Self drive barge questions
 

Hi
I have been looking through the group and have some questions I haven't seen addressed. I wrote to 3 major self barge companies for brochures. We are planning on late Sept/Oct 06 and want a warm enough climate and were thinking southern France.
Our main priorities:
We want a route that has the best (food wise)restaurants and the most scenic spots. Does du Midi fit that bill? We are a party of four and will take a barge for 6-7 people so we have plenty of space. One of the 4 cannot ride a bike so will this hamper the others as far as going into town? Are the towns walkable?
Thanks so much
Mystic

Mystic 1947:

We have never done the Canal du Midi in the south of France, but friends who have done the canal bit all over Europe swear by it. The weather should be warm, but be advised that you do get the occasional storm in October.

As to the bicycle/walking question. The canals were built because the roads turned to seas of mud in the winter, and became almost impassable for heavy freight waggons. Tow paths for the horses that pulled the barges were built alongside all the canals. Most are still maintained, so bicycling and walking are a delight.

The towns are, mostly, also arranged to facilitate unloading cargo from the barges, and thus the towns grew up with the quais as a central, and easisly accessable location. The railway stations later blurred this, but in most cases the canal will easily lead you to a central part of the cities.

I'm sure yo will enjoy a canal adventure.

:-)

The Canal de Bourgogne between St. Florentin and Monbard is very good for the scenic aspect. A couple of chateaux are readily available, there Ae the Buffon forges, and Tonnerre has a hospice worth a visit. I can't say anything about restaurants since we prepared all meals on the boat. But it might be a little cool by the end of September.

We have done self-drive trips on the Bourgogne, Nivernais and Midi. Many of the towns are walkable in all cases.

The Nivernais was very senic, but there were fewer and smaller towns along the route, which resulted in eating on the boat rather than in a cafe.

I believe the best combination of scenery and food/towns is the Midi. As a matter of fact, in two weeks we'll be doing our second trip on the Midi.

The last time we did the Midi was in October. The weather was great - only a little rain at night. We were in shorts and tee shirts much of the time.

Thanks everyone - I am sure I will have many more questions when I get the brochures and rates. I think it will be the Canal du Midi!

As usual, wonderful group on Fodors