canal saint-martine/Rue saint-marthe

I've bookmarked your post with great interest in the responses you will receive. My husband and I will be in Paris in September and plan to do the Canal Saint-Martin boat ride which is 2.5 hours. We've done the Seine cruise several times from the Eiffel Tower just as it lights up and enjoyed it. If we had our kids with us, we'd also do the Seine cruise instead of the canal. Enjoy!

I was very underwhelmed. I found it dirty, with not much to recommend it. My impression is it was heavily hyped by local business interests to drive tourists to an otherwise undeserving area. But there are many places in Paris I would rather be on any given day.

Would bicycling be something to interested your kids? Our son is studying in Paris and when we went to visit him he took us to rent bike and we had a good time riding around as a family. The place we rented from is called Animation Insertion Culture Velo.

We’ve spent a lot of time in this area staying at a friend’s apartment so we are familiar with this area of Paris where the 10e and 19e meet. We like the walk from about the corner where you’d arrive on the Metro at Republic to the corner going north, about 5 bridges. We like to walk around the wall and into the Quad at Hospital St Louis, a plague hospital built at the beginning of the 1600s outside the walls of Paris. Then you could continue to Rue Sainte Marthe. If you have energy and want to explore the park, interesting designed by Haussmann on an old limestone quarry, Parc Butte Charmont, continue up Rue de l’ Atlas to Av. Simon Bolivar and turn right to the entrance to the park. Take a look at some pictures of the park to see if this is something you’d like.

Since this is your children’s first visit to Paris and with only 5 days to spend, I’d make sure you cover the things in the inner arrondissements you’d all like to see first. Make some lists and calendar them out to see if you have the desire and time to reach out a little further on their first trip,

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions. It's articles like this (albeit in 2018) that make me think, a trip there is worth it, but just not sure.
https://francetoday.com/travel/paris/rue-sainte-marthe-in-the-10th/

Thanks Mona. Really appreciate your details. Yes, the balance is all the joy of paris for our kids (17 and twin 13yo) and then a little new for us : )

If all you do want to add this to your consideration list and a Sunday is open on your calendar it might be a good half day fit. In the past they have made the parallel, adjacent to the Canal streets car free on Sundays and rollerbladers, skaters and walkers have a leisure day. On the Parc Butte Charmont hill there will be more picnickers, families playing games, joggers, cafe sitters, etc., mostly Parisians enjoying a leisure day.

We walked a bit (half day or less?) around the Canal. It was a different feel than the tourist hot spots.The article gave a good feel for small owner run shops. If that is what you are looking for I'd do it. We did not get deeper into the neighborhood than right by the canal. If we went again I would pick a couple small shops or restaurants & wander in. Maybe pair it with a closer neighborhood

If you have done all the things in Paris, and haven't done this, then go see it. I have spent a great deal of time in Paris and seen just about everything so, last time I was there, I decided to walk the canal. It's definitely a working canal and not a tourist attraction. It is unique and the bridges, locks, and mechanical pieces of the workings of the canal are interesting. Pretty trees and well-used parkways line the canal. Lots of graffiti. When I was there, there was lots of trash. But I did enjoy walking along the water and watching boats navigate the locks. I was glad I went but don't expect a quaint, well-scrubbed Parisian destination.

To each his own but the canal boat ride had all the charm for us of watching paint dry. I think if one were disabled it would be a nice way to see a different corner of Paris while seated -- but otherwise not for us.

The area is a nice place for a walk and it is fun to watch the locks (just not to go through each of them slowly slowly slowly). We also often have Apero with friend at tables along the canal -- the nearby cafes will bring over drinks and snacks -- a pleasant place Friday night.

I have stayed in that area several times, and it has become one of my favorite areas of Paris. There is always something going on at Place de Republique. I usually stay to the north of it parallel to the canal. The canal is a great hang out on a summer evening with people having spontaneous picnic along the shore - such like the Le Marais area of the Seine. You can actually walk or take a metro a stop or two to Gare du Eat or Gare du Nord. I have walked to them several times. There are also a lot of somewhat trendy restaurants, bakeries, etc, plus plenty of markets where you can pop in and buy some fresh squeezed OJ. The canal itself which has been featured in various movies is scenic but a little rundown.

If you do not stay too far away, that area is worth a stroll on a sunny Saturday or Sunday afternoon (Saturdays are more lively, mornings are dead).
And you could indeed walk all the way up to rue sainte Marthe, which is cute and leads you to the metro at Belleville.
It is quick to reach from areas like the Marais, the Grands Boulevards, Opéra, but I would not cross the whole city from, say, rue Cler or Montparnasse, just to visit that area.

Someone mentioned the cruise: in my opinion, don't 😂. There are no "sights" per se, and the novelty of locks wears thin after the first one. It is more fun to watch said cruise pass by, or to rent your own boat on the Bassin de la Villette from Marins d'Eau Douce.

Thank you all so much for your input. Really appreciate it!

I highly recommend it! It is very shady and it almost had the feel of another time. Do not do that cruise, a lot of it is going through tunnels and it is time consuming. It is delightful to go on the bridges and watch the lock system workings. I would start at la Republique and work my way up through a few bridges, you don't have to go all the way to the end. We stopped at La Marine and had an ice cream and enjoyed the view. It is a nice walking pairing with le Marais.