Harbour

Bram

Name: Bram
Address: Bram, FR

3.3Bram, FranceCanal du Midi

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Type: Harbour

Small canal port on the Canal du Midi in the Aude, between Carcassonne and Castelnaudary, serving the circular village of Bram.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Approach along the Canal du Midi. Port is reached between the Beteille lock to the east and the Sauzens lock to the west. Maximum canal draught 1.4 m, air draught 3.2 m under the low bridges of the bief. Speed 8 km/h. VNF lock hours apply.

Practical

Pontoons with water and electricity. Capitainerie in season. Village shops within 700 m include a bakery, a butcher, a charcuterie and a small supermarket, with a larger supermarket about 20 minutes on foot. SNCF station with Toulouse-Narbonne regional trains at 1 km, handy for a day out in Toulouse or Carcassonne. A hire base for canal cruisers operates from the port.

Ashore

Bram is one of the best known circulades of the Lauragais, a medieval circular village laid out in concentric rings around the church of Saint-Martin, documented from the 11th century. A fresh food market fills the village on Wednesdays, and several restaurants operate in the centre, with one by the port jetty. Musee Eburomagus of Gallo-Roman archaeology at 600 m in the former winery. Cycling along the Canal du Midi towpath, UNESCO listed since 1996.

History

Bram grew as a circulade from the 11th century around a pre-existing church, a layout visible on aerial views. The Roman station of Eburomagus stood here on the Via Aquitania linking Narbonne to Toulouse. The Canal du Midi reached the village in 1681 on completion of Riquet's work.

Story

Aerial photography in the 20th century revealed that Bram's concentric street plan forms a near perfect circle, making it a standard example used in French geography textbooks.