Canal du Midi (The Canal of the Two Seas) - The most beautiful inland waterway in Southern France

The Canal du Midi is the most catchy and popular inland waterway in Southern France. Actually, it is a 240 km long canal in Southern France which runs from the city of Toulouse down to the Étang de Thau near the Mediterranean. It connects the Garonne to the Étang de Thau on the Mediterranean (The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean) and along with the 193 km long Canal de Garonne forms the Canal des Deux Mers, joining the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. This beautiful inland waterway linking the Mediterranean and the Atlantic through 328 structures like locks, aqueducts, bridges, tunnels, etc. It is one of the most remarkable feats of civil engineering in modern times. The canal is always identified by its fascinating natural glimpse and the beautiful shady plane trees around the canal always makes a gorgeous landscape.

This is the perfect place for cycling or walking along scenic tow paths. The canal is originally named as the Canal royal en Languedoc and renamed by French revolutionaries to Canal du Midi in 1789. The specialty of this place is that whoever comes here for the first time, always falls in love with this gorgeous place. The Canal du Midi was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.

The building of a canal was an old idea. Numerous and sometimes utopian projects were devised to build a canal between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. But the task proved impossible for many practical reasons. Even the great Leonardo da Vinci was unable to contemplate the task. The Pierre-Paul Riquet was the only canal-builder responsible for the construction of the Canal du Midi. Pierre-Paul Riquet, took in the design and the way it blends with its surroundings turned a technical achievement into a work of art. He designed and built the Canal Royal de Languedoc (Canal du Midi) during the reign of Louis XIV. The main purpose behind this inland waterway was to transport wheat, wine and textiles. It took 12,000 people to make it a reality. The construction lasted from 1666 to 1681. The canal was at the time considered one of the greatest construction works of the 17th century.

Canal du Midi is a paradise for tourists around the world who come to bask in its beauty and enjoy the beautiful scenes. The weather here is very beautiful in summer, but the colours and its calm environment make it a place for all seasons. During the dry season the canal serves as a reservoir for agriculture. Nearly 700 irrigation pumps are installed along the canal. The canal is also a very vegetated place. In the 18th century the trees planted along the canal become a source of income. At the Revolution plantations, there were about 60,000 trees around the canal when only 45,000 were initially. The tourism has grown from the 1960s under the leadership of the British then exploded in the 1980s. This amazing location attracts more and more river tourism, sailing on chartered boats, restaurant-boats, or hotel barges such as the Anjodi. Anjodi is one of around 60 barges of different dimensions that operate as hotel barges on Europe's inland waterways. Canal du Midi is the best location for those who are searching for peace in this entire crowded world. This place will make you so calm in its peaceful natural environment.