Écluses des Récollets, lock in 10th arrondissement of Paris, France

The Écluses des Récollets form a double lock on the Canal Saint-Martin, near the Hôpital Saint-Louis in the 10th arrondissement. Two successive chambers with green metal gates and balance beams lower or raise boats; a footbridge crosses above the gates, and plane trees line the quays on both banks.

Napoleon Bonaparte commissioned the canal in the early 19th century to supply Paris with clean drinking water and support navigation. This lock later became part of a network that guided cargo barges through the city before railways and trucks replaced water transport.

The lock appears in films and fashion shoots as a typical Parisian backdrop, and locals gather on warm days for picnics by the water. Many sit on the iron edges while boats pass through the chambers and water rises or falls in the basins.

The best view unfolds from the small bridge directly over the lock chambers, where you can watch the entire mechanism up close. On sunny weekends many people gather on the towpaths, so early mornings or weekdays offer a calmer visit.

The gates no longer open by hand but are operated by a lock keeper who sits in a small house next to the chambers. Sometimes the passage of a single boat takes twenty minutes, and passersby stop to watch the slow rise or fall of the water.