Self Drive Boats

Cruising in Midi-Camargue

The Lattes Base

Aigues Mortes at night

Aigues Mortes at Day time

Canal du Rhone / Sete

The Cimetiere Marin / Sete

Canal du Midi

Canal du Midi

Highlights

Lattes
Canal du Rhône à Sète, le Lez, Bassin de Thau, Canal du Midi, Petit Rhône.

From Cap d’Agde to the Camargue, only a thin strip of white sand separates the Mediterranean from the canals and lagoons that you cruise through. From Lattes, just outside Montpellier, enjoy the bathing at Palavas les Flots. At the edge of the sand and the sea stands the Cathedral of Maguelonne, while in the seaport of Sète canals crisscross the picturesque old town. On the Bassin de Thau you follow the Canal du Midi through the middle of oyster beds to arrive at Agde, originally founded by the ancient Greeks. From Lattes you can head instead along the Canal du Rhône à Sète: proudly rising above the lagoons and salt flats of the Midi is the fortified town of Aigues Mortes, founded in 1240 by St Louis. In the “Petite” Camargue you can visit the typical fishing village of Le Grau du Roi, Saintes-Mariesde-la-Mer, the splendid abbey church of St-Gilles and Beaucaire with its great keep looking down on a maze of medieval alleys.

Argens-Minervois
Canal du Midi, Bassin de Thau.

From Argens, the Canal du Midi snakes its way through a typically Mediterranean landscape: vines, cypresses, pine trees and a plethora of flowers scent the air against the background chirping of grasshoppers and cicadas. Under the shade of great plane trees, you’ll make the acquaintance of a rich regional cuisine of succulent dishes and magnificent wines. Splendidly restored by Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th century, Carcassonne is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The 52 turrets and double ring of walls of this, the largest medieval fortress in Europe, proudly dominate the new town below. Narbonne was once the largest city in Roman Gaul; in the centre of the town the Archbishops’ Palace and the Cathedral make up a remarkable architectural ensemble. At Béziers the Gothic cathedral of St Nazaire towers over the home town of Pierre-Paul Riquet, whose masterpiece the Canal du Midi is.

Negra
Canal du Midi, Canal latéral à la Garonne.

From Négra, the first stop of the Mail Boat which linked Toulouse to Agde in the 19th century, the Canal du Midi allows you access to the splendid medieval citadel of Carcassonne, Castelanudary famous for its cassoulet, the Rose Red City of Toulouse, and Montech, a typical “bastide” founded in the 12th century. You are in Cathar country here, one of France’s most fascinating regions and a paradise for the gourmet and the winelover. Romanesque churches, abbeys and monasteries dot the countryside and bear witness to a troubled past: the Cathars, known also as Albigensians, fell foul of the church. Pope Innocent III ordered his notorious crusade against the Albigensians in 1208, and peace only returned to the area under Blanche de Castille in 1229. It was at the monastery of Prouilhe near the medieval circular settlement at Bram that St-Dominic founded his order of Preaching Brothers.