I had seen all I wanted of both the Cité and Ville Basse, but nevertheless I stayed for one more day in Carcassonne. The weather forecast promised that it would be a beautiful day (but the next two would be grey and rainy), and a cruise on Canal du Midi tempted me. It would have been practical if there had been tours before noon, but the cruise season starts on April 1st, and this was the 2nd. There was only one tour per day, and it departed at 14:30. I bought a ticket in the morning, and then I started to walk along the canal in the opposite direction of the tour.

The canal was built in the 17th century, and until the railroad took over, it was an important transport route between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. Today, it seems that its main use is recreational.