Canal du Midi

I cycled the Canal de la Robine during a tour in 2003, which (I think) connects to the Canal du Midi in Narbonne. It was only like a 20 mile stretch or so (goes to Port-la-Nouvelle), but it was an interesting route, and I think I'd do the Canal du Midi if I was in the area again. The only problem I had was with dirt paths turning to mud, but I'm not sure if that would be a problem on the Midi (not sure if they're paved or not). I guess I don't really have much to say about it, but I think it will be a great trip.

stokell said:

SWMBO and I are planning a tandem tour for 2009. She loves the south of France and I happened across info on Canal du Midi. We would be credit card touring, but have lots of time for planning the trip.

I've been to the best travel book store in Canada and came up empty.

Does anyone have experience biking the tow paths? Are there specialty/dedicated maps?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

We cycled through the Dordogne region last year and had a great time. It would be one of the most beautiful and historic areas in France and the towns are just the right distance for cycling between. We had some memorable meals their as well.
After the Dordogne we caught the train from Cahors to Carcassonne and cycled through the Languedoc to Nimes, Avignon and across the Haute Provence to Nice. The Dordogne is the pick of the bunch.

We used the Lonely Planet Cycling France Guide
Cheers

Geoff

hey fellow cyclists. i realise you posted this a long time ago now! but i just thought i'd say that i have done the canal du midi and absolutely loved it. it was a bit harder than i thought as the cycle paths were very muddy when we went (in march, so it probably wasn't the best time to go) and there was so much wind!!! but it was so cool and so easy as we had a company who gave us the maps and route notes, booked the accommodation for us and we hired bikes from them too. i want to do the canal de garonne next, which sounds great and i hear it has good cycle paths. last time i booked our trip through a company called europe active. they do the canal de garonne too and i'm thinking of booking the trip for next summer (not in march this time) - can anyone recommend it? they've got a route that goes through st emilion, which sounds really nice, but it's away from the canal and i don't know what the alternatives are. europe-active.comcanal garonne cyclingOpen ↗

There a good number of bike paths around Bordeaux which might interest you, have a look at http://www.mybikeguide.co.uk/Bordeaux_Guide.php it pops into St Emilion. You might also like to see the 10k run through Medoc which is lubricated by red wine not water at the support points....[IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif[/IMG]