What it lacks in coastline, the Midi-Pyrénées makes up for with stunning waterways, one of the largest navigable networks in southern Europe. The best known is the Unesco world heritage site and 17th-century engineering wonder Canal du Midi, part of the Canal des Deux Mers (Two Seas canal), which connects the Mediterranean with the Atlantic over a distance of 310 miles (500km). On their colourful barges and cruisers, boaters drift through tranquil landscapes dotted with picturesque towns and villages, shaded by the stately plane trees that were planted to stabilise the banks.
The Canal du Midi stretches 150 miles (240km), from the Etang de Thau near Sète to Toulouse, but with boat bases dotted along the route, visitors can tailor a holiday to their own needs. It boasts more than 40 aqueducts and 91 working locks, many of them manned or automatic, and it's perfect for first-timers and experienced boaters as there's no need for a navigation licence. Cruise hire is generally for a week, but actual cruising times vary from 17 to 45 hours depending on your starting point and whether you return or travel one way.
The beauty of boating on the Canal du Midi is that you can travel largely at your own pace, mooring at a whim for lunch or dinner on deck. Or you can pause to sample fresh local produce in a restaurant, or walk or cycle to sights which include fortified Cathar cities, medieval towns, small fishing villages and the vineyards and pine-clad hills of the Languedoc region. You can also stop to row, canoe and fish, and the entire canal towpath can be cycled, with hire outlets dotted along the route.
The wonders of the waterway itself include the Malpas tunnel, Europe's first navigable canal tunnel, whose difficult construction spared chief engineer Pierre-Paul Riquet the inconvenience of building yet another lock (it now has 65 locks, but opened with 86).
If the engineering feat impresses enough, you may wish to pause at the Canal du Midi museum and gardens in the town of Revel, which has been home to a Saturday-morning farmers' market for over 600 years.
Further south still, route highlights include the Roman town of Narbonne with its ancient arched Pont des Marchands supporting shops and dwellings, plus its beaches and portside fish restaurants. And don't miss Carcassonne, a Unesco-listed ancient walled citadel complete with towers, drawbridges and cobbled alleys.
To find out more about this destination, visit gotofrancenow.com/midi-pyrenees
Holiday offer
Discover the Tarn on two wheels with a luggage-free cycling holiday. Seven nights' accommodation, cycle hire and dinner included. From £740 per person. Offer available until 13 October. See inntravel.co.uk for details
