The Canal du Midi, creation of Pierre-Paul Riquet, joins Toulouse to the Mediterranean at Étang de Thau, the largest of a string of lakes along the Rousillon-Languedoc border. I have never been to there; looking at photos of it on a cold November night, it looks like heaven: flamingos, sun-drenched light, blue water.
In 1694, when the Canal du Midi was completed, it opened up trade routes for the wine, grain and goods of the Midi region. Great prosperity followed.It was created a world heritage site in 1996 in recognition of its historic and economic place in the history of France.
The second photo is another photo of modernist Toulouse. I was facing the Canal du Midi near the Port de Saint-Saveur (one of Toulouse's two river ports.) I took this photo last summer.
The Canal du Midi is famed for its tree lined borders. I don't have a photo of that, but I've included one taken on a canal tour on the Canal du Brienne this summer., The canal du Brienne was an 18th century addition to the water system of Toulouse. It links the Garonne River to Canal du Midi. The last photo shows how lovely the trees make the canal.
My impression is that the last pix reasonably captures the charm of the Canal du Midi. Certainly in our various drives, this is what it looked like when the road paralleled it or crossed over it.
Posted by: neverted | November 03, 2012 at 08:53 AM