Seasoned mariners and amateur voyagers can experience the South of France cruising the 300-year-old Canal du Midi in the privacy of your own comfortably outfitted houseboat.
Picture: Supplied
Amenities include heating and air conditioning, kitchens with a refrigerator, gas oven, burners, dishes and utensils. Bathrooms have hot showers, toilets and towels. Sleeping facilities come with bed linens, pillows and duvets.
Picture: Supplied
The 300-year-old waterway is a UNESCO World Heritage site and popular for savvy travelers and food lovers. One of the best ways to explore the waterway is from the comfort of your own private houseboat with Le Boat. They have been operating in France for more than 55 years. With a Canal du Midi boat rental, you are free to explore at your own pace, free to explore the lush vineyards in the heart of Languedoc’s wine regions, enjoy wine tastings, cycling through medieval villages, ancient fortress cities and savor the gourmet delights the south of France has to offer.
A captain will greet you on board, show you how the boat works and answer any questions you may have. A steering wheel, for left and right, plus a throttle controls the forward and reverse.
Your voyage includes navigating the well maintained locks along the route. They can be manually operated, manned by a lock keeper, electrically operated or automatic. No previous boating experience or a license is required. You will be provided with a navigation map. You must dock only in permitted locations and most towns and villages will have public moorings.
Picture: Supplied
Picture: Supplied
Agriculture is an important industry in this part of France. The country’s well known for fresh cheese and locally grown peaches, apricots, cherries, plum. There are may local venders selling their goods at the local markets, street stalls and at the lock stations along the canal. Later crops include beans, herbs, potatoes, tomatoes and cucumbers. You will find cafes, restaurants, bakeries, grocers, open-air markets, butchers, traiteurs, cheese shops and wine merchants in villages and towns near the canal.
Don’t miss several of the famous regional dishes including cassoulet.
Basic ingredients include onions, garlic, herbs and tender white beans that dissolve into the sauce.
Picture: Supplied
Recipes may vary slightly from town to town, for example the cassoulet of Castelnaudary is supposed to contain sausages with fresh and salt pork to flavor the basic white beans, while in Carcassonne a leg of mutton may be added, with partridge when in season.
The cassoulet of Toulouse & the Canal Du Midi Region is the richest of all, with confit of goose or duck included with mutton and pork.Seafood lovers will enjoy Bourride, a garlic fish stew made with sea bream, sea bass, John Dory, whiting, monkfish and conger eel.
Aioli, garlic mayonnaise, is another signature of the region. It is eaten with platters of fresh and cooked vegetables, including carrots, potatoes, artichokes, green beans and seafood.Juniper, a common bush in Languedoc, with berries are usually associated with game, is used to season leg of lamb with wild mushrooms.
Picture: Supplied
Enjoy the finest foie gras in the world. This gourmet’s delight is often simply sauteed or in terrines with truffles, pistachios and cognac.
When it comes to cheese, Roquefort is king. The name roquefort has been protected since 1411, when Charles VI gave the villagers of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon exclusive right to cure cheeses in their caves.
This monopoly was reaffirmed in 1925 with a ruling that roquefort must be made of sheep’s milk. Genuine roquefort is labelled with a little red sheep in an oval frame.
Other specialties of the region not to be missed include fresh tuna with olives, octopus with saffron rice, sea snails with aioli, braised goose, roast veal with chestnuts, grape tart, brioche with candied fruit topped with coarse sugar and fig jam.
Picture: Supplied
Picture: Supplied
When it comes to wine, the canal is surrounded by the fifth largest wine growing region in France. Discover local wine shops and take vineyard tours throughout the appellations of Corbieres, Malepere, Cabardes and Minervois. Just a short walk from Le Boat’s base you will find La Maison des Vins du Minervois. The shop features selections of regional wines from 140 producers.
This ancient wine area is making modern wines that pair seamlessly with the food we eat today. Featured varietals include Grenache, Mourvedre, Carignan, Cinsault, Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussane, Bourboulec and Vermentino.
Another not to be missed site, the Chateau de Paraze offers guided tours and tastings of their wines.
For more in-depth information about local attractions visit tourist offices along your route or contact the team at Le Boat to assist with your trip planning www.leboat.co.za.
Follow us on social media for more travel news, inspiration, and guides. You can also tag us to be featured.
