Accommodation on the Canal du Midi

This is a list of accommodations on the Canal du Midi and Canal du Rhone. These are bed & breakfasts, gites or other lodging alternatives that let you sleep on a boat that cruises down some of France’s grooviest canals.

Obviously, I’d like to see you stay at O’Vineyards Bed & Breakfast which is a few kilometers from the Pont Rouge stop of the Canal du Midi.  But staying at a vineyard isn’t quite the same as staying on a boat.  So here’s a list for the fluvial accommodation lovers out there:

Canal du Midi

France is renowned for having a diverse landscape, and the department of Aude is particularly rich and varied. One of the few landmarks that manages to unite this vast area is the Canal du Midi or Canal des Mers that connects the Mediterranean coast to Toulouse (and thus allows ships to pass from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean without circumnavigating the Iberian peninsula).

Péniche “Mirage”
28 rue du Canal.
Ecluse d’Herminis.
11090 CARCASSONNE
info@mirage-hotes.fr
06 16 46 28 67

Lodela
Ecluse de l’Eveque
11800 Villedubert
hudroulers@voila.fr
06 82 09 98 75

La Baïsa – Gite fluviale
Le Port
11120 ARGELIERS
06 07 88 18 30

Péniche KAPADOKYA
écluse de la méditerranée
11400 LE MAS SAINTES PUELLES
enpeniche@gmail.com
06.86.95.71.36 (de préférence entre 18 et 21h)

Le Canal du Rhone

Peniche Helios
Rue de l’Écluse
30300 Beaucaire
06 25 24 85 00

Peniche Farniente
Port de plaisance
30127 BELLEGARDE
penichefarniente@free.fr
06 10 69 59 81

This post is about finding a gite, B&B, or other lodging options in the Minervois near Carcassonne.

Of course, if you want to stay at a vineyard near Carcassonne, I strongly recommend staying with me at O’Vineyards Bed & Breakfast.  But I’m technically in the Cabardes (which is a small area to the west of the Minervois).

Winemaker B&Bs, gites, and other lodging

I should start by saying that this is not an exhaustive list.  Whereas I posted a full list of lodging options with Cabardes winemakers, the Minervois is almost 4 times larger than the Cabardes.  So I’m just going to list a few winemakers who I know have lodging on their estates.

Clos Centeilles, Siran – An excellent winemaker with chambres d’hotes and gites on the property.

Domaine des Homs, Fanjeaux – A house rental in the middle of an organic vineyard in the Minervois

Le Pech d’André – Small gite on a vineyard in Azillanet; they run a vineyard blog too.

Chateau Canet, Rustiques – A Terra Vitis vineyard that looks toward sustainable agriculture with cottage rental

Domaine Vordy Mayranne , Minerve – Gite on a mom and pop vineyard

sleep inside a giant wine barrelLe Relais Occitan, Beauvoir – This used to be an operational winery, but now it focuses on rather unique lodging.  You can sleep inside one of the old wooden fermentation tanks (150 hectoliter foudres) that have been outfitted as single and double rooms. They also have more conventional rooms and gites if you’re into that sort of thing. ;D

Domaine Vignalet, Laure Minervois – There is a photo of a pretty delicious-looking Cassoulet on their website and this vineyard seems very homey.

Domaine du Siestou, Laure Minervois – This vineyard lodging comes with bikes to go riding alongside the Canal du Midi

Domaine du Viala, Paraza – I’m not sure if this is a winery or not.  It used to be though!

Full directory of lodging in the Minervois

minervois village mapThe Minervois has created a pretty elaborate index of lodging options which you can sort by village or how many stars its received.  Although I’m pretty sure there are some folks missing from this database too.  It’s a big area and getting everybody to work together on this sort of listing is like herding cats.

I hope all this is helpful and that you find a lovely place to stay in while visiting the Languedoc Roussillon!

This is a list of Cabardes vineyards that provide bed & breakfast services or other lodging options north of Carcassonne.

Of course, if you want to stay at a vineyard, I strongly recommend staying at O’Vineyards Bed & Breakfast.

But this post includes all the options for staying with winemakers in the Cabardes.

Why stay in Cabardes?

The Cabardes is a gorgeous region of France that is very close to the historic medieval castle of Carcassonne.  Proximity to the Cité makes the Cabardes a perfect vacation area because it means you can visit the Cité de Carcassonne, the Canal du Midi, and benefit from all the amenities of Carcassonne.  There’s a train station and an International airport (almost exclusively RyanAir flights though).  You’re less than hour’s drive from the Mediterranean coast, about an hour from Toulouse, about an hour and a half from Montpellier, and a couple of hours from the Pyrenees.

I should also mention you’ll be surrounded by delicious wine!!  🙂

The Cabardes AOC is small, dominated by independent wine producers, and features a unique blend of Mediterranean and Atlantic grape varietals.

Vineyard B&B, gites, and other lodging

O’Vineyards Bed & Breakfast – VillemoustaussouB&B and Syrah at O'Vineyards seen from plateau de la bade

4 elegantly furnished B&B rooms with direct view on the vines.  You’ll be sharing the building with us, a Franco-American family with a small vineyard and winery just north of Carcassonne.  We’re very happy to host, and we have a full range of high end red wines.

Ventaillole, Ventenac Cabardes

B&B on an organic vineyard in Ventenac Cabardes.

domaine des homs giteDomaine des Homs

Technically, this is in the Minervois but I thought I’d mention it since the winemakers also produce some Cabardes and these two appellations are close neighbors that share the south-facing slope of the Montagne Noire.  This is a gorgeous house in the center of their Minervois property and the adjacent photo shows how the vines creep across the front of the property.

Auzias – Pennautier

A gite with view on the winery. Red, white and rose wines.

Cazaban Gites – Conques sur Orbiel / Villegailhenc

4 gites located on a small organic vineyard.  Red and rose wines.

Rayssac

Rayssac used to have gites, but I don’t know if the new owner maintains them anymore.  The website has changed significantly recently so watch this space.

Chateau Pennautier properties – Pennautier

The de Lorgerils have a lot of different properties and gite offers.

How to find us

Domaine O’Vineyards, located in the North Arrondissement of Carcassonne, is just minutes from the Carcassonne train station, the Medieval City, and the Carcassonne Airport.
GPS coordinates: 43.259622, 2.340387

O’Vineyards
Wine, Dine, Relax at our Boutique Vineyard
Unique thing to do in Carcassonne
Wine Cellar. Winery Visits. Wine Tasting.
Wine & Food Pairing

North Arrondissement of Carcassonne
885 Avenue de la Montagne Noire
11620 Villemoustaussou, France
Tel: +33(0) 630 189 910

  1. Best by GPS.
    Follow the signs to Mazamet/ Villemoustaussou using the D118. At the end of the last straight part of D118, you will come to a roundabout with the Dyneff gas station.
  2. Take the exit towards Pennautier. Continue 500m to a small roundabout and go straight over.
  3. Look out for the second road on your right, Avenue des Cévennes which curves up hill (about 1km) to Avenue de la Montagne Noire on the left.
  4. At the last juction, bear left. the road sign “Ave de la Montagne Noire” (confusing as it seems to show a right turn)
  5. After another 500m you will see our red brick color building in the middle of the vines.
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