Walks along the Canal du Midi from Castelnaudary: 3 easy routes

Three walks, all starting from the Grand Bassin — 1.9 km from Le Clos Fleuri, 3 minutes. From 40 minutes to 2 hr 30, all flat, all shaded for most of the way. Real distances, accessibility, and the right time to set off.

At a glance

1. Around the Grand Bassin — the most accessible

2.5 km · 40 min · flat · easy going

Seven hectares: it is the largest body of water on the Canal du Midi. Riquet did not dig it for the beauty of it — a winter harbour was needed, and a basin where long barges could turn.

The circuit is flat, shaded by plane trees for much of the way, and manageable with a pushchair or wheelchair over most of the route. It is the first walk to do: it gives you the scale of the canal and the town’s relationship with its water.

The right moment: late in the day. Raking light on the water and the boats back in port — it is the best moment of the day in Castelnaudary. In summer, avoid 1 pm to 4 pm.

2. The four Saint-Roch locks — the most instructive

3 km return · 1 hr · flat

From the basin, follow the towpath for 1.5 km to the Saint-Roch water staircase: four chambers in a row making up about ten metres.

This is where you understand the canal. A boat takes around forty minutes to work through the whole flight, and you can follow it on foot at your own pace — the gates opening, the water rising, the boat lifting step by step. No information panel explains it half as well.

The right moment: mid-morning or mid-afternoon, when the hire boats are moving. Early in the morning, the reach is often empty.

Accessibility: the towpath is easy going for almost the whole route. A few root ridges.

3. The escape upstream — the quietest

6 to 8 km return · 2 hr to 2 hr 30

You follow the canal west, towards the Naurouze watershed. After 2 km, the strollers disappear. What remains is the water, the plane trees, the occasional lock, and the sound of the wind.

This is the walk for people who want to walk rather than sightsee. No difficulty, but no water points and no continuous shade: bring something to drink.

What to know: the surface turns to beaten earth after the first kilometre. After rain, it is heavy going. Closed shoes.

Turn back whenever you like: it is an out-and-back, so you are never committed.

Which one to choose?

• You have an hour and children: the Saint-Roch locks, no question.
• You have a pushchair or a wheelchair: the circuit of the Grand Bassin.
• You want to walk: the escape upstream.
• You cannot decide: the Grand Bassin on your first evening, the locks the next morning.

The plane trees: what you will see

Some sections are bare, with stumps and young trees. Canker stain, an incurable fungus, has forced the felling of tens of thousands of plane trees along the canal, and replanting is now done with a mix of species.

What that means for you: shade is not guaranteed everywhere. In July and August, set off before 11 am or after 5 pm, and take water even for 3 km.

From Le Clos Fleuri

Three minutes. That is all that separates you from the start of all three walks. You can go out before breakfast, come back for the pool in the afternoon, and head out again at sunset without ever driving more than 5 minutes.

And for the post-walk pause, the restaurant is on site: handmade cassoulet, duck from the Montagne Noire, and wines from Cabardès or Malepère (see The vineyards around Castelnaudary).