Street art with rub by a canal in Paris

As someone who loves walking beside canals and has a soft spot for colourful murals, I fancied Paris’ Street Art Avenue would be my cup of tea (or cafe au lait). And so it proves. This open-air gallery is flourishing beside the Saint-Denis canal, which curves from Parc de la Villette in the north-east of the French capital to Saint-Denis and the Stade de France, where the national soccer and rugby teams play and where the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics were staged. This urban art trail began almost a decade ago, before the Euro 2016 soccer tournament, with the authorities hoping to tidy up the industrial (and post-industrial) fringes of northern Paris while helping to remedy some of the long-term socio-economic problems for residents in this part of the metropolis. If not quite a no-go area, districts like Aubervilliers, which the canal passes by, were hardly on tourists’ radars. That is, unless they were seeking out the gritty filming locations of Spiral, the brilliant yet bleak Parisian cop drama (called Engrenages in French). I’m not the only one breezing along the wide towpath of the sun-kissed canal today. There are joggers of all ages, skateboarders and a trickle of cyclists — including (by the sounds of) American tourists and a young French family. It’s possible to power-walk the 6km route in about an hour and bike it in about half that time. But it’s worth slowing down to appreciate all the impressive murals. Some are more or less permanent fixtures, though several new ones are added annually to keep the route fresh and return-worthy. Decorating bridges, underpasses and buildings, from the sides of apartments to factories and hangars, the pieces are by both French and international artists. They’ve applied a variety of techniques, from spray paint to stencilling and acrylics, exploring a range of topics, from the whimsical and surreal to the realist and political. You’ll also pass locks, water fountains and exercise stations — and you may see a few barges drifting along the canal, which opened in 1821, part of a network of artificial waterways built in and around Paris to alleviate water traffic on the River Seine in the very centre of the capital. For over a century, this canal (and others) was the lifeblood for scores of businesses, but usage declined after the deindustrialisation of the 1970s and 80s. Yet some industries remain. I’m stopped in my tracks by an imposing cement works, whose hulking silos rise across the canal, dwarfing the storage trucks parked below. If you walk or cycle the whole of Street Art Avenue, you’ll probably be up for some refreshments afterwards. There’s a raft of food and drink choices at either end, from the bustling markets and bygone cafes of Saint-Denis’ historic centre to the bars and eateries in and around Parc de la Villette, which is home to several arts venues and museums. There are also Metro stations at either end, so you could quickly and easily find yourself in an altogether different part of Paris if the mood takes you. fact file + If you’re looking to cycle Paris’ Street Art Avenue, you can hire a bike with the Velib scheme, which has docking points across the metropolitan area, including by the Porte de la Villette and Saint-Denis-Porte de Paris Metro stations. See velib-metropole.fr. + For more information on visiting Paris, see parisjetaime.com.