In the evening welcome briefing and distribution of rental bike (if booked) in Toulouse. Because of its buildings with reddish stones the inhabitants call Toulouse „ville rose“ too, the pink town. Life takes place in cafés and on the Garonne at the old port, the Toulousains meet for tapas on Place St. George. There’s a lot to see: the Jacob’s Pilgrim Basilica of St. Sernin, the Place du Capitole or the Augustin Museum.

Castelnaudary is the largest port on the Canal du Midi, and even the largest wine freighters could turn around here. French people travel long distances to pay their culinary respects to the city of cassoulet, a hearty bean stew.

Follow the Canal du Midi to Bram, then head towards the Pyrenees. It climbs moderately on an old railway line that has been converted for cyclists; you roll through railway tunnels, over viaducts and bridges to Mirepoix, a magical bastide from the Middle Ages.

Back through the Ariége countryside, a quiet and meditative agricultural landscape with rolling hills, to Carcassonne. The impressive Cité, the largest fortress city in Europe, awaits you there; you are in the heart of the Cathars.

Montolieu is a wonderful city at the edge of the Montagnes Noires. There are 15 antique stores with over 200.000 books in this worth seeing city of book. The former royal textile manufacturing was declared to a National Monument in 2004. Further overnight in Carcarssonne.

Olonzac is the center of the winemakers in the Minervois, Homps was the shipping port. Vines everywhere, the Montagne Noire and the Corbière in sight, here you can practice doing nothing by the canal. Overnight stay in Olonzac or Homps.

The destination of your trip today is Narbonne, you switch to the canal and travel along the Canal de la Robine towards the Mediterranean. Large buildings of the Middle Ages are the unfinished cathedral and the archbishops’ palace. Another highlight is the market hall “Les Halles”, which was named the most beautiful in France.

Béziers can look back to a 2,700 years old history. And it is the birthplace of that man too, who was the father of the Canal du Midi: Pierre-Paul Riquet. The alley Paul-Riquet in the centre of the town is dedicated to him. The Archbishop’s Palace watches over the city, and the attractions on the canal are the Neuf Écluses, the Nine Locks.

The further you cycle, the saltier the air becomes. The cycle path leads directly along the sea to Sète, the largest French fishing town on the Mediterranean, also called the “Little Venice of the Languedoc” due to its many canals. Here you can easily combine an evening walk with a good meal. The origins of the city are Italian – so is the cuisine.

The tour ends after breakfast. Individual return journey.