Beziers and the Canal de Midi: One Man's Dream.

Mention the name Beziers and in all probability the next word to be said will be..' rugby'. The game is a national passion in Southern France and nowhere more so than in this vibrant town.

Beziers is situated in the heart of the wine-producing department of the Languedoc Rousillon The graceful cathedral of Saint Nazaire, built after the worst excesses of Simon de Montfort and his Crusaders had reduced the town to a ruin in 1209. Approaching from the west, via the ancient city of Carcassonne, the town rises majestically from a sea of vineyards.

A Man of Vision

Several centuries later Pierre Paul Riquet, the son of a prominent Beziers merchant, linked the city of Toulouse and the Mediterranean port of Sete with a 240 mile canal. And Beziers lay in its path.

There was a slight problem with this route. The last part of the waterway to the town itself entailed a drop of 30 metres over a distance of 132 metres. Having already had to construct nearly 100 locks before he reached Beziers this didn’t present the indefatigable Riquet with too much of a problem..

Neither did the fact that the canal would have to cross the River Orb on whose banks Beziers lay. An aquaduct was built (Pont Canal) to surmount that obstacle.

To overcome the problem with the drop in levels Riquet constructed an aquatic ‘stairway ‘ down which the merchant barges would descend. This was achieved by creating a line of basins and gates.

From Bezier the canal pressed on to Sete and by the end of the 17th century the Atlantic and the Mediterranian were linked by the Garonne Canal from Bordeaux to Toulouse and thence via the Canal de Midi through the Languedoc vineyards to the Thau Basin and the warmer waters of the Med.

Three Hundred Years On.

Today the Nine Locks of Fonsérane (or Neuf Ecluses to give them their French title) attract both boating holiday makers and spectators alike.. And it is quite a spectacle to stand at the side of the locks and watch the stately (well sometimes!) passage of the boats, and the antics of some of the less proficient holiday mariners.. There’s an information kiosk and a picnic area and on a warm day it’s a delightful place to pass an hour of two just watching people ‘messing about in boats’. The locks are sign -posted as you enter Beziers, but it’s not the clearest of indications so if you wish to go there keep a keen look-out for a road -sign off to the right.. That said, its still worth a visit.

The Canal de Midi was designated a UNESCO Heritage site in 1996, a fitting tribute to Pierre Paul Riquet. He had achieved his dream in the face of ridicule, but it nearly drove him to bankruptcy and the strain of his 14 year mission resulted in ill health and in 1680, just a few months before the completion of the canal, he died.

His imposing statue now stands at the top of the Alleés Pierre Paul Riquet . He looks out over the weekly flower market held every Friday in his native town. Definitely worth a visit if only for the colourful spectacle.And there's plenty of restaurants in the shade of the trees for a refreshing drink, or a lazy lunch.

Le Neuf Écluses