The Canal du Midi sets the pace today. After Carcassonne, Trèbes, Marseillette and Homps pass like waterside markers: locks, plane trees, boats and low bridges. Around them sits the Minervois, with vines, pale villages and dry hills. Near Capestang the canal tightens, then Béziers brings the Fonséranes lock staircase, the clearest piece of engineering on the day. After that, the air changes. Through Portiragnes and Vias, the route reaches Agde, where the Canal du Midi meets the Hérault and the edge of the Mediterranean.
