French Boating Holidays

Canal boat hire on the French Canal du Midi from Le Somail, near Narbonne, Aude, South of France.

Our boats are classic, durable, all-steel English canal boats, ideally suited to the Canal du Midi, all our canal boats are beautifully maintained.

Join us in France for a boating holiday on the sunny Canal du Midi - in the heart of the South of France

In the "Midi", the real South of France, our hire fleet is based in the picturesque Languedoc village of Le Somail, near Narbonne.

Le Somail is on the 54 kilometre "Grand Bief" (lock-free pound) of the Canal du Midi.

The Canal du Midi was officially opened on May 24 1681 after 14 years of complex construction work. Three hundred and fifteen years later, in 1996, this beautiful canal was claimed as an official UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site.

To join the Atlantic and the Mediterranean by a canal 240 km long, 10 meters wide and 2 meters deep, was thought to be an impossible dream. It took the vision and personal fortune, of Paul Riquet to persuade the King, Louis XIV (the Sun King) to allow the undertaking.

Riquet made the dream come true, but did not live to see the completion of the Canal du Midi. He died on October 1st in 1680. The next year on 24 May, it was the royal barge of Louis XIV which mounted the flight of the nine locks in Paul Riquets' home town of Beziers.

Today you can follow in the wake of the royal barge and enjoy the magnificent scenery, sunshine and see parts of France which have not altered for over 300 years.

Our Boats    Links