Canal Saint Martin

There is a great little corner of Paris, just east of Gare de l’Est in the 10th arrondissement, away from the main tourist traps and quite independent of the groan of traffic and general chaos that inhabits much of the city. Those of us who live here (as I do) are quite happy to let the tourists go uneducated about its charms, but I suppose right here, right now, I am going to ruin all that.

It is the area known as Canal St Martin, a scenic part of Paris that is threaded with water (a canal, as the name suggests), bars, bistrots, restos (restaurants) and stores of every description. It is an area that my mother would describe as being where “all the groovy young things hang out” (I know I know, my mother remembers the 1950s, but bear with me) but it is true: it’s packed with studios and galleries and accidental little dives that appear to house those with an artistic bent.

Brightly coloured and exuberantly flavoured, in all senses of the word, Canal St Martin really does “bustle with life”, as they say in those trusty old guide books of yore. Even if your want is to simply grab a bottle of wine or a couple of beers, plonk yourself down one evening on the edge of the canal and watch the Parisian Pride Parade stride by (clarification: not as in the “Gay Pride” parade, just the “I’m French therefore I’m cool and proud of it” parade), that’s as good a reason as any to drop by the area. However, as your trusty blogger who reports on all the juicy little Parisian morsels that are worth devoting some energy towards, I promise that I will share many of the places that I am rather stuck on in this area (have a look at Artazart bookstore in an earlier post to get a taste of what I'm talking about).


To reach the Canal Saint Martin, Quai de Valmy and Quai de Jemmapes, take the following metros: Gare de l'Est (this is station closest to where the above pictures were taken), Jacques Bonsergant, Goncourt, Colonel Fabien or République.