The sun shone on a chilly spring day when I pulled up to the Elegance, a new, art deco-inspired barge and my home for this week in southern France. My journey started in the quaint town of Sallèles-d’Aude, adjacent to the , a waterway recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Our “floating hotel” would take us along this canal — an engineering feat when it was built between 1667 and 1694 — to vineyard-dotted landscapes, medieval towns and other historic sights, all waiting to be explored.
As we entered the first lock, the back door shut and water started filling the space, raising our barge about six feet or so, until we could exit from the front door. Once we passed, the lock closed and the water drained, waiting for the next boat. We passed through five locks before we reached our first stop, .
Le Somail, an iconic village on the Canal du Midi, noted for its 300-year-old buildings. Minervois vineyards surround the charming 17th-century hamlet, and just over the cobblestone bridge, an original ice house from 1864 stands. I followed the dirt path to Le Trouve-Tout du Livre, a second-hand bookshop housed in a former wine cellar and bursting at the seams with more than 50,000 books.
Across the path, a floating épicerie awaited travellers who needed supplies or, like me, wanted one more pain au chocolat. Back on board, we continued toward , a UNESCO-listed medieval walled fortress, complete with a castle, double ramparts and 52 towers. Cruising the canal, the vin.