Les Neufs Écluses de Fonseranes

It is the most spectacular place on the Canal du Midi. The Octuple (8 locks, 9 pools in a row) allows you to overcome a height difference of 21.50 m. As in all the locks of the Canal du Midi, the basins are oval: this shape allows the stone walls to better resist the pressure of the water flowing into them (700m3/catch).

On the banks, tens of thousands of visitors observe with astonishment, every day, the passage of boats. And in the Maison de Site du Coche d'Eau , they find: immersive cinema sessions, reservation of audio guides and treasure hunt kits , shop , tourist information, reservation of cruises, small electric boats, places for the little train sightseeing.

His mission ?    Allow the passage of "out of gauge" barges, which is impossible in the basins of the 9 locks. The principle: a barge enters a basin filled with water, a machine mounted on tires spans it and lifts it with hydraulic cylinders and transports it upstream or downstream, and releases it.

In Fonseranes, it came too late: commercial traffic was dying. The water slope was abandoned shortly after the work was completed 20 years ago.