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Canal du Midi

From Toulouse to the Mediterranean Sea

Magnificient buildings, sensual pleasures and 60,000 trees

60,000 trees were planted formerly at the Canal du Midi in France to secure the banks. And until today trees in many places line the canal, which runs from Toulouse down to the MediterraneanSea. They shade the towpaths and little streets too, which lead you to countless cultural monuments: to cathedrals and palaces, to Roman and medieval buildings. The wealth of culture is at the Canal du Midi faced with culinary treasures. In the region grows good wine and it gave birth to an excellent cuisine. Pleasure has a long tradition here.

France
Easy to moderate
  • 8 Days / 7 Nights
  • Self-guided tour
Meike Engling
Meike Engling
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Itinerary

In the evening welcome briefing and distribution of rental bike (if booked) in Toulouse. Because of its buildings with reddish stones the inhabitants call Toulouse „ville rose“ too, the pink town. Take a little walk to see the important sacred buildings of Toulouse. One of it is the basilica St-Sernin de Toulouse, which is one of the most beautiful Romanesque sacred buildings in South France. Toulouse is an attractive mixture of architectural styles with lordly Renaissance houses and former industrial buildings, which were masterful rebuilt into culture temples. One overnight in Toulouse.

Castelnaudary ist the destination of your tour today. In former times it was the place of a lot of mills. Till today the Moulin de Cagurel from the 17th century on the pestilence hill testifies it. Splendid manors, built in the 17th century too, and beautiful half-timbered houses let this town become an architectural jewel. A popular culinary delicacy in Castelnaudary is the savoury bean stew Cassoulet, which came up during the Hundred Years‘ War. Pork or duck, bacon, garlic sausage and white beans are possible ingredients. . One overnight in Castelnaudary.

Carcassonne is today one of the best preserved fortress towns in Europe and since 1997 part of the UNESCO World Heritage. The mightiest building of the town and one of the biggest fortresses in Europe is the fortress Cité Médiévale of Carcassonne with its 52 towers. You can experience the lively Carcassonne best in the downtown with its lively streets and the bastion Saint Louis. One overnight in Carcarsonne.

Villages, wine-growing estates and vineyards are located pictorially around the waterways. You reach Olonzac. You will have the chance to taste some good wines.

Narbonne, which is flanked by vineyards. The former capital of the Romanesque antiquity was the first Roman colony outside of Italy. Sights like the relics of the street “Via Domitia“ or the houses-bridge with Roman origin “Pont des Marchands“ are evidences of this time. But later centuries too have left their marks in the town: for example the archbishop’s palace or the Gothic cathedral. One overnight in Narbonne.

Béziers can look back to a 2,700 years old history. And it is the birthplace of that man too, who was the father of the Canal du Midi: Pierre-Paul Riquet. The alley Paul-Riquet in the centre of the town is dedicated to him. Béziers is located scenic in a winegrowing region, where the grapes for an excellent wine grow. Maybe you allow yourself a glass? One overnight in Béziers.

Your cycling alongside the Canal du Midi leads you past masterpieces of engineering like the lock of Agde. It is the only round lock of the Canal du Midi and was built with volcanic rock. The basic measurements of the lock are 29.90 metres diameter and 5.20 metres depth. Cap d´Agde at the Mediterranean Sea is your destination today. The biggest European marina is part of the French town Agde and a paradise for water sportsmen like divers, surfers or sailors. But people, who just want to bath and to rest at the beach, get their money‘s worth too. In Sète flows the Canal du Midi into the Mediterranean Sea. The town is surrounded by water and its surname is “Venice des Languedoc“. The reasons for this surname are beneath the Canal du Midi countless additional waterways, which cross the town. One overnight in Sète.

The tour ends after breakfast. Individual return journey.

The route

Moderate heavy! All routes are predominant planar or are located in an area, which is a little bit rippled. You will cycle on partly asphalted or sand- and pebble ways as well as on light traffic branch roads.

Prices and events

All data for 2023 at a glance
Place of arrival: Toulouse
  Season 1
25.03.2023 - 31.03.2023
24.09.2023 - 07.10.2023

