The Canal du Midi starts in Toulouse and finishes up near Sete some 240 kilometres later passing through some terrific scenery that you'll glimpse little of when travelling by car.
A trip along the canal whilst steering your own canal boat is something that you should do at least once in your life to experience a much more laid back lifestyle and to see some of the more ancient parts of France. However, if you can't manage that, it's possible to take short cruises along the canal at various points from as little as EUR 8.
The canal goes through the oldest parts of most of the towns and village that it passes with numerous picturesque views to be seen along the way from the well-known city of Carcassonne to the much less known, but no less beautiful, Le Somail.
You'll see the characteristic oval locks along the whole route and much of it is the tree lined canal that is typical of the Canal du Midi. Don't miss the spectacular series of nine locks at Beziers which is probably the best place to see the locks in action.
Along the way, you'll experience a much more relaxed way of life. Everything stops at noon for lunch so queues of boats build up at the lock entrances at that time. If you have a choice, it's a whole lot easier to do your cruising downstream (ie in the direction from Toulouse to Sete) as in this direction, the locks lower you so you can just step off the boat rather than having to climb up a ladder if you're going upstream.
To see some "intresting" steering you can go to the lock at Agde which has four exits and it's rare to find that first time canal boaters know how to negotiate it. It's also quite fascinating to sit and watch the boats departing from the various rental locations as it takes a while for it to sink in with most people that the steering on a boat doesn't work unless the boat is moving fairly quickly.
Finally, if you are hoping to take a boating holiday on the Canal du Midi, you'll probably be surprised to know that the majority of the rental companies are British owned as the French themselves never really took up the business of boating along rivers and canals as a holiday activity.
Although the Canal du Midi finishes near the small town of Marseillan, you can continue on across the Etang de Thau to join the Canal du Rhone which continues along the Mediterranean. If you're doing the driving, think about where your heading before setting off across the Etang as it'll take you about 90 minutes to cross and is filled with sand banks. Coming back requires you to very carefully reverse your directions as you'll not be able to see the small lighthouse marking the start of the Canal du Midi until you are pretty close to it.
The nearest airports to pickup a canal trip are Toulouse (TLS) served by major airlines and discount airlines or Carcassonne (CCF) served by Ryanair.
