A few steps from our Vias campsite, in a natural setting of the most pleasant, the Canal du Midi, is :
- 14 years of work
- 241 km long, from Toulouse to the Thau Lagoon
- 63 locks and 350 engineering structures
- 10,000 boats per year at the Fonseranes locks
- 90,000,000 m3 of water per year to feed the canal
Listed as aUNESCO World Heritage Site, this fantastic work, the principle of which dates back to antiquity, has remained in the planning stage for centuries. Under the reign of Louis XIV, only the tenacity of a man, Pierre Paul Riquet, will come to the end of this crazy idea: to create then feed an artificial waterway 241 km long, 10 to 20 m wide and 2 m deep linking the Garonne (and thus the Atlantic Ocean) to the Mediterranean with the technical and topographical means of the 17th century.
During its journey, and more particularly in the Languedoc region, the Canal du Midi encountered numerous obstacles requiring the construction of astonishing works, sometimes unique in their time.
More than 350 years old, it is today a great way of recreation on foot, by bike, by boat. From west to east, you will discover various treasures:
- The Malpas tunnel The Malpas Tunnel: the first tunnel in the world dug for a canal, right next to the Oppidum of Ensérune.
- The 9 locks of Fonseranes The 9 locks of Fonseranes : a real water staircase allowing to cross 21,50 m of difference in level, on a little more than 300 m.
- The canal bridge of Béziers when the canal passes over the Orb, this capricious coastal river.
- The works of the Libron The Libron : the deviation of a capricious watercourse above the canal, by an ingenious system of gates.
- L’ round lock of Agde Built in volcanic stone, this unique lock allows the crossing of three waters (Canal du Midi, the river Hérault, and the Canalet).
- The pointe des Onglous The journey ends at a symbolic place where the waters of the canal mix with those of the Thau lagoon.
