| Bassin de la Villette | |
|---|---|
 The Bassin de la Villette | |
  Bassin de la Villette | |
| Location | Paris |
| Coordinates | 48°53′10″N 2°22′30″E / 48.88611°N 2.37500°E |
| Type | Basin |
| Part of | Parisian Canal Network |
| First flooded | December 2, 1808 |
| Max. length | 800 m (2,600 ft) |
| Max. width | 70 m (230 ft) |
| Settlements | Paris |
The Bassin de la Villette (French pronunciation: [basɛ̃ də la vilɛt], La Villette Basin) is the largest artificial lake in Paris. It was filled with water on 2 December 1808. Located in the 19th arrondissement of the capital, it links the Canal de l'Ourcq to the Canal Saint-Martin, and it represents one of the elements of the Réseau des Canaux Parisiens (Parisian Canal Network), a public-works authority operated by the city. The other components of the network are the Canal de l'Ourcq, the Canal Saint-Denis, the Canal Saint-Martin, and the Bassin de l'Arsenal.[1] Together, these canals and basins extend roughly 130 kilometres (81 mi).
Rectangular, eight hundred metres in length and seventy metres in width, it begins at the Rue de Crimée lifting bridge, the last bridge in Paris that can be raised and lowered hydraulically to permit the passage of ship and barge traffic beneath it, and it ends at the Place de la Bataille-de-Stalingrad near the Rotunda de la Villette. River cruise boats tie-up here and the shores of the basin are also the location of the MK2 Quai de Loire and MK2 Quai de Seine theatre complexes which are the most modern in France.[2] A small electric passenger ferry, the Zéro de conduite, is available for transporting people from one side of the basin to the other.
The basin is bordered in the north by the Quai de la Seine and in the south by the Quai de la Loire, which are linked in the middle of the basin by a footbridge, the Passerelle de la Moselle.
- ^ Hugh McKnight (2005). Cruising French Waterways. Sheridan House, Inc. p. 67. ISBN 978-1-57409-210-3.
- ^ MK2 Quai de Loire / Quai de Seine (in French)