Quai de Jemmape

The Quai de Jemmapes follows the Saint-Martin Canal, marked by its double rows of chestnut trees and the iron footbridges that span the water at regular intervals. In the early nineteenth century, Napoleon ordered the construction of this canal to bring fresh drinking water into a city plagued by cholera. By the nineteen sixties, developers proposed filling it in to build an urban expressway. A massive public outcry saved the canal, preserving this path for strollers instead of cars.