Port Saint-Étienne

Port Saint-Étienne is defined by its long history as the primary commercial and administrative hub for the Canal du Midi in Toulouse. Beginning in sixteen eighty-five, it was established by King Louis the Fourteenth to provide a proper harbor where boaters could unload goods, replacing the makeshift quays that once cluttered the canal banks. You can identify the site by its concentration of historical buildings, including the original château of the canal designed by Antoine de Niquet, which once housed the administration, archives, and the chamber of justice for the waterway.