France
Gliding down the Canal du Midi at a barge ’ s pace narrows your world but heightens your senses . From the cathedral of greenery overhead to the Camargue ponies gazing back from the banks , this is a serene barging adventure . The biggest decision faced is whether to go for a bike ride or wine-tasting before the next gourmet dinner onboard . Welcome to barging for beginners in la France profonde . By Lisa Gerard-Sharp
TThe Canal du Midi is the oldest Dutch barge , there is no turning canal in France , with the greatest back . Savour the nautical brass concentration of heritage sites en and panelling , the nightly winetastings , the seafood feasts on the route . As such , it deserves respect . You could choose to bob up and sundeck , the insider trails to moody down in a plastic boat and become chateaux . The European Waterways a public menace on the waterways . barge is fully-crewed but feels like a Or you could do the canal in style , family affair – bar the fact that the on a barging voyage of discovery . family includes a gourmet chef , a After you ’ ve stepped onboard sommelier-captain and a guide to the Anjodi , a hand-crafted traditional canal ’ s secrets .
On the Canal du Midi , spring signals a return to the water : bobbing boats ; steadfast barges ; breakfast by crooked stone bridges ; communing with dumb ducks ; battling with stroppy geese ; rope-swinging by cascading staircases ; gawping by locks . With a speed limit of eight kilometres per hour , this is life in the Slow Lane . But the canopies of greenery overhanging the Canal make the voyage akin to sailing through an Impressionist painting .
Follow the swallows south and catch some spring sun in the Midi , the poster region for the French `good life ’. The Canal du Midi , connecting the Mediterranean and the Atlantic , was pioneered by salt-tax collector Pierre- Paul Riquet in the 1660s . Designed to bring glory to Louis XIV , the Sun King , the canal remains glorious , and deservedly the most popular waterway in France . Now a Unesco World Heritage site , these 150 miles
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