Mediterranean Coast and Canal du Midi Cycling

From the Phoenicians to the Moors, traders and invaders have all left their mark.

At the start of our cycling tour, the town of Sète was founded in the 17th C to be a trading port at the end of the new project to link the Mediterranean and Atlantic by canal, and has been the focus of trade with Africa and the Middle East. Further West, Béziers still bears a large Spanish influence that can be seen it its Férias and thriving bullfighting culture.

The west of the region was in the early middle ages the historic home to the Cathars, a religious sect who rejected the pomp of the Catholic church, and who were persecuted to extinction as a result. A massacre occurred at Béziers and one of the last strongholds of the Cathars was Minerve where hundreds of Cathars committed mass suicide rather than submit to their Catholic oppressors.

A man-made feature of the Languedoc, and a highlight of the Mediterranean Coast cycling tour, is the engineering feat of the Canal du Midi, built in the eighteenth century to carry goods from the Mediterranean at Sète to the river Garonne at Toulouse, from where they would be transported to the Atlantic coast at Bordeaux. Tranquil and tree-lined, it meanders across the Languedoc plain and into the hills.

The canal passes by the amazing Citadelle of Carcassonne, which marks the end of our tour. Delapidated and plundered for building materials, it was restored to glory in the early nineteenth century and is now one of the most visited sites in France.

Fish and shellfish feature strongly in the cuisine of the coastal region, especially in the fishing ports of Sète and Marseillan, and around the shellfish centre of the Etang (lake) of Thau. Spanish influences come from the proximity of the border, and rice dishes and pimentos are often included in menus. Further inland the food is somewhat heartier, with specialities such as cassoulet and game dishes featuring in Carcassonne.

There are vineyards for just about the whole of the length of the tour: for Rosé lovers the speciality is a Rosé called Vin de Sable reflecting the sandy terrain on which the vines are grown; in the hinterland behind Sète the speciality is the crisp white of Picpoul de Pinet which, as is often the case of local wines matching local cuisine, provides a perfect accompaniment to shellfish dishes. Round Minerve there are prestigious vinyards making superb full bodied reds. Just south of Carcassonne can be found and the sparkling wines of Limoux, which are perfect to celebrate the end of the tour!

This cycling tour is easy, as we keep mainly to flat roads and canalside cycleways ( perhaps a few rollers!) – and much of the route is free of motorised traffic (if you don’t count the cruisers and barges chugging along the Canal du Midi!) This tour will show you the diverse aspects of the coast, and of course its varied and delicious food and drink!

Highlights

• Visit to Marseillan with a tasting at Noilly Prat
• Two nights in the ancient town of Beziers
• Fantastic sea views around the Etang de Thau
• Easy cycling tour along the tree shaded Canal du Midi
• The astonishing medieval fortress of Carcassonne