Any tips about touring in or near Toulouse France?
We will be renting a self-drive canal boat (think floating motor home) with two other couples in Sept for a 7- day trip in Canal du Midi, from Negra to Argens one-way. Beforehand we want to stay in Toulouse. I’m wondering if we should do 1 or 2 nights in Toulouse. (The logistics of our days touring before or after, probably in Paris, are still TBD. At this point we have our canal boat booked as the first “stake in the ground”.)
Can’t wait to hear about this! We just had a trip to France, saw all the boats and canals, and thought how much fun that would be.
For others dreaming about a similar trip, I can highly recommend this book. - http://www.seafevercruisingguides.com/canal-cruising-in-the-south-of-francethe-romantic-canal-du-midi/
DH has been dreaming about such a trip for a long time. I bought him this book (and the companion guide about wineries) for Christmas. He was truly delighted with all the tips and details.
Wow, sounds awesome! I’m ordering it right now!!!
In fact, I see you can watch the video for free if you have Amazon Prime. Might do that first, cool!
NOTE: The book covers just Canal du Midi. There are many other canals in France (and Europe) that also offer canal boat rental. We had already settled on our itinerary (wanted Southern France, since late Sept dates were best for the group) before ordering this book.
@busdriver11 - This link might interest you. There are a few companies that rent canal boats all over Europe. We selected Locaboat - http://www.locaboat.com/en/destinations-circuits/france/canal-boat-midi-camargue.html
We have our canal/houseboat part of the trip booked (3 couple, Sept 22 - 1 week). So no I really need to think about booking our flights, which we
We know we want to see Paris, probably after the boat trip completes in Argens Sat Sept 29. I’m eager for hints / links / refs to other threads.
Before the boat trip we probably will do 2 nights in Toulouse (it starts in nearby Negra). Our friends will probably do Barcelona before Toulouse. We have seen Barcelona and would love to go back, but not yet sure if we could make it work this time.
Flights are booked 
This has become quite the trip for us! We’ve never been away for three weeks. (Thank goodness the flights are almost free, due to frequent flier miles from DH’s business travel and years of Visa points.) Feel free to add any hints 
Sept/Oct trip:
If you’re looking for a 3 bedroom apartment in Barcelona, my family stayed in this one last Spring and we loved the area! It’s in Eixample. https://www.habitatapartments.com/en/barcelona/apartment/view/rambla-deluxe-A.htm?arrivalDate=28/04/2017&departureDate=07/05/2017&n_adults=4&n_children=0&n_babies=0&area=5&pagina=1
Thanks @blackeyedsusan ! That looks great. It’s 3BR/2 bath and would be about $100/couple per night. Also I think the nieghborhood will be quieter than some of the places I’ve found on Las Rambles
Added bonus - early checkin possible … very handy since we will all arrive in Barcelona early morn.
We did end up booking the nice Barcelona recommendation (post #10) from @blackeyedsusan. We leave in a few weeks… getting excited! Then flying to Toulouse for the canal boat trip.
I realize that I never updated this thread. Our 203 week trip worked out great. Glad to answer any related questions.
Sept/Oct trip:
I’d love to do a similar trip!
How much boating experience did you have? Some descriptions I’ve seen have indicated that no previous experience is needed, but I’m skeptical.
@Hello44 - You do not need a special license, but DH (our captain/driver) did a lot of study of the material Locaboat sent and watched some videos online. It did take him a while to get the hang of the bow thrusters (very good to help steer, but 6 second response team). We were fortunate that one of the couples had a lot of canal experience. That was awesome because they caught the ropes (and taught us how to throw them correctly) and did a lot of coaching.
There were marinas along the canal, but some of our favorite times were during the 3 nights staked up along the shore.
You know, we’ve thought about the canal trip, but honestly it sounds like a lot of preparation and work. I’m thinking I’d rather do one of those luxury canal cruises, and relax. The thought of the canal trip sounded appealing, but I’m starting to try to avoid stress and hassle in my life, and hate planning trips. Now if we had someone else who knew what they were doing and did all the research and work, no problem, I’d tag along.
The rest of the trip sounds great.
@busdriver I’m just the opposite. I love all the plannng and research. My friends come along after I do all the research!
@colorado_mom , may I ask roughly how much it is to rent the boat? Is the fuel expensive? I think it sounds like a fabulous trip!
We saw some of those luxury canal cruises. I would have been OK with that too (probably more expensive, but less work). However being captain of canal boat was a bucket list dream trip for DH, so it’s good that we found friends that also liked the idea.
Hey, I would be all for it if someone else would plan it and do the work. I wish we had friends like you and your husband, or coralbrook, who will do all the research! I’m just too weary, and we can get the luxury tours for a small fraction of the listed prices. It would be nice to travel with people who enjoy figuring things out, but I seem to get stuck with it, always.