We are booked to cruise this area at the end of May and I would love to hear from any one who can give us recommendations of places worth visiting and restaurants with in walking distance of the canal. We do have a guide sent to us by the boat company but any person recommendations or comments would be very helpful also.
Thanks!
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KKmad
I usually recommend that this segment be done in the opposite direction. There are two reasons:
1. The portion from Braum to Castelnaudary is long and has few services/restaurants. I think it’s best to travel this portion when beginning and the voyage is fresh; it tends to be a bit anticlimactic as a final segment.
2. I consider the Etang du Thau a must see. When traveling eastbound, whatever time is left on the voyage can be leisurely spent on the lake. When starting in Port Cassafierres, it’s difficult to gauge the proper time to spend visiting the lake ports and still make good westerly progress.
If you have sufficient time to explore the Etang de Thau, here are some of the highlights:
1. In Marseillan visit the production facility of Noilly Prat.
2. In the port of Meze I like the restaurant Le Pavois.
3. If you like oysters, there is an interesting museum in Bouzigues but this is probably too far east to visit.
4. The Etang is very shallow so care must be take to maintain proper track (in the middle just south of the oyster beds) while crossing. Additionally, afternoon winds can be quite strong causing the lake to be very rough, making it difficult to cross (particularly in a canal boat). I should plan on crossing earlier in the day when the lake is calmer
Continuing towards the east, keep in mind that negotiating the 6 écluses de Fonsérannes just after Béziers can take a great deal of time when the canal is busy. I believe upstream access is from 10h – 11h45 and 16h – 17h30. Commercial craft have priority over pleasure craft and there are several commercial boats using these locks.
With very average restaurants and ungrateful merchants, the one town along this route which I have found to be most inhospitable is Colombiers. I avoid it entirely when possible.
You will pass the junction of the Canal du Midi and the Canal de la Robine. There is little to see and few if any services along the Canal de la Robine, I recommend avoiding it.
At Ventenac this is a wine producer who sells his excellent product right at the edge of the canal. It’s served from what appear to be gasoline pumps but do not be deceived, the wine is quite good and I should not miss it. Bring your own containers for best pricing.
At Homps, I recommend hiring a taxi to take you to Minerve for the day. You will not regret having done this if you have never visited Minerve (Minervois takes its name from this village). The Restaurant of the Auberge de l’Arbousier in Homps is one of the best along this canal (04 68 91 11 24). Arrive early or call in advance as it is usually very crowded.
At Trebes ask the Office de Tourisme about restaurants. When so inquiring several years ago we were put in contact with a chef who picked us up from boat in his van and drove us a short distance to an old convent where he had a semi private restaurant. We were the only people there (his son helped served) and the food as fantastic. One must ask to discover treasures of this sort.
I shall not comment about Carcassonne. If this is your first trip there, it will be a special treat.
I strongly recommend taking something along to give to the lock keepers (éclusiers) who help you along the way. The number of keepers and the services they perform vary from route to route. This is a common canal courtesy. It doesn’t have to be expensive, the more creative the better. I usually find some individually wrapped beef jerky pieces to hand out. They are not expensive and the French, not being overly accustomed to jerky, find them very interesting. Maybe you have some kangaroo jerky.
One final note, when you arrive in Castelnaudary, make sure to take the time to order cassoulet in any of the local restaurants. This is ground zero for this famous dish and no restaurant in Paris can serve cassoulet to equal what is available here.
I hope this helps. Have a wonderful trip.
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I forgot to mention, if you have a small Australian flag that you could possibly attach to your boat, it might be an excellent ice breaker when approaching fellow canal travelers.
Due to the unfortunate state of present day international affairs, I do not recommend anyone hoisting the Stars and Strips high over his rental boat. We always fly the state flag of Texas, those who know often stop to chat, those who do not leave us alone.
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Thank you Sarastro!
I have printed off your post to present to at our pre-cruise meeting. You have been very helpful and I have just popped our Ausie flag into my bag. Not sure if we have Kangaroo jerky but the idea is great and will put my creative mind to work.
Are there any notable restaurants along the way? We see ourselves eating out one meal a day if possible and purchasing local produce alone the way to snack on.
Thank you again!
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KKmad
Here are some additional thoughts:
1. In Carcassonne, Chez Fred is a good, inexpensive restaurant. They serve excellent Sangria. So impressed with this libation was I that I actually begged them to give me the recipe. After assuring them I was indeed a foreigner (my accent is also very convincing evidence) and was in no way interested in competing with them, they divulged the secret ingredient; gin, lots of gin. We always order it by the pitcher.
