Canal du Midi

This historical map of the Canal du Midi ("canal of the south") shows the course of the canal formerly known as the Canal royal en Languedoc ("royal canal in Languedoc") between Toulouse and the Mediterranean at Sète. The 240-km-long canal was completed in 1681 and reconfigured a number of times thereafter. Today, this waterway, which was declared a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site in 1996, is no longer used for transporting goods and passengers and instead plays a large role in the tourism of the region.

Carte générale du canal royal pour la communication des deux mers depuis Toulouse jusqu'au port de Cette, map, 40 x 80 cm, 18th century, unknown creator; source: Gallica, Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Cartes et plans, GE C-2626 http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b53029748t, public domain.