Canal St Martin

While doing research for the post on the 10th arrondissement I took a walk down the Canal St Martin, one of the more interesting sites of the 10th.  I'd been to the area before but never really walked along the canal.  It's one of the more interesting spots in the city, I think, because it's not that well-known amongst tourists so on the weekends it's a chance to see real "Parisian" leisure time.  People often sit along the banks, play music, drink wine (though those last two are technically not allowed!), and hang out a bit on the weekends.  A lot of popular student bars and restaurants are here, too, so it gets lively.  There are kids' parks and playgrounds periodically along the banks as well.

I bet some of you are surprised to learn there is a big canal in Paris; it's no Venice, after all.  The Seine is well known enough for its banks, bridges, and views that it's easy to overlook the Canal St Martin.  It's completely artificial, and was started early in Napoleon's reign, around 1802.  The population of Paris had been growing considerably, and expanding outwards, and the Emperor decided there needed to be another way for the people to get fresh water into the city - especially because the periodic dysentery and cholera outbreaks seemed to be increasing.  So the canal was made to connect a smallish river, the Ourcq, to the Seine, right through the middle of Paris.  Only about half of the canal is visible (not counting the small artificial lake where it originates) because as it gets closer to the center of the city there is a road over it.

Boats still go on it, as you'll see, but I think these days it's mostly tourist (bateau-mouche) type things.

So I'm going to take you through my walk south from the Place de Stalingrad to the road that covers the canal.

The beginning of the canal isn't in the best neighborhood.

And it's a bit dirty.

But there's a nice view crossing the bridge.

And some cool graffiti

Continuing down you get to a nicer area, and you can see how close the water level is to the sidewalk, unlike the sidewalks along the Seine, where the river is much farther down.  This is one of the locks along the canal.

Water coming in through one of the locks.

I liked the colorful buildings along the curve.

Most of the footbridges along the canal are like this, iron and in the midst of trees.

More cool graffiti (not on the van, the wall!)

I was lucky enough to walk by this bridge while it was opening for a boat to come through, so I took some shots of it as it opened.

By this point I was in a student-y kind of area, with a lot of little bars, restaurants, cafes, shop, and lots of young people wandering around.  French people love to write things like "liberty" in their graffiti!

And finally a little beyond this bridge the canal is covered by this park, which is followed by a road:

The whole walk was a bit over a mile, and it's quite pleasant.  I'm glad I went over there.