Midi - Aquitaine

Rent with alpha-croisiere.com your boating holidays to enjoy one of our river and canal boats on the Canal du Midi or other Midi-Aquitaine waterways. We offer the largest selection of barges on the market.

Consult the list of all our river and canal boats available in Midi-Aquitaine and on the Canal du Midi to find the most suitable for you and contact us by email or call us on +33 (0) 3 85 40 55 50 for more information.

Midi-Aquitaine - France - Nicols License free boat at the exit of the famous stone bridge in Le Somail on the Canal du midi

Signpost of the Canal du Midi, the Europe's most famous navigable waterway Even as far back as Roman times they dreamt of connecting the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, but only in the 17th Century did Pierre Paul Riquet manage to convince Colbert and Louis XIV that this was possible.
At 240km long and running from Toulouse to Etang de Thau, the Midi Canal incorporates 64 locks, 55 aqueducts, 7 navigable aqueducts, 126 bridges and other sluices, spillways and troughs totalling over 350 engineered structures!
The Midi Canal was listed as a UNESCO 'Wonder of the World' in 1996.
It runs to meet the ocean in the west by means of the Garonne Lateral Canal (193km, 53 locks) and to join the north-south network in the east via the Rhône-Sète Canal (97km, 1 lock).

The Midi Canal is Europe's most famous navigable waterway and has been in operation for the past 3 centuries! Its towpaths are edged with plane trees, some of which are three hundred years old, with over 45,000 trees originally planted along the canal.
Enjoy the superb hillside landscapes the canal has to offer, as well as some truly charming stops providing an opportunity to explore the towns and villages along its banks.

The following three waterways complete the network:

  • the Robine Canal to the south-east (31km, 13 locks),
  • the Baïse to the south-west (56km, 22 locks),
  • the Lot, comprising the Lot Aval (73km, 7 locks) and the Lot Amont (74km, 17 locks), to the north-west.

The region is also very easily accessible by road, rail and air (regular and low-cost routes).

Not to be missed

The Midi canals abound with sun, gastronomy and culture, not to mention a very typical lifestyle, accent and landscapes.

Row of umbrella pines lining the Canal du Midi in the Midi-Aquitaine region very popular for its river cruises
  • After all, who hasn't heard about foie gras, magret duck fillets, cassoulet, Toulouse sausage, truffles and Agen prunes? Enjoy a delightful stroll around the markets, sampling the local peaches, melons, strawberries, cherries, grapes, tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables hand-picked by the farmers themselves that very morning!
  • Just a few hundred metres from the Rhône-Sète Canal, or even the Robine Canal, you will get the opportunity to bathe in the Mediterranean or relax on its sandy beaches.
  • This magnificent canal is a real testimony to the true creative engineering of Pierre Paul Riquet: each lock, bridge and structure both a technical and an engineering structure. Long before his time, other civilisations had built fortresses and salt marshes and planted vines and olive trees.
  • Sailing your boat through the Camargue you will find flocks of pink flamingos take flight and see the oyster farmers at work in the Etang de Thau lagoon, the salt-workers harvesting salt and herdsman on their white horses herding their black bulls. Moving on to Languedoc, you will get the opportunity to roll up your sleeves and try your hand at some vine work and even, if you happen to be there at the right time, grape-harvesting.

A few stops along the way

Row of plane trees bordering the Canal du Midi in the Midi-Aquitaine region The heritage of the extensive Midi-Aquitaine region is so vast that the list that follows is really only a modest sample that is representative but certainly not exhaustive.

There is far more to the small town of Sainte Marie De La Mer than its famous pilgrimage. Indeed, the town plays host to over forty events every year, so you can be pretty sure that your visit will coincide with a Féria or an Abrivado of some kind.

Aigues Mortes, a fortified town surrounded by marshland, was used by Saint Louis as a base from which he set off on his crusades. Why not disembark for a little while and take a land train or a 4x4 to explore the 10,800 hectares of salt marshes, or perhaps even visit a horse herd.

