Gardens of Versailles
Grand Canal
With a length of 1,500 metres and a width of 62 metres, the "Grand Canal", which was built between 1668 and 1671, physically and visually prolongs the east-west axis to the walls of the "Grand Parc". During the "Ancien Régime", the "Grand Canal" served as a venue for boating parties. In 1674, as a result of a series of diplomatic arrangements that benefited Louis XIV, the king ordered the construction of "Petite Venise" – Little Venice. Located at the junction of the "Grand Canal" and the junction of the northern transversal branch, Little Venice housed the caravels and yachts that were received from The Netherlands and the gondolas and gondoliers received as gifts from the Doge of Venice, hence the name (Marie 1968; Nolhac 1901, 1925; Thompson 2006; Verlet 1985).
Canal de Marseille au Rhône
The canal has a total length of from Marseille to Arles.
The canal consists of the Rove Tunnel from the harbor on the Mediterranean, the section leading to the Étang de Berre, the Bouc à Martigues canal (or Caronte canal), the Rhône à Fos canal and the Saint-Louis canal.
There are two channels at Martigues, the Gallifet canal and the Baussengue canal, used only for recreational boats.
Martigues island, between the two canals, is divided by the small canal of Saint-Sébastien, which runs along its length.
The complex of waterways at Martigues has led to its being called the "Venice of Provence".