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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 27, 2019 22:05:38 GMT
I had plans to walk from Paris to Saint Denis along the canal for quite some time, and it turned out that today was the day. It wasn't a perfect day since it was the most polluted day of 2019 so far, with driving restrictions and a reduced price for public transportation, but it was also the warmest day of this sunny month so far, with a temperature above 20° (total aberration in February), so I was good to go. Any anyway, walking along the canal I would be away from most traffic.
Since the day began with my normal morning movie, I took the metro from the centre to Porte de Clignancourt to catch the tram. I will have to see the new heart at night, because it should be spectacular with all of the lights on it.
i.postimg.cc/vBv0hT8c/Canal_Saint_Denis_024.jpg
In just a few minutes, I arrived at the Canal Saint Denis tram station.
i.postimg.cc/HnZBGNym/Canal_Saint_Denis_025.jpg
My first urge was to walk along the other side of the canal, but I saw that the walkway was blocked by some construction work.
i.postimg.cc/sDLwwtz9/Canal_Saint_Denis_026.jpg
The Canal Saint Denis, just like the Canal de l'Ourcq and the Canal Saint Martin (the three canals inside Paris) is still used quite a bit for carrying goods and various materials.
i.postimg.cc/Pf268CF7/Canal_Saint_Denis_027.jpg
There really is a boxing club here on the Quai du Lot. I just didn't take a picture of where the door is.
i.postimg.cc/PrJSbdg5/Canal_Saint_Denis_028.jpg
This is the free shuttle to the Aubervilliers shopping mall from Porte de la Villette.
i.postimg.cc/6q5YmKTz/Canal_Saint_Denis_029.jpg
One of the first things to see was the "linear forest" along the périphérique. I have taken many photos of it, but it is not yet sufficiently developed for a real report.
i.postimg.cc/sX3cMzPy/Canal_Saint_Denis_030.jpg
When you walk through it, it really does feel like a forest, except for all of the traffic noise.
i.postimg.cc/85wbWYwv/Canal_Saint_Denis_031.jpg
Then I walked under the périphérique which is wrapped around Paris. Symbolically, it represents the city limits, but in reality, Paris continues on for another 100-200 metres.
i.postimg.cc/ZKWLBVN9/Canal_Saint_Denis_032.jpg
I had to take this photo because it shows one of the places mentioned in my novel, a refuge for migrants.
i.postimg.cc/SxzV5DN0/Canal_Saint_Denis_033.jpg
There is plenty of graffiti art all along the canal. I will show you more than enough of it.
i.postimg.cc/yN4nzckD/Canal_Saint_Denis_034.jpg
On the other side of the périphérique, there is another park in preparation.
i.postimg.cc/cJRh1CnX/Canal_Saint_Denis_035.jpg
It will even have a pond.
i.postimg.cc/fbf7nPGP/Canal_Saint_Denis_037.jpg
There is a footbridge across a little dead end of the canal.
i.postimg.cc/nzV4HkZh/Canal_Saint_Denis_036.jpg
It is where the shopping mall shuttle takes people.
i.postimg.cc/W4vmyVHr/Canal_Saint_Denis_038.jpg
But I was going much farther along the canal.
i.postimg.cc/3NRFZZbc/Canal_Saint_Denis_039.jpg
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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 27, 2019 22:35:03 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 27, 2019 23:58:15 GMT
Thanks for taking us along ~ this feels exactly as though I were walking this route. Great pictures & so interesting to see the development. I liked the fact that these old houses were saved and renovated, even if they look a bit out of place now. Yes, indeed. What struck me about that picture is that, whether by accident or design, the new apartment roofs just beyond the old houses mirror the pitch of the old roofs perfectly. Looking forward to much more.
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Post by fumobici on Feb 28, 2019 2:03:54 GMT
Glad you continued on. I'd wondered what became of the canal out past the Parc de Vilette, which is as far out it as I've ever been. Good stuff! Hope you made it all the way to St. Denis. Does it go past there?
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Post by lagatta on Feb 28, 2019 2:46:53 GMT
Intrigued by the novel.
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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 28, 2019 6:10:55 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 28, 2019 6:31:19 GMT
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Post by bjd on Feb 28, 2019 7:07:32 GMT
This is wonderful. I am so glad that Paris and its immediate suburbs are renovating and building but also incorporating green areas, trees and walkways instead of last century's concreting over everything. Perhaps these areas will age more gracefully and people will not be in such a rush to leave them if they can.
As you said, some of the apartment buildings look quite nice. How long was your walk?
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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 28, 2019 7:11:41 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 28, 2019 7:41:16 GMT
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Post by mossie on Feb 28, 2019 9:21:59 GMT
That was quite an expedition and a wonderful display of street art, many thanks. Are you not tempted by the last picture to ride a bike to London?
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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 28, 2019 11:59:41 GMT
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Post by tod2 on Feb 28, 2019 12:36:53 GMT
I loved that report Kerouac! you reveal that there is so much more to "Paris" than what the usual tourist sees. If only they would come back and have a second look after Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, and Louvre. But then again your average holiday maker just wants to see the glamorous parts of any city. But for those of us who just love Paris to bits, this kind of excursion is a must.
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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 28, 2019 12:46:00 GMT
Thanks. I was incorrect in saying that the Saint Denis train station is the terminus of the T8 tramway. It used to be, but the line has been extended now to Saint-Denis Porte de Paris.
