Line © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), checked by Global Adventurer.
The paddling route
Put in from the west bank just below the free car park at Le Somail, the old staging post of the Toulouse mail boats, with its humpback bridge and chapel. Paddle west along the Canal du Midi as it follows the contour of the hillside through the Minervois vineyards, past the moored barges and the château at Ventenac-en-Minervois, to the Répudre aqueduct. Finished in 1676, this single stone arch was the first aqueduct on the canal. Turn before you reach it and come back the same way.
It is 13.2 km there and back; allow about 3 hours in a canoe or kayak and 3¾ on a paddleboard. The grade is Easy: still water with no locks, as the whole route lies on the Grand Bief, the canal's 54 km lock-free pound, but it makes a full morning.
No licence is needed for an unpowered craft of 5 m or less. VNF asks small craft to keep near the bank, out of the navigation channel, and to paddle in daylight only. Hire cruisers use the canal from spring to autumn, so keep right and never wait in a bridge hole. Stay away from the overflow spillways, and expect felled trees and works along the banks where the plane trees are being replaced. Wear a buoyancy aid and check the conditions before you set off.
Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap waterways (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.
Good to know
- All on the Grand Bief, the canal's longest lock-free pound: 54 km without a lock
- Turns at the Répudre aqueduct, the canal's first, finished in 1676
- Past Ventenac-en-Minervois, its château and the listed barge Marie-Thérèse
- Hire cruisers use the canal from spring to autumn: keep near the bank
On the water
- Put in: Le Somail, west bank below the village car park (bank) 43.26440, 2.90450
- No locks or weirs on the way.
- Rules and licences: Voies navigables de France. Check whether you need a licence before you go: on many inland waters in England and Wales you do, and Paddle UK membership includes one for many of them.
- Suits canoes, kayaks, paddleboards.
Getting there
Start: Le Somail, west bank below the village car park. 43.26440, 2.90450
Places to stay nearby
Rooms in and around Le Somail: Booking.com → Expedia → Hotels.com →
Affiliate links: if you book, Global Adventurer earns a small commission at no cost to you.
Water levels, flow and the weather decide the day. The line and figures come from OpenStreetMap and our own checks; wear a buoyancy aid, check the river levels and the forecast, keep well clear of weirs and powered boats, and don't go out in flood.