Sunday Flaneurs on the Bassin de la Villette
We spent the first part of our last Sunday in July being flaneurs (one who wanders and observes) along the Bassin de la Villette. We finished our day by heading over to the Tuileries garden on rue de Rivoli to watch the final laps of the Tour de France. It was a beautiful sunny day, just perfect for wandering aimlessly.
A Bit of Geography About the Bassin and Canals
The Bassin de la Villette connects Canal Saint-Martin and the Canal de l’Ourcq. In addition, Canal Saint-Martin connects Canal de l’Ourcq to the Seine River. Canal Saint-Martin is my favorite place for watching the tourist filled canal boats pass through the locks. It is also a wonderful place to be on a Sunday as the streets the line it are only open to pedestrian traffic.
Getting There
We took the metro to Stalingard (lines 2,5 & 7 stop here) and just followed the top of the rotunda to the Bassin de la Villette. We later learned that this rotunda, La Rotonde Ledoux, served a purpose once long ago.
Built between 1784 and 1788 before the Revolution, it served as a point of tax collection and inspection of goods that were being brought into the city of Paris. At one time there were many of these barriers but most have been destroyed.
It gets its name from the architect who designed it, Claude Nicolas Ledous. I’ve noticed that the rotunda goes by several names including La Rotonde de la Villette and La Rotonde Saint-Martin. There is one other rotunda of this genre remaining in Paris. It is by the entry gate to Parc Monceau.
La Rotonde Ledoux
If you want some place to swim, Bassin de la Villette has been set up with several pools plus a beach-side area with chairs. If there are no trees, then you also will find umbrellas.
Le Pavillon des Canaux
As we reached the end of the Bassin, we found this delightful little café Le Pavillon des Canaux in an old house. Each of the rooms has been designed with unusual seating areas. Just place your order on the ground floor and then pick your special place to enjoy your meal. You can also just order drinks if you only want a mid afternoon break.
Le Pavillon des Canaux
Mural on the side of Le Pavillon des Canaux
Take a peak inside of Le Pavillon des Canaux.
Paname Brewing Company
At the end of Bassin de la Villette we arrived at Paname Brewing Company , our lunch destination.
Paname is an artisanal brewing company and brasserie. Their food is wonderful and so is the beer!
Arriving just a few minutes before noon we found a few tables occupied by people sampling the beer but for the most part, we had our choice of tables. I thought the view during lunch was spectacular!
The view back down the Bassin de la Villette allowed us to watch the sight-seeing boats as well as smaller little boats of 2-4 persons.
We could see the sandy beaches and the little Eiffel Tower replica from the terrace.
One could easily while away the afternoon just watching the boats and people and sampling the beer. However, we wanted to secure a good spot to watch the riders return for those final laps of Le Tour de France. So we went in search of our metro stop.
Heading toward Metro Crimée, we followed the street behind Paname. To our surprise we found this ultra futuristic building on the corner of Crimée and Colmar. No visible signs (and no desire on my part to walk around the entire building to find one) means I resorted to Google Street View to learn that it is a Crèche Collective (toddler nursery).
Pont de Draguage
Turning back toward the canal or rue Crimée, we arrived at Pont de Draguage. Here the Bassin de la Villette becomes Canal de l’Ourcq. What a surprise to discover this “lift bridge” which is the last of its kind in Paris! The boats on this series of canals must pass under rue de Crimée. The lift bridge raises the street to enable them to pass.
Cables that run down either side of the four wheels/pulleys at the top of the columns to lift the bridge. In this photo, the bridge was already in the lift sequence. Look at the red/white guard bar across the street. Through its rails you can see the cross section of the bridge. It is already about 2 feet above the normal street. Ultimately it lifts as high as the pedestrian bridge.
In the image below, the pedestrian bridge is in front of the lifted section of the bridge. The sides of the bridge are now at the top of the pulleys. This is the fifth bridge to be installed here; the first was installed in 1808.
From the top of the pedestrian bridge we had a great view of the Canal d’Ourcq as well as the Square de la Place de Bitche. This square is the park in front of the Catholic church Saint-Jacques Saint-Christophe.
This was our first visit to this part of Paris and we definitely want to return to explore more of it. It has more of a neighborhood feel and less of a “touristy” feel to it. Metro line 7 which services the Crimée stop connects with lots of popular destinations in Paris. We think it might be a good area in which to search for an AirBnB for our next visit.
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