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Canal des Deux Mers
Bordeaux → Sète · September 11, 2026 – September 21, 2026
Welcome
Canal des Deux Mers
Route overview
From Bordeaux's Garonne wine estates to the Mediterranean port of Sète, this route traces the historic Canal des Deux Mers, linking two of France's great wine regions: Bordeaux and Languedoc's Corbières country. Highlights include the Romanesque abbey and cloister at Moissac, part of the UNESCO-listed Santiago de Compostela pilgrim routes, and Carcassonne's fortified medieval Cité, itself a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a former Cathar stronghold during the Albigensian Crusade. From Toulouse, the "Pink City," the route follows the 17th-century Canal du Midi — a UNESCO engineering marvel — past vineyards and bastide towns to the sea.
Bordeaux start
Bordeaux owes much of its growth to the Garonne. From the 12th century, its port sent wine north to Britain and the Low Countries, drawing trade and wealth into the city. In the 18th century, merchants rebuilt much of the riverfront on a grand scale. Some of that wealth came from colonial trade and slavery: Bordeaux ships took part in hundreds of slave-trading voyages. The port shaped both the city’s wealth and its worst abuses.