Bassin de l'Arsenal

The Bassin de l'Arsenal (also known as the Port de l'Arsenal) is a boat basin in Paris. It links the Canal Saint-Martin, which begins at the Place de la Bastille, to the Seine, at the Quai de la Rapée. A component of the Réseau des Canaux Parisiens (Parisian Canal Network), it forms part of the borderline between the 12th arrondissement of Paris and the 4th.

From the 16th century until the 19th, an arsenal existed at this location. The arsenal accounts for the name of the basin and the name of the neighborhood, Arsenal, in which the basin lies.

Port de l'Arsenal

class=notpageimage|

Bassin de l'Arsenal

After the widespread destruction during the French revolution, the Bassin de l'Arsenal was excavated to replace the ditch that had been in place to draw water from the Seine to fill the moat at the Bastille fortress. (The Bastille, of course, was destroyed in the events of 14 July 1789 and the days that followed.) During the nineteenth century and most of the twentieth, the Bassin de l'Arsenal was a commercial port where goods were loaded and unloaded. Separated from the Seine by the Morland lockgate, the port was converted into a leisure port in 1983 by a decision of the Mairie de Paris (Paris City Hall) and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and it is now run by the Association for the Leisure Port of Paris-Arsenal. The basin is part of France's national Voies navigables de France (VNF, Navigable Waterways of France) system.

Since that time, it has been a marina (in French, a port de plaisance), for approximately 180 pleasure boats.

Port de l'Arsenal and Opera Bastille

Port de l'Arsenal, 2006

Metro stations

The Bassin de l'Arsenal is:

___	Located near the Métro stations: Sully - Morland, Quai de la Rapée, Bastille and Ledru-Rollin.

It is served by lines 1, 5, 7, and 8.

See also

• Bassin de la Villette
• Canal de l'Ourcq
• Canal Saint-Denis
• Canal Saint-Martin
• Place de la Bastille
• Pavillon de l'Arsenal: Created in 1988, the Pavillon is a center for information, documentation, and expositions concerning urban planning and architecture.
• Caserne des Célestins of the Garde Républicaine: The ceremonial unit of the French Gendarmerie.
• Pont de Sully: The closest bridge across the Seine.
• Square Henri Galli: Contains vestiges of the Bastille fortress.
• Bibliothèque nationale de France: An important branch of the great library, one frequented by Victor Hugo, is near the boat basin.
• Prefecture de Police: Part of the French National Police, which provides the police force for the city of Paris and the surrounding three départements (Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, and Val-de-Marne.)
• Opéra Bastille: A modern opera house, it is the home of the Opéra National de Paris.
• Quinze-Vingts Hospital: The National Hospital Center for Ophthalmology (CHNO).
• Institut de la Vision (Paris): Associated with the CHNO.
• La Poste: The main post office of Paris is nearby.
• Lycée Professionnel Chennevières Malezieux: At 33 Avenue Ledru-Rollin.