Harbour

Poihes

Maximum length: 20 ft
Maximum draught: 26 ft

Canal du Midi halte in the village of Poilhes, in the Hérault between Béziers and Capestang, on the long pound that runs level from Fonseranes to the Malpas tunnel.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Navigation on the Canal du Midi is limited to a 1.40 m draught and 3.50 m air draught, with a 30 m length limit for pleasure craft. The village quay is on the north bank, downstream of the bridge. No lock on the pound between Fonseranes and the Écluse d'Argens. VNF manages the waterway.

Practical

Single village quay managed by the commune, with room for a single boat. Bollards along the stone quay take ropes fore and aft. Water is by a 2 euro coin meter giving up to 300 litres, and there is no electricity on the quay. A small grocer, three restaurants and two wine merchants stand close to the canal, and winter berthing charges are modest. Capestang is 2.1 NM to the north-west for further services.

Ashore

The plane trees lining the canal were planted in the 19th century under Riquet's successors and are a UNESCO listed feature of the waterway. Walking path on the towpath leads to the Malpas tunnel 4 km east, the oldest canal tunnel in the world at 173 m long, dug in 1679. Oppidum d'Ensérune, a pre-Roman hill settlement with a museum, is 2 km above the tunnel.

History

The Canal du Midi was built between 1666 and 1681 by Pierre-Paul Riquet, linking the Atlantic basin at Toulouse to the Mediterranean at the Étang de Thau. The canal was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1996.