse gorges
Narbonne and Port la Nouvelle
Vendres lagoon and the Aude river
the Portiragnes marshes, home to flamingos and other wildlife.
Places meriting a short detour are also listed (although detour lengths are not included).
Fit cyclists could complete the main canal in two days – possibly even one – although they might put themselves and others at risk in attempting to do so, and little of the canal would be seen and enjoyed. This guide is written for those who want to explore the canal and visit the main attractions along the way. For example, Carcassonne Cité, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, merits at least a half-day visit.
Those planning a week-long holiday should concentrate on the main canal and some short detours. Fitter cyclists may wish to include one of the excursions. Reasonably fit cyclists should be able to complete the canal and excursions in two weeks. Those traveling the canal by boat, or living or holidaying in the region, will be able to use the guide to plan day or overnight trips. The stage planning tables in Appendix A will help you to plan days of the right length for you.
Those looking for short cycles can make return trips along the canal. The best stretches for those without much cycling experience are between Toulouse to Port Lauragais; Carcassonne to Trèbes; Béziers to Portiragnes Plages; and Marseillan to Sète. These sections are tarmacadamed with the exception of the Carcassonne to Trèbes path. In addition it is possible to use the train and cycle, especially in the Toulouse area – cycling along the canal and getting a train for the return journey.
The canal is easy to access, with airports, train stations and motorways nearby. By air it takes a few hours to reach it from most of Europe’s airports. It is under seven hours’ drive from Paris and 11 hours from Calais. There are train stations along its length, and the French train network is generally bike-friendly.
When to go
One of the great attractions of the Canal du Midi is that it can be cycled throughout the year. There are times when the weather is more reliable and the experience is more pleasant, but I’ve cycled the route in all seasons and each has its own special appeal.
Summer
The canal is vibrant in summer. Cicada whirr constantly along its banks; sunflowers bloom along the higher reaches while grapes swell on the vines. The regions are alive with festivals and ferias, and the canal is busier: there are more barges, queueing at locks and filling its harbours. There are more cyclists on the towpath but it is never crowded or unpleasant, and it only takes a few minutes’ pedalling to reach a quiet stretch.
Sunflowers growing beside the towpath
On the downside, summer temperatures can soar to 40˚C and it can be difficult cycling in intense midday heat. Nights remain hot and June and July bring out mosquitoes and midges, which can be an irritation both during the day and more so after dusk.
Plan overnight stops carefully in July and August. Campsites are in heavy demand and so advance booking is advised. Hotels in towns holding festivals fill up quickly and almost every bed is taken at weekends and bank holidays.
Spring/autumn
These are pleasant seasons for cycling the canal. Spring comes early in the Mediterranean area; from mid-February to June the days lengthen and warm, flowers bloom, butterflies emerge, swallows and martins return.
The area retains its warmth into late October. The shortening days are warm enough for shorts and T-shirts; the sea is still warm enough for swimming. It is an ideal time for cycling with daytime temperatures reaching 20° or more. Note, however, that nights are cooler, and the average rainfall is higher in May and June in the Toulouse to Carcassonne region than in earlier or later months.
Tourist numbers increase and decrease in spring and autumn respectively, and most tourist attractions are open. It is easy to find hotel rooms and seats in restaurants. The festival season begins in late spring and tails off in autumn.
The start of the Canal de Jonction (Excursion 4)
Winter
Far
