Paris barge ride on Canal St-Martin
 

My wife and I and (2)daughters are going back to spend 10 days in Paris in mid March. It is our 4th visit there and we simply cannot stop returning. I was wondering if anyone had taken the barge on Canal St-Martin and if anyone would recommend it during March.

My husband and I took the canal ride in May. It was a very peaceful trip as I remember but most of the time I spent talking to a young woman from Ireland who was sightseeing on her own. I think she missed not having someone to talk to about her trip. I can tell you more about her than I can the canal ride!!! What I can tell you is that we were a little confused about where you could actually catch the barge and had to backtrack to the Bastille area. Somehow I got the impression you could ride it in either direction but that may be only during the summer. I do remember that it was kind of creepy going through the culverts and under the bridges but that just added to the charm. It is a relaxing way to see Paris and gives you a different perspective of the city. If the weather is sunny and calm I think March would be fine. We always experience a wide swing in temperatures when we visit Paris is March. Wishing you warm and sunny days for your travels. Deborah

Bonjour,

My wife and I took the ride from le Bassin de la Villette to the Port de Plaisance de Paris Arsenal after visiting La Cité de la Musique. It was a magnificent July day and still seems like a dream.

I recommend it to everyone that I talk to who are looking for something a little different to do while in Paris.

It is a unique look at some unusual and not frequently travelled areas of Paris. They play old french classics and meander through the waterway. You are so close to the banks you feel that you could reach out and touch the building as you pass. You will pass by the "Hotel du Nord" and play lines from the Movie. You end the tour by passing under the place de la Bastille and come out into the Port de Plaisance Arsenal, which you might not know even exists.

Check out the following web-site:

http://www.pariswater.com/walks/canal/canal6.htm

RJS

Hi RJS,

Thanks for the info on the canal ride.

How long does it take?
How much does it cost?
Which operator did you use?
Would you use them again?
Which Metro stop did you use?

Thanks for the help.

((I))

RJS--Music??? now I know I missed much of the canal ride because I didn't want to be rude to the young lady. The ride you took was the direction we wanted to travel but we did have to metro back to the Bastille area as the barge was only going in one direction that day. We ended at La Villette. It was worth all the hassles and cross city travels we had to make to take the ride. I don't think in the cooler weather there are as many rides offered. We also recommend the rides to those who have visited Paris more than once. Deborah

Dear IRA,

As it has been a few years I hope that my memory serves.

We took the metro #7 to the 19th Arrondisement and took Exit Pte. de la Villette, then back tracked through the Parc de la Villette. We spent a couple of hours at the Cité de la Musique, which I higly recommend. We also walked about the parc and enjoyed the splendid July day. If you are not interested in visiting the Parc you might want to exit at Jauré, which is much closer to where you will board the bateau.

I believe the duration of was somewhere around 2 to 2 1/2 hours. I think that we paid in Francs not Euros and it was somewhere around 8 - 12 Francs per ticket.

I'm pretty sure the tour provider was canorama.

I hope that this helps.

RJS

Ira,

To answer your questions (I hope and believe:

http://www.canauxrama.com/saint-martin.htm

As far as I know, Canauxrama is the only company that offers the Canal St. Martin cruises.

lacigal, thank you for website. Beautiful photos.

I took my three children on the canal ride last January. The kids are aged 13, 15 and 17 and all three enjoyed it. At that time of the year it was only offered in the direction of starting at the Bastille and finishing at the Parc de Villette. If it is available in both directions when you go I would suggest you start at the Bastille anyway. By going upstream you get to see all the water pouring (thundering into the locks) which the kids found fascinating. If you travel the other way, I assume the water is simply draining out all the time whcih wouldn't be as interesting. The tour kept the kids interest up for the nearly the entire time. They stayed outside for the first three set of double locks but all of us were a bit ho-hum with the fourth and final set of locks. We also enjoyed seeting the vaious bridges that had to swing or open up as we passed through.

If possible allow for time to spend at Parc de Villette itself. I hadn't been to it before and the kids would have liked to have spent more time looking around there but our ride didn't get us into there until later afternoon anyway. I did subcumb to their begging and took them to see a movie at the Geodome (the huge silver ball). It is a bit like going to IMAX but the movie is partly projected onto the roof as well and the chairs lie back so you feel as though the movie is all around you. There were English transalations of the movies available via headsets.

Incidentally make sure you take jackets. In March it could be quite cold if you want to stand outside and occasionally we even got a few sprays of water coming our way.

There are actually two firms offering these trips: www.canauxrama.com and www.pariscanal.com.
You can do the trip in either direction; in the low season when only one boat is operating, it will go one way in the morning and the other way in the afternoon. It's therefore best to phone the firms to check departure times.
As others have said, it's a relaxing trip and gives views of parts of Paris where most tourists don't go.

You are also likely to share the ride with French tourists!

What a great idea.My 13 years old grandaughter, my traveling companion, would love the barge ride..
She already know the city, I have taken her to Paris few times and this would be something different for us to do.
I am going to check the web site.

I have not taken it, but also had this one in my notes:

http://www.pariscanal.com/

Sandy

Thanks folks, for the info.

Took the canal barge about five years ago with my 16 year old daughter. We loved it. The captain (?) spoke English well and was very entertaining. It's fun going through the locks and an opportunity to see residential sections of Paris that we would otherwise have missed. Enjoy!

Lacigale, nice to see you here. I've missed you. Do you still have your charming site?

A day on the Canal St Martin can be nicely combined with exploring the Viaduc des Arts, and the Promenade Plantee
Search on those here, or your guidebook can advise, or ask if you are interested

There used to be a place in the Viaduc that offered a great Sunday brunch with music, but the name escapes me at the moment

oh, the name of the place is the Viaduc
Cafe, open 7 days
Jazz brunch is Sundays only

http://www.viaduc-des-arts.com/engli...iaduc_cafe.htm

linked this thread to Paris Superthread

Elaine,

I think that cafe has become l'Arrosoir. Will verify and repost.