The Grand Bassin
The Grand Bassin is the widest stretch of water on the Canal du Midi. Hire barges moor there, a quay runs all the way round, and the town reflects in it — that is the picture everyone takes home.
The Canal du Midi is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Where the basin ends, the Saint-Roch lock chains several chambers together: you can follow a boat from one to the next on foot.
Cassoulet, and the case for a driver
Castelnaudary claims cassoulet, cooked in the cassole, the earthenware dish that gave it its name. It is a heavy lunch: on this destination the argument for a shuttle is not comfort, it is not driving afterwards.
On the road to Carcassonne
Castelnaudary sits on the Toulouse – Carcassonne axis. The stop adds nothing to the distance on a day out to the walled city: the driver pulls up at the Grand Bassin, then carries on.
Planning the day
- Pick-up in Toulouse, at Blagnac airport or at Matabiau station
- One shuttle for the whole group, up to 8 passengers
- Can be added as a stop on the way to Carcassonne
- Driver on site during lunch and the walk
