Been to Paris twice. Never visited the Canal and want to see it. Which is the best way to experience it?

Either way is interesting. If you want to see the underground portion, the only way to do that is by boat (although there isn't a lot to see). I tend to be fascinated by the operation of the locks on the canal, but that's just me. The bassin de la Villette has an eerie, artificial, 19th century look about it that is interesting, and the drawbridge at the north end is quite fascinating as well.

Hi Anthony. Sounds interesting. I wonder if you would mind telling us a bit more about this neighborhood that I have been reading about so much lately. Sounds like a destination to put on my itinerary for my trip this fall. Aside from the canal itself and the locks, what is the area like these days?

Hi K and ek,

From my notes, provided by another Fodorite,

Canal St. Martin Take the Metro line 3 to Opera and change to Line 7 dir La Courneuve to Stalingrad for a leisurely stroll down the Canal Saint Martin.

The scenery changes all the time. When you get to Quai de Valmy stop off at Le Chaland for lunch. Get a table in the open windows and watch the passing parade while you eat.

You will end up in Port de Arsenal where there are more cafe's. The magnificent Colonne de Juliet will be towering overhead.

Metro back home from Bastille.

Hope this helps.

In estate agent terms the area's "up and coming". Once definitely working-class and industrial, now increasingly gentrified and prettified. Though the surrounding streets are fairly workaday, there are parts which have been spruced up with gardens and trees.

En route you will see the Hotel du Nord, which tries to recall the prewar film romance of the same name: if you like misty, moody black and white films with the likes of Jean Gabin and Michèle Morgan, it adds a certain buzz.

At the bottom end, after visiting the Bassin de l'Arsénal (I like looking at boats), you can give the place de la Bastille a quick onceover (it's the Colonne de Juillet = July, commemorating the overthrow of the restored Bourbons in 1830). On a Sundays there is a street market on Blvd Richard Lenoir; or you could walk up to the Promenade Plantée above the Viaduc des Arts, which runs from Bastille along Blvd Daumesnil; or you could stroll back towards central Paris along the Seine.

I went on the canal ride about a year ago and throughly enjoyed it. A walk along the banks won't take you nearly as far and for me, the pleasure of the trip, is in seeing how the locks work. Watching the water pouring in at a huge rate is fantastic.

Although the area along side is up and coming its certainly not the nicest area of Paris and, to my mind, there are much better areas to wander around. I would not be prepared to walk all that far along the Canal unless there was more to see.

It does of course take quite a while to do the whole trip but the Parc de Villette at the end is good. I had my three children with me so they were interested in going to the museums when we got there. It was a fairly quick trip back into Paris proper by Metro.

If you only have a small amount of time it may be worth wandering over to see one of the barges go through a lock as something different to do.

Incidentally if you do the trip, I suggest you start from the Bastille end going to Parc de Villette. This way you get the water pouring in over the locks down on to you. If you do it the other way, the water is pouring out and I don't think you will see anything at all, just simply notice that the boat is getting lower and lower in the lock.

You can watch the locks from some of the bridges, where you look directly down on the canal... and you can deviate to some of the cafes and shops in the area...I've read that you shouldn't take the cruise on a dreary or rainy day...

Here is one of several recent articles about the area in the English-language press that spurred my interest. Thanks to all of your quick responses.

http://travel2.nytimes.com/2005/10/0...10&ei=5070

Yes - thank you to all! Still haven't quite decided yet, though.

Obviously DH & I are going to be in the minority here. About 8 years ago, after talking about taking the cruise on previous, trips, we finally decided to do it.

The area at that time was not as interesting as it is now and there is so much more now to see and do.

BUT ... we came away from the cruise saying 'if you've seen one lock, you've seen them all'.

It was interesting for awhile, but then it was almost boring and we were sorry that we had spent the time on it.

Seeing the area and going through the locks, IMHO are two entirely different things. You either do it for the locks, or for spending time walking in the area. You can't do both at the same time. I would rather wander through the area, eating, shopping, etc.., but since I have taken the cruise, that is just my opinion.

A few weeks ago I mentioned the cruise to a friend in Canada without telling her that we weren't crazy about it, and she said that she and her husband thought that it became boring after awhile. So it wasn't just us.

But, as you can tell from the above responses, everyone who answered your post, loved the cuise and recommends it.

Just my 2¢,

Nina

If you know Paris well, take the boat, if not walk.