canalpocket

Canal Saint-Martin: the locks and the iron bridges

The double locks, the arched footbridges, and the canal that gets wider all the way to the Rotonde.

Photo: André Alliot / Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Drafted by Claude — the editor hasn’t walked this one yet. We’ll update this notice once it’s been verified on the ground.

Distance

3.5 km

Time

~ 80 min

Difficulty

Moderate

Start

Jacques Bonsergent (M5)

End

Jaurès (M2/M5/M7bis)

Best at

afternoon

Right now

35°C· Mostly clear

Open in Maps for turn-by-turn, or take it offline as GPX.

The Canal Saint-Martin is the tenth arrondissement's open secret in plain sight: a working waterway with double locks, swing bridges and arched iron footbridges, threading north from the quais to the wide Bassin de la Villette. Plane trees lean over the water; the péniches (canal barges) still pass through the locks.

Three and a half kilometres, gently uphill in spirit if not in fact. Start at Jacques Bonsergent and drop to the Quai de Valmy — walk the bank, not the boulevard, for the independent shops. Past the Hôtel du Nord facade, where Arletty never actually filmed, then the Écluses des Récollets: wait for a barge if one's coming, because watching the gates work is the point of the canal.

The footbridges are the other point. Climb the Passerelle de la Grange-aux-Belles for the long view down the water. North of here the canal goes underground and surfaces again as the Bassin de la Villette, the widest water in the city — café terraces, a cinema, swimmers in summer.

End at the Rotonde de Ledoux, the 1788 customs pavilion, with Jaurès station at its foot.

The route

On the map.

A soft dashed line, numbered stops. It’s a suggestion, not a turn-by-turn.

Elevation

↑ 117 m·↓ 107 m·38–61 m ASL

Stops along the way

Things to notice.

01
1
Quai de Valmy
Drop down to the water from Jacques Bonsergent and turn north along the *quai* (canal embankment). The independent shops on this side — homeware, secondhand books, small fashion — are the reason to walk the bank rather than the boulevard.
01
Quai de Valmy
Drop down to the water from Jacques Bonsergent and turn north along the *quai* (canal embankment). The independent shops on this side — homeware, secondhand books, small fashion — are the reason to walk the bank rather than the boulevard.
02
2
Hôtel du Nord
The 1885 facade made famous by Marcel Carné's 1938 film, even though the film was shot in a studio. Sit on the canal edge opposite if the stone steps are dry; it's the best people-watching on the whole stretch.
02
Hôtel du Nord
The 1885 facade made famous by Marcel Carné's 1938 film, even though the film was shot in a studio. Sit on the canal edge opposite if the stone steps are dry; it's the best people-watching on the whole stretch.
03
3
Écluses des Récollets
The double lock where the *péniches* (canal barges) rise and fall. Wait for one to come through if you have ten minutes — the gates, the rush of water, the slow lift, all unchanged since the 1820s.
03
Écluses des Récollets
The double lock where the *péniches* (canal barges) rise and fall. Wait for one to come through if you have ten minutes — the gates, the rush of water, the slow lift, all unchanged since the 1820s.
04
4
Passerelle de la Grange-aux-Belles
One of the arched iron footbridges that arc over the canal. Stand at the top for the view down the water to the next lock; this is the shot everyone takes, and rightly.
04
Passerelle de la Grange-aux-Belles
One of the arched iron footbridges that arc over the canal. Stand at the top for the view down the water to the next lock; this is the shot everyone takes, and rightly.
05
5
Bassin de la Villette
The canal opens into the widest stretch of water in Paris. Cafés and a cinema line both quays; in summer there's swimming and pedalos. Cross to whichever bank has the sun.
05
Bassin de la Villette
The canal opens into the widest stretch of water in Paris. Cafés and a cinema line both quays; in summer there's swimming and pedalos. Cross to whichever bank has the sun.
06
6
Rotonde de la Villette
Ledoux's 1788 customs pavilion at the head of the bassin — one of the few survivors of the wall that once ringed Paris to tax goods coming in. Now a restaurant under the metro arches. Jaurès station is right here.
06
Rotonde de la Villette
Ledoux's 1788 customs pavilion at the head of the bassin — one of the few survivors of the wall that once ringed Paris to tax goods coming in. Now a restaurant under the metro arches. Jaurès station is right here.

Canal Saint-Martin: the locks and the iron bridges

On the map.

Things to notice.

Quai de Valmy

Quai de Valmy

Hôtel du Nord

Hôtel du Nord

Écluses des Récollets

Écluses des Récollets

Passerelle de la Grange-aux-Belles

Passerelle de la Grange-aux-Belles

Bassin de la Villette

Bassin de la Villette

Rotonde de la Villette

Rotonde de la Villette

Two more, on similar days.

Le Marais: mansions and the Pletzl

La Campagne à Paris: the garden village on the hill