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Post by lagatta on Feb 28, 2019 14:07:57 GMT
Will Rosa Parks be the hub for all these lines, or somewhere else?
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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 28, 2019 14:28:11 GMT
The T8 will go to Rosa Parks eventually, but the work on that section has not started yet. I've seen quite a bit of tram construction between the Stade de France and Front Populaire.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 1, 2019 2:39:25 GMT
Outstanding! So many surprises, not least of which is how much beauty and good street art there was along the way. The municipal planners deserve medals for vision and sensitivity in dealing with much of that area, and it seems as though it's only getting better. I loved that the two girls you show sitting across from the industrial ugliness, as it was apparent they were simply happy to be at the water's edge.
I guess it's a shame the new metro station has to be delayed, but good that the whole area is vital. After showing that short stretch of bus route, metro stations seem all the more important.
Did you stop to rest at all during your walk? I'm assuming that picture-taking and stopping to look around probably tacked about 45 minutes onto a plain walk. Whatever, thank you so much for doing this. It's a report that needs to be re-visited, as it's packed with loveliness and information.
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 1, 2019 4:37:10 GMT
Actually, I would have been happy to stop for a bit, but all of the benches were in full sunlight and it was hot! The only place where I really stopped for maybe 15 minutes was on the footbridge above the rotating street bridge because the operation of it was quite slow.
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Post by bubba10 on Mar 10, 2019 4:09:18 GMT
Is the area being spruced up for the Olympics? Is Stade de France being used for Opening ceremonies?
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 10, 2019 5:17:09 GMT
Yes, the Stade de France is the Olympic stadium. While the new metro lines are designed to be ready for the Olympics, all of the rest of the things that I saw was just normal development of an area that has been overdue for a long time.
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Post by russ_in_LA on Mar 11, 2019 0:20:20 GMT
Really interesting report and great photos. Thanks!
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Post by meg in CA on Mar 16, 2019 23:53:03 GMT
I really want to see the Cathedral when I go in April. As a grandmother, with 4 teenage girls in tow, do you think it's advisable? There are so many comments about the area, and I'd like to know the "real story".
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 17, 2019 4:28:44 GMT
You can take the metro straight there. The zone surrounding the basilica is perfectly fine and a well worn tourist path, unlike the walk that I reported here.
However, let's face it. Notre Dame de Paris receives 17 million visitors a year compared to 170,000 for the Basilica of Saint Denis so it is not at all the same tourist experience. If anything, Saint Denis is more impressive because there are times of day when you can have the whole place to yourself. That will never happen in Notre Dame.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 18, 2020 13:54:36 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on May 18, 2020 14:12:31 GMT
The last time I had walked through here, the city of Paris was creating a new wild area here. It looks mostly finished, but it is closed at the moment like all of the parks. imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/3008/Sz3ZpM.jpgIt made me smile to see that Aubervilliers, which gets a lot of trash talk, takes better care of its canal banks than Paris. Better pavement, better weed control. imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/4016/CCUmMQ.jpgAnybody with any doubts about the political orientation of Aubervilliers will be quickly enlightened by the name sign for this quay. imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/4015/Xr5c9E.jpgI've often seen bamboo used to make a hedge, but this is the first time I've seen it tortured into becoming a fence. imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/8214/nra3fT.jpgThe city probably could have evicted this cement company, but that would have pushed blue collar jobs out of town. I understand their decision even though it disrupts the walkway. imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/8202/Xqh1UR.jpgIn any case, lots of other projects are being built. This is the back side of this one, so I did not see a sign announcing what it was going to be. imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/8510/OnW04q.jpgBut I still enjoy the gritty Chinese chaos of Aubervilliers, even though it is rapidly coming under control with all of the new commercial centres. imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/7083/7eY86z.jpgPeople still get away with dumping construction debris along the street in the dead of night. imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/1072/C3cPXP.jpgThe little Chinese wholesalers have everything we need. imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/6160/MpOvxN.jpgI showed this in the first section of this report already, but here it is again -- one of the huge wholesale centres that are replacing the old places. imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/4974/AZ15CD.jpg
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Post by kerouac2 on May 18, 2020 16:13:25 GMT
I crossed a pedestrian bridge at the same place as last time and saw that the homeless can sneak themselves into just about every nook and cranny.
Even though there is a tiny bit of canal traffic, the canal is mostly a mirror on calm days.
I spotted this little hotel which probably has very competitive rates compared to downtown Paris.
They even repurposed an old official postal letterbox into their own mailbox. (Does this mean that they also collected their mattresses abandoned on the street?)
At the same time, these same clever people seem to have obtained a free paint job on their canal side wall.
I love it when the thin veneer of modern asphalt gives way to the original paving stones.
I continued on my sunny excursion...
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Post by tod2 on May 18, 2020 17:10:23 GMT
I'm as thrilled to see the changes since your initial visit! I'm hoping there is a lot more….
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Post by kerouac2 on May 18, 2020 17:56:46 GMT
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Post by mossie on May 18, 2020 18:33:40 GMT
Pleased to see you return to this thread. Re the people washing with canal water, don't forget the city allowed bathing in the Bassin de la Villette which this canal supplies. In fact it was originally built at the order of Napoleon to supply clean water to the city to replace the sewer which the Seine had become. It was then of course used commercially and the Bassin became a dock where much of Paris's supplies were imported into, the canal was continued on to the Seine via another smaller dock and the large one at l'Arsenal, before exiting into the Seine.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 18, 2020 18:42:42 GMT
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