Canal du Midi Excursions?

Hi Barb,

Steve Smith, the co-author of Rick's France guidebook, says that the best place to barge in France during the summer/good weather is the Burgundy Canal (www.burgundy-canal.com ); the best place in the off-season/cool weather is the Canal du Midi in Languedoc (www.canalmidi.com).

Barging can be done in full-service style, or self-drive which allows you to navigate your way down the canals at your own pace. A few companies and references we know of are:

www.hotelbarge.com (email: [email protected] )--this is the company that owns Le Papillon, the boat Rick filmed on in 2007 for his Burgundy TV program: you can barge for a week with 6 passengers--includes accommodation onboard, all meals, all drinks, some excursions by minibus.

French Country Waterways: www.fcwl.com
http://www.french-waterways.com/
www.bargeandbreakfast.com

www.barginginfrance.com/ (they also do organized barge trips)
www.frenchhotelbarge.com -Offers discounted barges
www.rowinc.com - offers self-drive barging
www.locaboat-plaisance.fr - affordable!

I hope this helps with your search.

Good luck with your search.

Most excursions book up well in advance. Maybe you will find an opening.

Are you just wanting a boat tour that takes a few hours? I did that in Carcassonne in 10/11. There was no need to book it in advance. The boat was near the train station. We got there early to be sure we would be getting a good seat. Sorry, but I can't remember the name of the company. I found it online. You can probably do a google search.

Thanks for all the suggestions. We are looking for a day trip and they seem to end their season today 😞. We will give it a try in Carcassonne, anyway.