Paris, France: sunset over Canal Saint-Martin

Paris, France – sunset on Canal Saint-Martin, quai de Valmy, Pont tournant de la Rue Dieu

Canal Saint-Martin is one of the iconic places of Paris one should take the time to visit when journeying to Paris. Though it is not as iconic as Île de la Cité, Montmartre, Trocadero (where the Eiffel Tower stands) or even Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Elysées, it is definitely worth an evening during your visit.

The Canal Saint-Martin construction was decided under Napoleon Bonaparte. The idea was to bring clean water to Parisians in order to fight the many diseases and epidemics that were then quite common in the population, and mostly attributed to the poor quality of the water in the city. However, due to History and the focus on European wars, the Parisians had to wait for two decades before Préfet Chabrol, in 1822, laid the first stone of the Canal. At the time, France was once again a monarchy under the Restauration, and Louis XVIII was the King of France. It took another 3 years to finish, at a time when France was ruled by Charles X.

The Canal was not yet majorly underground. The decision to cover the canal on most of its course can be attributed to Baron Haussmann. The goal was to improve the circulation between Paris downtown and the popular districts at the North-East of Paris, which were often the sources of civil unrest. I must confess that I sometimes regret this decision, since it would have made a very beautiful promenade in Paris.

Today, you can sail along the Canal from the Bassin de la Villette to the Port de l’Arsenal and visit the underground section of the Canal: a worthy visit if you have the time.

Though it used to be an industrial district, where boats would load and offload different kinds of goods, the Canal has slowly lost its role of transportation channel. In the sixties, it even almost disappeared to be replaced with a highway!

Fortunately, it has since been protected as part of the French historic patrimony, and it is now one of the best places to gather at sunset to have a beer, eat dinner, and have a romantic time. And of course, for photographers, to take pictures.

Indeed, in the late evening, the waters of the Canal Saint-Martin are generally still, and with the golden light of the moment, one can take some wonderful pictures of the buildings and the trees reflecting in the waters of the Canal, beautifully lit by the last glimmers of the day. A wonderful experience! Which you can then continue by having dinner in one of the restaurants located along the Canal (I personally love having some “crêpes” for dinner at Breizh Café).

And if you want to see more pictures from the Canal Saint-Martin, please visit my other post about this wonderful place: Paris, France: Canal Saint-Martin

Camera & lenses used in this post

• Sony A7III
• Sony FE 16-35f4 G