Jardin du port de l'Arsenal

The Jardin du Bassin de l'Arsenal is a public park in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, located on the east bank of the Canal Saint-Martin between the Place de la Bastille and the Seine. It was created in 1983. The access to the park is from boulevard de la Bastille. The nearest metro station is Bastille.

History

The Arsenal was established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1806, between the Place de la Bastille and the Seine. The Canal Saint-Martin was not finished until 1825. It was 4,5 kilometers long, and linked the Seine with the basin of La Vilette. In the 1970s a proposal was put forward by the Paris municipal council to cover the canal completely with a four-lane highway. The project was rejected after public protests.
The section of canal between Place de la Bastille and the Seine became instead a harbor for private yachts and excursion boats. In 1983 the city decided to develop the edge of the canal into a garden a promenade. The designers of the park were architect Philippe Mathieux and landscape architect Serge Eyzat.

Features of the park

The park is 544 meters long, and occupies 1.4 hectares along the east bank of the canal between the river and the Place de la Bastille. The main features of the park are an alley sheltered by maple and willow trees, and a pergola covered with roses and other plants. The park also has several works of sculpture from the period of the 1920s and 1930s taken from the city's reserves, including a bronze statue of the Diane by Henry Arnold. The park also has a restaurant whose architecture is inspired by garden greenhouses.