The Bassin de l'Arsenal (; also known as the Port de l'Arsenal ) is a boat basin in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. It links the

Canal Saint-Martin The Canal Saint-Martin () is a 4.6 km (2.86 mi) long canal in Paris, connecting the Canal de l'Ourcq to the river Seine. Nearly half its length (), between the Rue du Faubourg du Temple and the Place de la Bastille, was covered in the mid- ...

, which begins at the

Place de la Bastille The Place de la Bastille () is a square in Paris where the Bastille prison once stood, until the storming of the Bastille and its subsequent physical destruction between 14 July 1789 and 14 July 1790 during the French Revolution. No vestige of ...

, to the

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

, at the Quai de la Rapée. A component of the ''Réseau des Canaux Parisiens'' (Parisian Canal Network), it forms part of the boundary between the

4th Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...

and the 12th arrondissements. It is bordered by the Boulevard Bourdon on the

(westerly) side and the

Boulevard de la Bastille The Boulevard de la Bastille () is the southwesternmost street of the 12th arrondissement of Paris, situated in the ''quartier'' called Quinze-Vingts. It overlooks the east side of the Paris marina, known as the ''Port de Plaisance'' or Port de l ...

on the

12th Twelfth can mean: *The Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution *The Twelfth, a Protestant celebration originating in Ireland In mathematics: * 12th, an ordinal number; as in the item in an order twelve places from the beginning, follo ...

(easterly) side. 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, bordering the westerly ( 4th arrondissement) side of the basin. Bastille in demolition July 1789

After the destruction of the

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stormed by a ...

fortress in November 1789 (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 fortress. 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 In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

(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, ) is the French navigation authority responsible for the management of the majority of France's inland waterways network and the associated facilities—towpaths, Dock (maritime), commercial and Marina, leisure ports, lock-keeper's houses ...

(VNF, Navigable Waterways of France) system. Since that time, it has been a

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

(in French, a ''port de plaisance''), for approximately 180 pleasure boats.

Metro stations

The Bassin de l'Arsenal is located between the

Paris Métro The Paris Métro (, , or , ), short for Métropolitain (), is a rapid transit system serving the Paris metropolitan area in France. A symbol of the city, it is known for its density within the capital's territorial limits, uniform architectur ...

stations Quai de la Rapée and

(except the Line 1 platforms, which crosses over the Bassin), and is a short walk from

Sully – Morland (Paris Métro) Sully may refer to: * Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger (born 1951), American pilot notable for landing his disabled airliner on the Hudson in 2009 ** ''Sully'' (film), a 2016 film by Clint Eastwood about Sullenberger Places France * Sully, Calvado ...

. It is served by lines ,, and .

References

{{Reflist Buildings and structures in the 4th arrondissement of Paris Buildings and structures in the 12th arrondissement of Paris

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

Geography of Paris Transport in Paris Marinas in France

Metro stations

See also

References