arrival saturday
Season 2
01.04.2023 - 16.06.2023
03.09.2023 - 23.09.2023

arrival saturday
Season 3
17.06.2023 - 02.09.2023

arrival saturday
Canal du Midi, 8 days, cat. D, FR-CMRST-08D
Base price
1,139.00
1,219.00
1,269.00
Surcharge single room 339.00 339.00 339.00
Canal du Midi, 8 days, cat. X, FR-CMRST-08X
Base price
989.00
1,089.00
1,149.00
Surcharge single room 249.00 249.00 249.00
Season 1
Mar 25, 2023 - Mar 31, 2023
Sep 24, 2023 - Oct 7, 2023
arrival saturday
Season 2
Apr 1, 2023 - Jun 16, 2023
Sep 3, 2023 - Sep 23, 2023
arrival saturday
Season 3
Jun 17, 2023 - Sep 2, 2023
arrival saturday
Canal du Midi, 8 days, cat. D, FR-CMRST-08D
Base price
Surcharge single room
Canal du Midi, 8 days, cat. X, FR-CMRST-08X
Base price
Surcharge single room
1,139.00
339.00
989.00
249.00
1,219.00
339.00
1,089.00
249.00
1,269.00
339.00
1,149.00
249.00
Season 1
Mar 25, 2023 - Mar 31, 2023
Sep 24, 2023 - Oct 7, 2023
Season 2
Apr 1, 2023 - Jun 16, 2023
Sep 3, 2023 - Sep 23, 2023
Season 3
Jun 17, 2023 - Sep 2, 2023
Toulouse
Double room p. P. cat. D
Surcharge single room
Sète
Double room p. P. cat. deluxe
Surcharge single room
Toulouse
Double room p. P. cat. standard
Surcharge single room
Sète
Double room p. P. cat. standard
Surcharge single room
85.00
45.00
112.00
92.00
77.00
42.00
77.00
63.00
85.00
45.00
112.00
92.00
77.00
42.00
77.00
63.00
85.00
45.00
112.00
92.00
77.00
42.00
77.00
63.00
Additional nights
Place of arrival: Toulouse
  Season 1
Mar 25, 2023 - Mar 31, 2023
Sep 24, 2023 - Oct 7, 2023

arrival saturday
Season 2
Apr 1, 2023 - Jun 16, 2023
Sep 3, 2023 - Sep 23, 2023

arrival saturday
Season 3
Jun 17, 2023 - Sep 2, 2023

arrival saturday
Toulouse
Double room p. P. cat. D 85.00 85.00 85.00
Surcharge single room 45.00 45.00 45.00
Sète
Double room p. P. cat. deluxe 112.00 112.00 112.00
Surcharge single room 92.00 92.00 92.00
Toulouse
Double room p. P. cat. standard 77.00 77.00 77.00
Surcharge single room 42.00 42.00 42.00
Sète
Double room p. P. cat. standard 77.00 77.00 77.00
Surcharge single room 63.00 63.00 63.00
Filter
21-gear unisex
21-gear gents
7-gear unisex
7-gear gents
Rental bike PLUS
Electric bike
99.00
99.00
99.00
99.00
159.00
239.00
Prices per person in EUR

Services & Extras

Services

Included:

  • 7 Overnights in hotels of the booked category incl. breakfast buffet or extended breakfast
  • Luggage transfer from hotel to hotel
  • Personal welcome briefing (GE,EN)
  • At best elaborated route with maps (GE,EN,FR)
  • Detailed travel documents with maps 1x per room (GE,EN,FR)
  • GPS-Tracks on request available
  • For rental bikes, rental bike insurance
  • 7-days-service-hotline

Not included:

  • Arrival and departure
  • Costs for parking
  • City tax
  • Transfers
  • Optional sightseeings
  • City maps
  • Repairs of own bike
  • Travel Insurances
  • Costs of the private requirements
Extras

Arrival / Parking / Departure

Good arrival via train or plane to Toulouse.

Airport: Toulouse, Montpellier or Béziers/Cap d´Agde.

Via train from Séte to Toulouse approx. € 40,-.

Bus transfer on Saturday or Monday from Sète € 120,- per person. For the return transport of your own bike we charge € 30,- extra. A reservation is required at the time of booking, a maximum of 6 people can be transported. Payment is made on the spot.

 

Parking

Cat. X: Sufficient parking spaces in a car park near the start hotel, approx. € 12,- per day.

Cat. Deluxe: Parking garage of the hotel, approx. € 12,- per night.

 

 

Hotels

French hotel classification


Category X: Overnight stays in good quality hotels of the 2*/3* category and 1x in a „chambre d'hôte“ in Olonzac. All rooms with shower/bath and WC.


Category Deluxe: Overnight stays in hotels of the 3*/4* category. Mostly they are the best hotels in the place and nearly all of them offer separate wellness and beauty areas. In addition, enjoy the excellent restaurants in these beautiful accommodations. All rooms have shower/bath and WC.

Important notes

Further important information according to the package travel law can be found here!

This tour has 1 more variation

Ratings

4.5 of 5 Stars (2 Ratings)
5 stars
Rudolf Hrovat DE | 23.09.2023
Das französische Abenteuer
Sehr gute Streckeneinteilung, interessante technische Schleusen-Highlights, typisch französische Unterkünfte, sehr nette Gastgeber,,viel Natur, angenehme Mitreisende, sehr gute Betreuung vor Ort
Anke Tammen
Anke Tammen answered:
Eine bessere Rückmeldung kann man sich kaum wünschen. Vielen Dank für Ihre 5 Sterne, die zeigen, dass Sie sich rundherum wohlgefühlt haben auf Ihrer Aktiv-Reise.
4 stars
Meike K. DE | 19.10.2022
eine schöne Fahrradreise mit vielen Eindrücken und gutem Essen
Überwiegend sind wir den Canal du Midi entlang gefahren in wunderschöner Natur mit ungezählten Schleusen. Auch die Fahrt auf den Nebenstraßen führte uns durch abwechselungsreiche Gegenden , oft in Weingegenden. In den Städten sahen wir wunderbare Kathedralen und uns begegnete die Geschichte Frankreichs. Abends speisten wir schmackhaftes Essen und genossen guten Wein. In der Unterkunft in Olonzac in der alten Villa eines ehemaligen Weinhändlers haben wir uns besonders wohl gefühlt. Auch sehr schön war es in Sete. Unser Hotel lag direkt am Hafen.

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