Northeast and eastern Paris (La Villette to Bercy)

Rollerblader in a Bercy park
Colourful boutiques line the Canal St-Martin
Bridge over Canal St Martin
Canal St Martin at night
Rollerblader in a Bercy park
Colourful boutiques line the Canal St-Martin

There are two big sights in the northeastern part of the city: Père Lachaise cemetery and the leisure complex at La Villette. There are otherwise few major tourist attractions in the eastern neighbourhoods, but they are nonetheless fascinating for more off-the-beaten-path excursions and as evidence of the impending gentrification of formerly working-class areas of Paris.

Do as the Parisians do: go for a stroll along the tree-shaded Canal St-Martin, take a breather at the top of rue de Belleville, then look downhill for an exceptional view of the Eiffel Tower, or spend time in Bercy, erstwhile home to the city’s wine wharfs and now a popular spot for shopping and dining.

Canal St-Martin

To the northeast of the city centre is a network of waterways built by Napoleon in the early 19th century to channel water into Paris. The Canal St-Martin begins at Pont Morland by the Seine, disappears undergound at Bastille (supposedly to allow troops faster access to subdue uprisings), then emerges in the 10th arrondissement at place François-Lemaître. It leads up to place de Stalingrad, before continuing east as the Canal de l’Ourca across the Parc de la Villette. In the 19th century warehouses were erected along parts of the canal to cope with the massive growth in freight haulage, but by the 20th century the development of road and rail haulage caused the area to fall into decline. Since the late 1980s, however, regeneration has taken place, and the canals are now used for recreation.

Belleville

Ever since it was incorporated into the city in 1860, Belleville has been a vibrant place. At one time a forge of working-class agitation, it is now home to more than 60 nationalities and, with its vendors of felafels and bagels, noodles and couscous, the area retains a laid-back charm, despite the encroaching gentrification. Earlier in the 19th century Belleville was a fertile country village, whose springs were tapped to channel water into Paris. There still remain a few old stone regards (control stations for the aqueducts), particuarly around Parc de Belleville, a terraced crescent of green atop a hill with a panoramic view of Paris. The other park worthy of a detour is the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, constructed under the aegis of Baron Haussmann.

Ménilmontant

Due south of Belleville, and incorporating part of the trendy rue Oberkampf, the eastern district of Ménilmontant is another hotbed of alternative culture and also home to many of the city’s more recent immigrants. The draw for tourists is the Cimetière du Père-Lachaise.

Bercy

For centuries wine was brought to Paris by boat from Burgundy, to the riverport of Bercy. Today, it is Paris’s newest neighbourhood, connected by bridge to the ‘New Left Bank’ across the river. Old stone warehouses and cobbled streets have been reborn in the shape of Bercy Village, a car-free zone, centred on cour St-Emilion, busy with boutiques, restaurants and cafés. The futuristic Ciné Cité is Paris’s biggest multiplex cinema, with 18 screens showing mainstream and art-house films, usually in their original language with subtitles.

The long quai de Bercy is backed by the vast Parc de Bercy. On the north side of the park is the former American Center, designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry. It is now home to the trendy Cinémathèque Française. The reclaimed area is also the site of the vast new headquarters of the Ministry of Finance, which extends out over the Seine as if it were meant to be a bridge. Close by is the pyramid-shaped Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, a stadium for sports and concerts, seating 17,000 spectators.