Rivers and Canals of Aquitaine
Toulouse, known as the ‘pink city’ on account of its rose-coloured brick buildings, is the hub that links Aquitaine with the Languedoc and their respective canals, the Canal Lateral a la Garonne with the Canal du Midi. Although the Midi, with its UNESCO World Heritage listing, has fame and popularity, the Garonne has a character and authenticity which makes cruising it a particular pleasure.
The Garonne isn’t the only game in town – the Canal de Montech which links from it provides boaters a delightful route into the beautiful city of Montauban and also offers the chance to do a short stretch of the River Tarn. Further west, after you have passed through Agen, the beguiling River Baise close to the wine town of Buzet is a treat to explore. Unfortunately, the crossing from the Canal Lateral a la Garonne onto the River Lot has been closed for some years and there are no signs that it will reopen imminently.
The canal ends at Castets-en-Dourthe, where boats can lock down onto the River Garonne and make their way to Bordeaux. There are opportunities to cruise the estuaries of the Garonne, the Dordogne, and the Isle – an altogether different prospect from the leafy inland waterways.
▶ Detailed canal and river information – South-West region
Canal de Garonne (lateral à la Garonne)
France’s premier engineer Vauban originally pictured canalising the erratic and sometimes dangerous River Garonne in the late 17th century as he perceived the need to provide a reliable route from Toulouse to Bordeaux. In the event, the project was not built until the mid-19th century and it was opened in 1856. At 194km long it plays a vital part in linking the Atlantic Coast to the Mediterranean, because in Toulouse it connects with the Canal du Midi and then onward to France’s eastern seaboard.
There is also a link to Canal de Montech, a rural waterway of only 11km which gives access to a short stretch of the River Tarn and more importantly, to the historic city of Montauban, a delightful place to visit and a destination in its own right. The boat harbour in the canal basin is well-equipped and a good place to moor if you are visiting Montauban.
If your time is your own, further along the Lateral a la Garonne at the town of Moissac it is worth locking down onto the Tarn to enjoy the peace and quiet, and the attractive River Baise even further to the west is great to explore as well.
▶ Detailed canal and river information – Canal de Garonne
Canal de Montech and River Tarn
The opening of the Canal de Montech in 1856 coincided with the inauguration of the main line Canal Lateral a la Garonne and runs from the village of Montech for 11km down to Montauban. In 2006 it re-opened after a 10 year closure during which problems with leakage were repaired and it now offers excellent moorings with all facilities in the canal basin at Montauban, although as a cautionary note some boaters have reported problems with excessive weed.
Birthplace of the much-admired French painter Ingres, the city has an attractively colonnaded central square bustling with pavement cafes and boutiques. Those who have soaked up enough culture might want to lock down onto the River Tarn where a peaceful 8 km stretch as far as Corbarieu is navigable.
▶ Detailed canal and river information – Canal de Montauban
River Baïse
France’s most popular monarch, Henry 1V, lived in Nerac on the River Baise during the period before he became king and as a consequence he harboured ambitions to canalise the river, which alas he never managed to do. That other great historical figure, Napoleon, thought along the same lines but with more success: the project was begun in 1808 and finished a few years later, providing a dependable 65km passage between the left bank of the Garonne at Saint-Leger to Camarade, just upstream of Valence-sur-Baise.
When commercial freight sought other transport options, traffic on the Baise reduced and in 1955 the navigation was closed. It then became the property of private owners until two of local departements involved, the Gers and Lot-et-Garonne, concluded that tourist income from leisure use of the waterway was worth investing in and a ten million euro package of repurchasing and renovation took place with the result that the Baise is once again an idyllic river to cruise along.
▶ Detailed canal and river information – River Baïse
River Lot
Now that the crossing from the Canal Lateral a la Garonne onto the Lot has been closed indefinitely, your only option to explore this breathtakingly pretty river is to hire a boat, a decision you won’t regret as the River Lot offers some of the most enjoyable cruising in the whole country. The river was originally canalised in order to carry coal from the opencast mines in the area, with a number of locks being constructed during the 1830s over a length of 260km. The advent of the railways meant that freight travelled less and less along the waterways and in 1926 the Lot was declared unnavigable.
During the 1980s leisure cruising became increasingly popular and this saw a revival in the fortunes of the Lot. In 1985 a 75km section from Luzech to Cregols was opened, centring around the historic town of Cahors, and proved to be such a success that work on other stretches was carried out. By 2010 there were four navigable passages along the river: the Cahors section, a stretch of 76km from the Garonne junction to the Saint-Vite lock, a 21km section around Puy l’Eveque and 15km in the Aveyron. There remain challenges in connecting up these separate cruising areas: there are technical difficulties with the Fumel dam which are proving hard to resolve and the closing of the Garonne crossing hasn’t helped matters, but when it comes to the Lot the old adage has never rung more true: the river is greater than the sum of its parts.
▶ Detailed canal and river information – River Lot
French waterway regions – North | North-East | North-Central | West | Centre | South-East | South | South-West
British-Irish waterway regions – Northern | East Midlands | West Midlands | Welsh | Southern | Scottish | Irish
