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

Flash offer: up to 40% discount!

Departure of end of season 2023
-40% for one week and more
-25% for short breaks

Offer valid for each booking made before October 1st 2023. Offer not retroactive and not cumulative.

Pre-booking

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 July 31st

Pre-booking

September/October offer: up to 20% discount

Go for a boating holiday in September and October 2023 and benefit from
Estivale, Confort, Sedan and Riviera fleet:
20% discount on one week or more cruise
10% discount for short stays
Fly fleet:
10% discount for one week or more cruise
5% discount for short breaks

Offer no rétroactive and cumulative up to 15% with other offers for one week or more cruises, and up to 10% for short stays

Offer valid for each booking before September 30th.
Offer not valid in Anjou.

Pre-booking

September / October 2023: 25% discount !

Cruise 3 nights minimum in September or October 2023 and benefit from 25% discount.

This offer is not combinable and is valid for every new booking made before October 1st 2023.

Pre-booking

Early booking 2024: 20% discount

Go for boating holidays in 2024 and benefit from 20% discount for a week or more

Offer valid for a new booking before September 30th 2023.
Offer not retroactive and not cumulative

Pre-booking

La Péniche F in last minute

One way trip
From 9/30/2023 to 10/7/2023
1331 € instead of 2661 €

Pre-booking

Triton 860 Fly in last minute

One way trip
From 9/30/2023 to 10/7/2023
475 € instead of 950 €

Pre-booking

Rive 34 in last minute

One way trip
From 10/2/2023 to 10/6/2023
580 € instead of 896 €

Pre-booking

Tarpon 42 in last minute

One way trip
From 10/2/2023 to 10/9/2023
1119 € instead of 2238 €

Pre-booking

Vision 4 in last minute

One way trip
From 10/6/2023 to 10/13/2023
1519 € instead of 3039 €

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.

Midi-Aquitaine is not the only area available with alpha-croisiere.com. Discover all the other destinations of river cruise that we can rent you.

If you are not immediately ready to board for your canal boat vacations, subscribe on our newsletter. We will send you monthly some information about canal boat holidays.