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francenew : la
belle époque
on first arriving in France - driving Marianne - a French national symbol, with French definitive stamps the calendar of the French Revolution the 6th
bridge at Rouen: Pont Gustave Flaubert, the French umbrella & Aurillac the forest
as seen by francois mauriac, and today the Citroën 2CV: Marianne - a French national symbol, with French definitive stamps the calendar of the French Revolution mardi gras! carnival in Basque country what a hair cut! m & french pop/rock country life in France: the poultry fair |
Motorway aires are designed to provide a suitable environment for relaxing, refreshing and recovering during the long, hard journeys. As well as facilities of often dubious nature, picnic tables and seats, a telephone kiosk, there are often optional extras such as a play area or a display related to some local interest or event.
port-lauragais and two neighbouring aires
This map shows three consecutive aires, on south [east-bound] side of the A61 autoroute that borders on the Canal du Midi. From each of the aires, you may walk out onto the path alongside the Canal [the extent of this path beyond this region is not verified]. In each case, should you feel like a stroll along the canal, we have indicated the nearest lock [écluse], and its distance, in each direction from the aire. We have also marked bridges and other locks along this stretch of the Canal. The canal banks also provide a pleasant environment for a picnic.
The aire d’Ayguesvives is small, and right next to the great Canal du Midi. A small gate next to the shaded, red-brick picnic seats and tables leads to the Canal du Midi, with the Ecluse du Sanglier [Ecluse = Lock, in English] hard by. All along the canal is a path for both walkers and cyclists.
Renneville is another quiet, small aire right next to the Canal du Midi. There are wooden picnic tables next to the canal-side path, reached through a little gate from the aire’s parking area, together with an organically-constructed wood bench. The next locks are a walk away in either direction, as shown above on our map.
Port-Lauragais sud is an open and windy aire, with four or five windmills in the distance. There is a substantial shop selling a variety of attractive and tempting local products - wines; violets of Toulouse: perfume, essence, cachets; items made from Pastel blue dyestuff (the French name for woad; traditionally used for French military uniforms); foods and clothes. The Rugby Museum was closed when abelard.org visited, with no indication when it might be open. During the summer, at the weekend, there are free ‘introductions’ to a range of sports, such as golf, fencing, sailing.... The aire also includes a spacious lake and an inland harbour that is connected to the Canal du Midi. From here, you may take boat excursions. The Lauragais Port was excavated during the construction of the A61 autoroute in the 1980s. the canal du midiBuilt between 1666 and 1681, during the reign of Louis XIV, the Midi Canal is the oldest working canal in Europe. It extends 150 miles (240 km) from Thau lake (near Sète on the Mediterranean coast) to Toulouse. There has been little change in this canal’s design and functioning since the seventeenth century. The Canal du Midi, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea, is divided into three sections: the Canal du Midi with 70 locks, the Lateral canal with 53 locks, and the Garonne River with 2 locks. In all, this canal system is almost 500 km long. (The Garonne is the large river whose mouth opens near the Atlantic coastal city of Bordeaux.) When the Canal du Midi was built was created, no plane trees had been planted along the banks,. The first trees (American and Asian hybrids) appeared much later in the 18th century before widespread planting in the 19th century. When the canal system was listed by Unesco as a World Heritage Site in 1996, 42,000 plane trees sheltered the Canal du Midi. In 1856, 120 miles (192 km) of the Lateral Canal was completed, so joining the Canal du Midi to the Garonne River, and thence to the Atlantic Ocean. Thus, the French fleet no longer needed to pass through the Straits of Gibraltar. (Travelling from the west, the Canal Lateral à la Garonne starts at Castets en Dorthe, and continues south-east to Toulouse, where the canal becomes the Canal du Midi.) The Canal’s designer was was Pierre-Paul Riquet. The man and his work has been commemorated by the Obelisque du Riquet, set in parkland, about 2 km to the north-east of the Port-Lauragais aire. The Canal du Midi is classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The Midi Canal comprises 382 engineering structures, including 125 locks, together with weirs, aqueducts, bridges, tunnels and siphons.[3] It used both by over a thousand sea-going vessels a year and over 450 hire boats and barges, as well as floating hotels.[4] It is a very attractive, quiet and often shaded, long aquatic park. For detailed information on the state of the plane trees lining the Canal du Midi.
Sketch map locating the Ayguevives, Renneville and Port-Lauragais aires The Port-Lauragais sud aire and its facilities is directly accessible from the east-bound side of the A61 motorway, when going towards Carcassonne and the Mediterranean Sea. If you are approaching from the east (from Carcassonne, the Mediterranean Sea) there is a tunnel under the motorway from the Port-Lauragais nord aire. The Ayguevives and Renneville aires are both located on the east-bound (south) side of the A61, only being accessible from that side of the motorway. These three aires are in Département 31 - Haute-Garonne.
end notes
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email abelard at abelard.org © abelard, 2005, 26 august, 6 september the address for this document is https://www.abelard.org/france/motorway-aires9.php |
