Les Sept Ecluses de Fonceranne, Beziers, France

We passed through Beziers late one afternoon on our way back from our holiday in Gruissan, having passed through Narbonne beach and the Aude river earlier that same day.

While we were in Beziers, we went for a stroll around the town, saw the cathedral and lots of pretty views and then we drove over to the part of the Canal du Midi where they have the canal staircase. It's actually called Les Sept Ecluses de Fonceranne, because there are seven "locks".

We watched in fascination for an hour while three boats and two canoes mounted the stairs. To our surprise, one of the boats was manned by an Australian crew of four on holiday.

The stairs lift the boats from one water level to another allowing the boats to go up a steep hill. In fact, they raise the Canal du Midi about 30 metres! It's impressive to watch and even more so when you learn that it was conceived in 1681! You can read about a couple who cruised the canal.