2. Trebes is another good location to visit. They sell Muscat by the liter here. It is a very sweet wine usually consumed before or after dinner, served very cold. Again, bring your own containers for best pricing, preferably large containers. Ask at the Office de Tourisme about restaurants. There are a few excellent dinning locations that are open by advanced reservation only. The Office of Toursime will have the details.
3. Le Somail is a pretty location with a 17th century church worth a visit. The restaurant La Cascade here is good.
4. Capestang offers a charming village with the highly acclaimed restaurant Le Relais de Pigasse 04 67 89 40 98.
I am sure you%26#39;ll have a very memorable voyage.
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Sarastro,
You really shocked and disappointed me with your advice to KKmad to hide his nationality by not flying his flag. It is true that I have not done much the Midi, but I have done most of the canals in northern Europe, along with a round trip up and down the Rhone. We flew, and will continue to fly, our national flag proudly on each of our voyages.
Never received anything but courtesy and kindness from everyone, with the exception of a few commercial bargees, and that was not because we were Americans, it was because they thought they had priority entrance at a lock. As a matter of fact, our flag attracted all sorts of folk who were curious about the States and wanted to chat. Made many friends on the canals.
You sound like those timid Yanks who wear Canadian flags on their backpacks. You certainly won%26#39;t fool many into believing you are not American, with a Texas accent.
:-(
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Nukesafe....
Read the post more carefully!
Sarastro was encouraging us to fly our Australian flag. I also like the idea of the Ausie token of friendship – we very much look forward to enjoying French hospitality and would love to show our appreciation.
Sarastro – thank you yet again!
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Quite an interesting post nukesafe. I%26#39;ll only comment on one part:
%26lt;%26lt;they thought they had priority entrance at a lock%26gt;%26gt;
Commercial vessels, (including those only carrying passengers for hire) do have priority at any lock entrance over all other pleasure craft.
This is the reason why I caution those whose time may be limited about the 6 locks of Fonsérannes near Béziers. Access may be limited during peak travel periods and the time to pass this section of the canal can easily exceed the time one allocates. During good weather there is a least one passenger for hire vessel that spends the entire day just climbing and descending through the locks. Much to the chagrin to the unknowing, this vessel and those like it are not required to wait in line with pleasure craft.
If anyone has a question about priority of commercial vessels, he can avoid embarrassing himself by clarifying the rules with his boat rental company prior to disembarking their base.
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Hi, We%26#39;re doing this part of the Canal du Midi in June, and have purchased an amazing, very detailed canal cruising guide. It%26#39;s called Canal Cruising in the South of France by Pixie Haughwout and Ralph Folsom at www.SeaFeverGear.com. Lots of up-to-date information that will be very helpful to us! Have a wonderful trip!
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Hi all
am glad I read this post as we are also doing the exact same trip and we are also from Perth Western Australia we are doing it in June. pity otherwise we could have said hi along the way.
I wish I had spoken to Sarastro before re which direction to travel but hey we will still enjoy I%26#39;m sure. We also have the Ozzie flag packed and thanks for the tip re gifts for lock keepers.
The info on resturants etc will be great have already printed it out.
one other question any idea how many euros we will need on a daily basis for 1 weeks food and fun on the canal?
cheers
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I just got back from 5 nights at the end of May, and it was fantastic.
We opted for a short cruise and used the remaining days in Paris.
I would have loved to go further east, but I think we did the right thing. We also rented bike to explore some of the smaller villages along the way.
Weather was in the 80%26#39;s in the sun and in the 60%26#39;s when cloudy. I rented boat from Conneisseur and sailed from Trebes to Castelnaudry. Four of us rented a Caprice with 2 bedrooms and bathrooms. This was just right amount of time for me.
River traffic was at a minimum. I can see this being a problem during the busy season. Nice restaurant and bakery in Trebes.
Brams was also a nice stopover at the restaurant along the canal.
It was a nice place for a real shower and the woman who runs the place has it stocked with basics (wine, bread and ice cream).
Carcassonne was fun...the town surprisingly closes up early and the old city was amazing. In Castelnaudary it was hard to find a good restaurant. The two places recommended in guidebooks had no one in them, so we opted for a good pizza place.
KKmad...how was your trip??
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