Grands sites d'Occitanie : Aux sources du Canal du Midi
An emblematic piece of this monumental work of art, the immense Saint-Ferréol dam surprises with its proportions and delights boaters.
The lake, which is still used to supply the canal, has been transformed into a charming seaside resort where swimmers, skippers and windsurfers meet. The Reservoir, a discovery space on the Canal du Midi, installed in the former home of the engineer, presents an exhaustive exhibition of Riquet's research.
A mass dam, the first in Europe of this size!
The Saint-Ferréol dam is built by a dyke 871 meters long and 35 meters high. Consisting of a wall of cut granite, it is reinforced by another wall 2.8 meters wide.
It is made up of water from the Montagne Noire, Alzau, Bernassone, Lampy and Rieutort streams brought in by the Rigole de la Montagne, upstream from the village of Cammazes where they are partly discharged into the Sor.
The evacuation of water is done by two underground vaults called Vault of Hell and Vault of the Drum.
What to see, what to do At the sources of the Canal du Midi?
Give thanks to the genius of Pierre-Paul Riquet!
6 km from Sorèze … the magnificent lake of Saint-Ferréol. If today you can go sailing and swim there, thank Pierre-Paul Riquet. In 1672, the brilliant inventor of the Canal du Midi decided to build this huge lake-dam to supply the canal.
To understand the mechanism of this extraordinary work, visit the Reservoir, the discovery area of the Canal du Midi, next to the lake. Then stroll through its elegant English gardens. You will refresh yourself at the foot of the water spray and the man-made waterfalls.
Visit the castle of Pierre-Paul Riquet.
By visiting the castle of Bonrepos-Riquet, 20 km north-east of Toulouse near Verfeil, you will enter into the intimacy of Pierre-Paul Riquet and his descendants. You will have the privilege of discovering, in the romantic setting of the immense park, the hydraulic installations which convinced Colbert of the feasibility of this crazy project.
A fascinating guided tour will immerse you in the life of the estate at the time of Riquet. You will discover the gardens and the beautiful orange grove where citrus fruits grew, the cooler where the ice of the Montagne Noire was kept.
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