Built between 1666 and 1681, at 241 km (150 miles) long, and with 65 locks (originally 86), 126 bridges, 55 aqueducts, 7 canal-bridges, 6 barrages, and 1 tunnel, the Canal du Midi is Europe’s oldest functional canal.
Until 1789, when its name was changed by revolutionaries, the canal was originally called the Canal Royal en Languedoc.
The canal stretches between Port de l’Embouchure in Toulouse and Les Onglous (Étang de Thau), Sète, where a lighthouse stands at its mouth.