Canal St Martin

EuroCanals Guide: Waterways of France
All-new and updated book version:

* Description of all navigable inland waterways in France

* Waterway details; length (km), draft, height, number of locks

* Description of local charts and where to get them

* Through-routes between the English Channel and the Med

* Buying a canal boat in France

* Self-Skippered Cruising; guide to all major hire-boat bases, with locations shown on maps

This Guide is included in the EuroCanals Guides e-book

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The Canal St Martin in the 10th Arondissement of Paris is a popular attraction for visitors, and especially for film crews. Here a student group is filming a scene atop one of the beautiful steel-arch passerelles (footbridges) which cross the canal, as a cruising sailboat exits one of the locks.

Click on photo for slideshow - Scroll down for map

The northern section of the canal is the most interesting. It begins at Bassin de la Villette, descends through four pairs of double locks in 1.9 kilometers, then enters a tunnel, one block east of Place de la République.

The tunnel section is 2.0 kilometers long. It lies under the parkways of Blvd Jules Ferry/Blvd Richard Lenoir and passes directly beneath Place de la Bastille. This is a pleasant walk along a park used by nearby residents.

Arsenal Marina forms the southern end of the canal. A single lock allows passage into the Seine river.