The best walks and hikes around Saint-Marcel-Sur-Aude

The section posted for this Highlight is in the town of Sallèles-d'Aude so you have a lot of people walking in this section. Dog walkers with dogs not on leads, families taking the whole path etc., so whilst it is pretty in can be annoying when biking, This was in the last days of Oct. '25 so I think in summer it would be almost impassable at times. The other way towards the Gailhousty Lock and eventually Narbonne is much quieter if you want to ride unhindered by walkers & dogs, especially if you take the wide gravel track on the other side of the canal from the Vioe Verte.

Boats and barges for a long stay... Bucolic

a good way to stock up

Highly recommended, the campsite La val de cesse

We pass along the Canal du MIDI to arrive at the small port so characteristic of SOMAIL. A picture-postcard landscape when the blue sky and the sun accompany you.

Pretty canal, shaded, bucolic. Don't miss the Gailhousty site, at the downstream outlet of the Jonction canal on the Aude river. This canal, put into operation in 1787, connects the Canal du Midi and the Robine de Narbonne canal. The Gailhousty site consists of a lock, a spillway, a bridge and a dry dock. Upstream of the lock, the canal is protected from the floods of the Aude thanks to a system of dikes that surround it up to Sallèles-d'Aude. Downstream of the lock is a space designed to be able to be submerged during heavy floods: the spillway. The bridge is designed to provide rapid access to all points of the site, is of neat architecture, with a low arched vault and four quarter-circle staircases placed at each corner. During floods, it is necessary to be able to react quickly and to manoeuvre the defence systems in time. Placed on the downstream head of the lock, it participates in the system of containing the strongest floods. The monumental spillway, 30 metres long, is located on the left bank of the canal between the Gailhousty lock and the Aude. Its front façade on the canal side is pierced with vertical crenellations that plunge into the water. At the back, it has 5 arched openings at the foot of which launches an 8km long landing channel called "La saignée" directed towards the Capestang pond. This building houses no fewer than 15 oversized valves. It is not intended to evacuate excess water from the Jonction canal but must allow the passage of flood water from the Aude river. Originally, it was planned that these waters loaded with fertile silt would be directed into the Capestang pond to fill it and promote crops there.

Very beautiful work of art on the Canal du Midi

Very pretty canal, less known than the Canal du Midi, shaded. Do not miss the Gailhousty site, at the downstream outlet of the Canal de Jonction on the Aude river. This canal, put into operation in 1787, allows to make the connection between the Canal du Midi and the Canal de la Robine de Narbonne. The Gailhousty site consists of a lock, a spillway, a bridge and a dry dock. Upstream of the lock, the canal is protected from the floods of the Aude thanks to a system of dikes which surround it up to Sallèles-d'Aude. Downstream of the lock is a space designed to be able to be submerged during heavy floods: the spillway. The bridge is designed to provide rapid access to all points of the site, is of neat architecture, with a low arched vault and four quarter-circle staircases placed at each corner. During floods, it is necessary to be able to react quickly and maneuver the defense systems in time. Placed on the downstream head of the lock, it participates in the system of containing the strongest floods. The monumental spillway, 30 meters long, is located on the left bank of the canal between the Gailhousty lock and the Aude. Its front facade on the canal side is pierced with vertical crenellations that plunge into the water. At the rear, it has 5 arched openings at the foot of which launches an 8km long landing channel called "La Saignée" directed towards the Capestang pond. This building houses no less than 15 oversized valves. It is not intended to evacuate excess water from the Jonction canal but must allow the passage of flood water from the Aude river. Originally, it was planned that this water loaded with fertile silt would be directed into the Capestang pond to fill it and promote crops there.