Hi
I will be in Paris in May.
I have the name of two cruises . Which one would you choose?
1. Canauxrama
2.Paris Canal

Thank You

I took the Canauxrama cruise of the St. Martin Canal last year. It started at the Marina Arsenal, which was near my apartment and so was convenient. It did not go on the Seine, just on the canal. http://www.canauxrama.com/produits/e_fiche5.htm

The Paris Canal cruise, according to its website, starts at the Musee d'Orsay. It travels along the Seine and then up the Canal St. Martin, so you get to see a longer stretch of water. http://www.pariscanal.com/2-hours-cr...-Saint?lang=en

The cruises of both companies take about two and a half hours. The longer route does not take appreciably longer because most of the time is spent in the locks on the canal, waiting for the water level to change.

I took the cruise in the direction from Arsenal to Bassin de la Villette, which is upstream. In the locks, the boat is rising in the water and you emerge into the view rather than descending from it. It is possible that this is the more interesting way to experience it; at least I read someone's experiences that suggested that was the case.

I did the Paris Canal trip and quite liked it. Relaxing, and interesting commentary in both French and English. Commentary content not the same in the two languages, so since I speak both I got two tours.

Lots of homeless camping alongside the canal in some areas, and their reception of visitors is not always a happy one.

There were no tents along the canal when I did this trip. I believe at one time there was an organized protest that included homeless people sleeping in tents and other people joining them and camping with them in solidarity along the Canal St. Martin. Perhaps that is when Therese was there.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...457516,00.html

I was there in May, 2007. Quite a number of homeless, and somewhat confrontational.

If you do the first the last 20 minutes or so is underground and verty cold, even if it is sunny and warm aboveground. We did this trips a few vacations age and liked it alot. It's interesting to see how the locks work from the "inside," and to see how roadways are lifted or swung out of the way so that the boat can pass. And since there are not a lot of boats going by each day, people in the area come out and wave to you as you pass by. It's even nice to take the metro to the beginning of the trip and walk most of the way along the canal.

Pjk

The tents of the homeless have been gone for 2 years, but you may see quite a few Afghan and Iraqi refugees along the canal near the Square Villemin (Gare de l'Est). Most of them are teenage boys.

I'm going to be doing a Canal St. Martin photo essay soon on another site. I'll put a link here if anybody is interested.

Hi Kerouac that sounds great.
Thank you all for such great info.
I think that I may take the total canal cruise Canauxrama.
The lock system sounds interesting. It seems like a larger version of what happens on the Charles River between Boston and Cambridge Ma. The area that I am from.
I have done the Seine years ago as well as the Rhine in Germany and the canals of Amsterdam and the waters of Venice so the canal trip should be a good change of scenery.
Thanks again

We will be there in May, too, and were wondering about this. We will be there for a week and are wondering if this is a must do, or a maybe.

For those that did it, was it well worth it, or just okay?

When we go in June we are planning to take the Canauxrama evening cruise (looks like a new option). The Saint Martin cruise was on our "long list" of things to do, but we weren't sure we wanted to commit an afternoon to it. I just recently saw that they had added an evening tour - 6pm departure from the Bassin de la Villette, and then a 9pm departure going the other way. We thought if we were at the parc du Villette in the afternoon, it might be a nice way to "get back" at the end of the day.

The evening cruise sounds like a nice idea. Even though it won't be dark, you will be able to see the large numbers of Parisians having evening picnics along the canal if the weather is nice, which might give you some good ideas for another evening.

We found it a bit dirty and dull....imo not worth the trip.

I've come across a number of people who found it boring; generally, I think they didn't know what to expect.

Kerouac, I would be interested in your photo essay. I'd also be interested in seeing the canals in person if I ever get over to Paris, but that's something else entirely.

BC

Here is my complete report on the Canal Saint Martin, but it was done on foot, not on one of the boats!

http://www.anyportinastorm.proboards...ay&thread=3491

Kerouac's photo essay is special and fully expresses the Canal Saint Martin experience. I took the Canauxrama cruise in 2007 and loved it...for me, not at all dull. (At that time they didn't offer an evening cruise and I would definitely take this the next time.) For those that are restless and easily bored, it might be an idea to take the afternoon cruise. I had been up since dawn, walking for miles, was exhausted and happy to board the boat at 2PM and relax for a couple of hours. I boarded at Bastille Arsenal and went to the end at Le Villette. It was a slow and langorous glimpse of this part of Paris. Refreshed, I took a leisurely walk along the canal back to the Seine... 'discovering' l'hopital Saint Louis.
http://www.metropoleparis.com/1999/437/437hosp.html

This fascinated me, given that it resembled Place des Vosges on a 'down at heel' day. Not sure, but I think that the same architect was responsible for both squares. They are very similar. Nearby, I relaxed at a modest and welcoming cafe with live music. The whole experience was beautiful.

My sister and I enjoyed the canal boat trip very much. Sometimes when I travel I get too busy rushing around trying to see everything and forget to slow down and smell the roses. I didn't see many roses along the canal but in some sections the trees and parks along the canal are so beautiful. It was good to have some forced down time during the cruise.
Some neighborhoods along the canal are more modest but I can easily appreciate these areas of such a wonderful city as well as the more upscale areas.

That is my view as well -- I am glad when I am forced to slow down, because I don't know how to do it myself. And one of the highlights of this trip is indeed to be able to see a different part of Paris that is often missed by tourists, since there are no monuments along the way.

We also really enjoyed the Canal St Martin cruise we took in 2008. We went from La Villette to D'Orsay and really enjoyed the sights and going through the locks. The guy who was doing the commentary was very funny and his French comments were very witty and a little risque, which we loved. We felt like we were getting an insider's guide to some little known Parisian history.

We plan to do it again with our friends in the next 2 weeks, only this time we will leave from D'Orsay in the morning and walk back along the canal in the afternoon (we may enjoy a glass or 2 of wine along the way, lol)

Jo (leaving tonight for 17 nights, very excited!)

Here's my blog address if anyone cares to follow along our adventures:

www.slowtrav.com/blog/joden