Traversée 2 - part 1
... from de Porte de la Villette via Belville and the parc Butte-Chaumont to the Canal St Martin...
Tje route starts at the Parc de la Villette, easily reached by metro (M-Parc
de la Villette). The park was constructed on the grounds
of the former central slaughterhouse of Paris. Now it is the Centre for Music,
Art and Science, with an overwhelming offer of activities and sights. The former
slaughterhouse proper has been converted into a science museum (Cité des
Sciences et de l'Industrie). Next to it is the Géode (movie theatre). Further
away is the inflatable Zénith (pop music), Cité de la Musique and the Théatre
Paris-Vilette.
Having crossed the park we cross the busy Avenue Jean Jaurès, into the
tranquility of the small streets and urban renewal projects. This was once the
area where the workers of the meat industrie used to live. Next
is the Belville neighbourhood. It is the most typical part of the 19th area. The
neighbourhood is built as a Provence small town, with lots of one or two story
houses. The streets are called Vila de Fontenay, Vila de Cronstad etc. With
sunny weather you can imagine walking in a small town in the the Provence. The
area is rahter hilly.. After negotiating a number of stairways we get to
the hilly 
Butte-Chaumont park.
The park has been constructed in the 1860ies by urban developer Haussmann and served to cover up a couple of mines and slums. The result is a varied park, with a cascade, caves and a lake..
From the park the route takes a detour to a hill (reached by 78 step stairway). Atop the hill we have a fine view of over the city.
Through the busy rue Rebeval we continue, cross the av. de la Villette and go
on
to
the St Martin Canal. We leave the 19th and enter the 10th district.
The canal that runs from the Parc de la Villette to the Place de la Bastille (and into the rive Seine) was finished in 1825 and was meant as a shortcut for ships to avoid the long loop in the Seine. The canal negotiate a big difference in altitude and runs through a big number of locks (and from de rue Faubourg du Temple even underground).
We follwo the canal for a few hunderd yards. When the canal goes underground we cross the Bd Jules Ferry and enter the 3rd district. Time is already way into the afternoon and our feets start to hurt. Time to quit and take the metro (M - St Sebastien/Froissart).
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