The hidden Canal du Midi: make a detour on the Robine (1)

Less crowded and just as magical as the renowned Canal du Midi, the Robine flows through Narbonne on its way to the Mediterranean sea.

On a barge, by foot, on a mountain bike or by car, the Robine provides a welcome haven during the peak periods when the most travelled waterway in Europe suffers from traffic congestion... It is an arm of the Aude river which passes through Narbonne and then winds its way across the lagoons, flowing into the sea at Port La Nouvelle. It is linked to the Canal du Midi by a junction canal (built 1776-1781) at Sallèles-d’Aude. This variation, as well as the canal itself, were classified as Unesco World Heritage in 1996.

The bridge canal and the old ice house

Upstream from Sallèles-d’Aude, where the junction canal branches off, there are two remarkable sights to be seen along the D124 and D207 roads, which run parallel to the canal: -it was Paraza, or Riquet, who masterminded the construction of the first bridge canal (allowing one water course to cross another at a height) in France. It is also the oldest civil engineering structure along the canal. -Le Somail, a commercial port dating from the 17th century, and a port of call for the old mail boat. It features a humpbacked bridge (1773) and an ice house (the equivalent to a fridge at the time it was built), as well as a hat museum and a shop specialising in vintage books, a bibliophile’s paradise.

Amphoras and pottery, the realm of « gauloise 4 »

Amphoralis is an obligatory stop at Sallèle-d’Aude (D207, followed by the D124 as far as Saint-Marcel, then left along the D1118). At the confluence of the canal du Midi, the Aude River and the Robine canal, this site is devoted to pottery, from amphoras to wine jugs. The replica of a Gallo-Roman oven, gauloise 4 (nothing to do with dark tobacco!), is used to fire amphoras of the type used in antiquity to transport wine all over the Mediterranean region. A potters’ festival is celebrated in Sallèles-d’Aude in August. A relaxing boat trip can be made up to the Quai des Barques in Narbonne. Here, the Pont des Marchands is the only bridge in France lined with houses.

(1) Between Sallèles et Narbonne.

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