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Please join us in welcoming Catherine Sanderson to The Window Seat. She lives in Paris and is the writer of the popular blog Petite Anglaise.

Many visitors to Paris remain unaware of the existence of the Canal Saint Martin, a waterway constructed in the early nineteenth century to bring fresh water and freight into the French capital.

You might be treated to a fleeting glimpse of the canal if you take a line 1 métro to Bastille, as the windows on the eastbound platform overlook the Bassin de l’Arsenal, where it converges with the River Seine. But the canal continues its course underground, running under place de la Bastille and boulevard Richard Lenoir, emerging over a mile north, east of place de la République. It’s the stretch between here and place de Stalingrad that I love most, punctuated by a series of picturesque locks and swing bridges – scenery you may remember from the film ‘Amélie’, where the heroine could be seen skimming stones across the water’s surface.

When the sun is shining, the canal is a perfect place to go for a stroll. On summer weekends the roads running alongside the canal are closed to traffic, with the exception of bicycles, and the banks are dotted with popular watering holes, such as Chez Prune on Quai de Valmy, where you can sit on the terrasse and watch Parisian hipsters – and canal barges – go by. Tiny Bar Le Jemmapes, on the opposite side of the canal serves takeaway drinks in plastic glasses for you to drink by the water’s edge.

Petite Anglaise

Many Parisians picnic along the paved towpaths but, if you didn’t come prepared, the Pink Flamingo pizzeria, tucked away on nearby rue Bichat, will take your order and present you with a (pink) numbered balloon, delivering your pizza on by bicycle to any location along the banks of the canal within a half hour. Also on rue Bichat is another firm favorite of mine, La Cantine de Quentin, a friendly épicerie-cum-bistrot serving inventive French cuisine at reasonable prices. North of place de Stalingrad, the canal widens into the Bassin de la Villette, the point of departure for a host of pleasure boats, an interesting alternative to a Bateau Mouche trip along the Seine. On a rainy day, the MK2 cinemas, housed in former warehouses on opposite banks of the bassin and linked by the Zéro de Conduite ferry, show films in English (Vérsion Originale) and boast lively waterfront cafés.

But the best time to visit is arguably in the height of summer, when Paris Plages transforms the promenades into a series of improvised beaches complete with cafés, deckchairs and golden sand. A wealth of free activities are on offer, for adults and children alike, including pétanque, pedaloe boats and kayaks.

Catherine Sanderson writes the blog Petite Anglaise, which boasts over 100,000 visitors per month. Her memoir of the same name publishes in paperback on 9 June. She lives with her husband and daughter in Paris.