Canal du Midi

On the agenda today is a welcome meeting and collection of rental bikes. For the rest of the day exploration is on the menu! Enjoy the red-stone buildings and the basilica St-Sernin de Toulouse.

It’s time for your first day of cycling and the destination is Castelaudary! Previously a place with many mills, today the Moulin de Carel still stands and shows part of this history. To be visited are also amazing manor houses from the 17^th century, as well as half-timbered houses on its streets. If you like trying local food, don’t miss the bean stew Cassoulet, which was invented during the Hundred-year War. Should you be a meat-eater it can also be eaten with pork, duck, bacon, or garlic sausage.

Today’s destination is Carcassonne, this is special for being one of the most-maintained fortress towns in Europe and has had UNESCO World Heritage Site status since 1997. Enjoy the majestic fortress Cité Médiévale of Carcassonne, which boats 52 towers. In the town itself you can enjoy the vibrancy downtime, which has energetic streets.

Today will start and end in the same place, but you will have a trip to Montolieu. This amazing city sits outside of Montagnes Noires, enjoy 15 antique stores with more than 200.000 books. Royal textile production takes place here and since 2004 has had status of being a national monument.

On the 8-day version the roundtrip Montolieu is not possible. You cycle on Day 4 from Carcassonne to Olonzac.

The cycle route today will entail wine-growing towns, vineyards, and glistening waters. Once you reach Olonzac, the wine tasting doesn’t stop there! Try some local wines and stay here for the night.

Today’s destination for the day of Narbonne is dotted with beautiful vineyards, this was once the capital of the Romanesque antiquity and the first Roman colony outside of Italy. In the streets you can see amazing sights such as the “Via Domitia” or beautiful Roman houses. You can also marvel at the archbishop’s palace or Gothic cathedral.

Today’s cycling will take you to Béziers, which boasts a 2,700-year-old history and is the birthplace of Pierre-Paul Riquet, the father of the Canal du Midi. You can visit the alley Raul-Riquet in the centre which is dedicated to him. Geographically this town is located right in the winegrowing region, due to the excellent grapes that grow there; why not try a local glass?

Your route today will lead you by the Canal du Midi, which has some man-made wonders for example the lock of Agde, which is the only round lock of the canal and is constructed out of volcanic rock. Your stop for the night is a real treat, you will be on the Mediterranean coast! Cap d’Agde is home to the biggest European marina and has some popular water sporting activities such as diving, surfing, and sailing.

On the 8-day version, you go directly to Sète. No stopping in Cap d´Agde.

In Sète you can see the Canal du Midi flow into the Mediterranean Sea, due to the water surrounding the city it has gained the nickname of “Venice des Langquedoc”. There are numerous water systems across the town.

Enjoy a last breakfast and say goodbye to your trip