From the canal to the Buttes-Chaumont

The other side of the canal offers other watery hole options. Check the Jemmapes, at n°82 of the eponymous quay: its marble walls are covered with artworks. The cooking is on the traditional French style, and it's also a nice place to enjoy a drink.

You may remember Marcel Carné's Hotel du Nord, and the famous line from Arletty: "Atmosphere, atmosphere, do I look like an atmosphere?" The real Hôtel du Nord is at n°102 Quai de Jemmapes (but the movie was not shot there), but it's not a low-key hotel at all: it's a trendy restaurant with a nice terrace.

If you go past the elevated railway, you'll reach the Bassin de la Villette. ("the Villette docks", not to be confused with the park). On both sides of the docks you'll find huge movie theatres (MK2 Quai de Seine and Quai de Loire), and numerous coffee-bars. A small boat operates a shuttle between the two.

The docks are really beautiful, from the rotunda of Claude-Nicolas Ledoux to the former warehouses now turned into studios, student's halls and a youth hostel. If you sit on the terrace of the 25e Est (10 place de la Bataille de Stalingrad), you'll enjoy a very nice overview of the neighbourhood. The restaurant Aux 2 Bateaux (at 44 bis quai de Loire) offers organic products. The BarOurcq, (at n°68) is famous for its outside deckchairs and its trendy musical selection.

If you take rue de Crimée to the East, you'll reach the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont . This landscaped garden offers a beautiful scenery of luxurious vegetation, a waterfall, a hill, and even a romantic grotto. You can also enjoy some imaginative Italian cuisine at the Pavillon Puebla, or a drink with tapas at the very new and gay-friendly Rosa Bonheur (created by Michèle of Pulp fame).