Cycle along the Canal du Midi with a Cicerone guidebook

• Location
• Description
• Contents
• Introduction
• Sample Route
• Maps
• Updates
• Reviews
• Further Reading

Cycling the Canal du Midi is a handy pocket-sized guidebook to cycle touring along the Canal du Midi in the sunny Languedoc region of southern France.

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, giving some protection from the summer’s sun and shelter in wetter weather.

It is easy to divide the cycle into manageable stages. There are plenty of stopping points, allowing you to pace yourself. Fresh water and accommodation are readily available close to the Canal du Midi. Those looking for a greater challenge can make excursions into nearby mountains or explore forest and marsh tracks.

Those planning a week-long cycling holiday should concentrate on the main canal and some of the short detours. Reasonably fit cyclists should be able to complete the canal and the excursions in two weeks.

UNESCO declared the Canal du Midi a World Heritage Site in 1996.

• ideal for anyone planning a cycling holiday, English-speaking residents of the region who want to explore or anyone passing through on the canal who wants to stretch their legs a little by bike
• describes the main canal (240km) and its Narbonne extension (37km), with excursions to the Cathar strongholds of Minerve and Lastours, the canal’s water source in the Montagne Noire and the lagoons and marshes in the Aude and Orb delta
• highlights the attractions of cities and towns along the Canal du Midi such as Toulouse, Carcassonne, Beziers and Sète, and gives practical information about accommodation, cycle shops, markets and festivals along the route