A Place to stay among the Sites in Paris
Canal Saint-Martin is neither a park nor a garden, but its beautiful green space is the darling of cool Parisians to enjoy the day in one of the city’s most charming neighborhoods.
I confess that despite having been to Paris several times, I had never visited the canal… But this time I took advantage of the street art tour I did in the 10th arrondissement to explore this region of Canal Saint-Martin and I fell in love with it!
Its history is super interesting since it is not a natural watercourse and was commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte in the early 19th century to bring drinking water to other parts of the city. It also had the objective of facilitating maritime traffic from Paris, concentrated on the Seine River.
Nowadays, Canal Saint-Martin is a great meeting point and brings together people of all kinds who take advantage of its banks to rest, have a picnic, read a book and enjoy the moment outdoors – things the French love to do!
The bike lanes that pass by also provide a great ride for those who rent a bike (a great way to get around Paris!).
During my walk I took the opportunity to visit all the little shops around the canal, including one of my favorite French shops, Antoine et Lili, which has unique accessories and decoration items 🙂
It was also worth a stop at an organic juice and vegetarian food store called Le Bichat, where I could choose the fruits I liked to drink freshly prepared juice. A charming place!
At night, the bars on the Canal Saint-Martin are full of young people and there are also several jazz venues. The neighborhood can be enjoyed every day, day and night, but I advise you to go during the weekend, when the lanes on the banks of the canal are closed to cars and this makes the walk much more pleasant! 🙂
