The magical navigation canal that runs through part of the city of Paris underground

Navigation canals were a very popular means of communication in the era before the expansion of the railway throughout Europe.

Sailing under a mountain in Norway: the Stad ship tunnel project
Sailing underground through Standedge, the longest channel tunnel in the United Kingdom

Some of these canals still exist today. One of them is the Canal Saint-Martin, in the city of Paris, the construction of which began on 3 May 1822. This canal is 4.55 kilometres long, connecting the Port de l'Arsenal (a marina) to the Bassin de la Villette, which is the main navigable canal in Paris. The Canal Saint-Martin is very popular with tourists visiting the capital of France and there are several tourist boats that travel along it.

This canal has a section that is underground: the Richard Lenoir Tunnel. This underground canal measures 1,932 metres and was built in 1860 and 1862. Before its construction, ships sailed on the surface of the city. The waterway was carried 5 metres underground, being used mainly for the transport of goods, until it fell into disuse in the 20th century. Today it is used by tourist boats.

According to Setec TPI, this tunnel has three parts: the oldest is the Bastille Vault, 180 metres long and located under the Place de la Bastille; next is the Richard Lenoir Vault, 1,510 metres long and located just under the Boulevard Richard Lenoir, and finally the Temple Vault, 242 metres long and built at the beginning of the 20th century, where there is a system of locks that go down to the tunnel.

Last week, The Tim Traveller posted an interesting video of him travelling along this canal, which is given a truly magical appearance by the sunlight streaming through various holes. The video's author was very good at choosing for this section a beautiful piece by the Parisian impressionist composer Camille Saint-Saëns that I really like: "Aquarium" from "Carnival of the Animals", a suite composed in 1886, 14 years after the tunnel was completed:

You can see some screenshots from this video here. Here we see one of the sides of the tunnel. There is a small sidewalk with evacuation signs.

The Richard Lenoir Vault, the longest section of the tunnel, with a masonry ceiling.

Here we see the Bastille Vault, the oldest part of the tunnel, which leads to the River Seine.

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Main photo: Paris.fr.