Sète is a good place to stop to bathe in the Mediterranean or to visit the fishing port (the first in the Mediterranean).
At the gateway to the Etang de Thau lagoon, this stop provides an opportunity to visit the small-scale shellfish farms in the area, and of course, it's a well-known fact that the sea air gives you an appetite, so don't forget to sample the local bourride de baudroie monkfish stew, bouillabaisse fish stew, mussels and stuffed squid, macaronade beef stew, tielle octopus pie and rouille de seiche cuttlefish stew whilst you're here too.

Typical habitat of the Mediterranean basin in Midi-Aquitaine region The City of Carcassonne is a UNESCO World Heritage site, offering a great opportunity for young and old alike to take a step back in time as they explore the remarkably restored battlements of France's second most popular tourist site.

Castel Naudary, the world capital of both cassoulet and Catharism, and its various monuments await you on the banks of the Midi Canal. This is also where Clément Ader flew the first plane.

Toulouse, the pink city of which Claude Nougaro famously sung, is home to no fewer than seventy-four grand town-houses and a great many religious buildings. St. James's Way, which includes a stop at the basilica of Saint Sernin of Toulouse, is now a UNESCO World Heritage site, and Toulouse is also known as the birthplace of Airbus aircraft.

Also along St. James's Way, Cahors has been recognised as a City of Art and History since 2005. Nestled within a broad bend in the Lot, this medieval city is the perfect stop, providing an opportunity to explore the historic cultural and gastronomic heritage of the area.

Map of the Canal du Midi and the Canal du Rhône at Sète all accessible by license free boat  in the Midi-Aquitaine region Map of the waterways of Aquitaine: Lot, Garonne, Canal Lateral to the Garonne and Baïse in the Midi-Aquitaine region

Photos: Nicols

Special and last minute offers

Last minute: up to 30% discount

Book at D-30:
15% discount on weeks and more
10% discount on short breaks

Book at D-15:
20% discount on weeks and more
15% discount on short breaks

Book at D-5:
30% discount on weeks and more
20% discount on short breaks

Not cumulative, not retroactive
Valid for every booking before October 31st.

Pre-booking

Boats discount :book 7 nights, pay 5

Book one of these boats for a one week boating holiday from July to october 2023 and benefit from the special offer "book 7 nights and pay 5" : Calypso, Caprice, Classique Star, Crusader, Salsa A and B.

Offer not retroactive and not cumulative, valid for any new booking before June 18 2023.

Pre-booking

Summer discount !

Go for a boating holiday between June and August 2023 and benefit from
25% discount for weeks or more
10% discount for short stays

Offer valid in the following regions :
Canal du Midi-Camargue
Brittany
Charente
Anjou
Germany
Holland

This offer is valid for every new cruise booked before June 30th 2023.
Cannot be used retrospectively. Not combinable

Pre-booking

June 2023

Go for boating holidays in May 2023 and enjoy
25% discount in Germany and Aquitaine
20% discount in the other destinations

Offer not cumulative and valid for any new booking registered before 18 June 2023.

Pre-booking

Offer for France

20% discount for stays of one week or more on the following French regions: Canal du Midi, Agen, Burgundy Loire Nivernais and Burgundy Franche-Comté.
Offer valid for departures between June 1 and October 31, 2023.

Offer valid until 30 June 2023, not cumulative with our other special offers or our catalogue discounts, not retroactive.

Pre-booking

Nicols DUO in last minute

One way trip
1 week between 6/5/2023 and 6/17/2023
990 € instead of 2065 €

Pre-booking

Pénichette 1020 FB in last minute

One way trip
From 6/17/2023 to 6/24/2023
1635 € instead of 3269 €

Pre-booking

Nicols Octo Fly C in last minute

One way trip
1 week between 6/3/2023 and 6/17/2023
2500 € instead of 5055 €

Pre-booking

Grand Classique in last minute

One way trip
From 6/11/2023 to 6/18/2023
2149 € instead of 4309 €

Pre-booking
All our offers >

Don't hesitate to contact us right now to book your next river cruise on the Canal du Midi in the Midi-Aquitaine area.

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