Boat rental on the Midi or Burgandy Canal

Probably Burgundy. I think I've had a rental boat on every canal except the Midi which I don't suspect I'll ever do. We used it to move a sailboat from the Atlantic to the Med once and along the stretch around Carcassonne it was pure bumper boats - - miserable, confirmed by what I've seen criss-crossing the area over the years. September might be different since it's late in the season.

We did a week in southwestern France, starting in Agen on the Canal de Garonne, which intersected at Buzet with the River Baise, where we spent most of the time. Really beautiful, not crowded at all in September. A wonderful experience.

Thanks so much for the information. Much appreciated!
Pat

Hi Patricia, Our family spent 5 weeks in Pezenas one summer which is in the area of the Canal du Midi where it winds through southwest France closer to the sea. Although we did see many boats on the canal, it was not too crowded like I know it can be farther north. This part of the canal is just stunning, often overarched by plane trees, and passes through many fields and little sun-baked towns where you can get out and explore/eat. We biked along the canal several times on the towpaths and, although we saw plenty of boats, it wasn't enough to make me hesitate considering this for a vacation sometime in our future. With European vacations occurring mainly in August I would imagine that September would be a fantastic time to go! Enjoy your trip and post back here and let us know how it goes! Anita

Not answering your questions exactly, but you might like a book by Terry Darlington, called 'Narrow Dog to Carcassonne'. The narrow dog is his whippet, Jim, and it's an account of taking an English narrowboat across the channel and down through the French canal system. There is a sequel called 'Narrow Dog to Indian River', about another journey on an English canal boat, down the intra-coastal seaway on the eastern side of the US.