Jewels in the crown of France’s heritage, the Parisian canals define the capital in the same way as the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. Legendary settings for many films, from "Hôtel du Nord" to "Mission Impossible", or a perfect place in which to take a stroll, these exceptional works are bursting with rare and often overlooked historical and technological treasures.

The 3 main canals - the Canal St Martin, the Canal St Denis and the Canal de L’Ourcq - run through the capital, either above ground or sometimes secretly. They constitute a complex network of waterways, which extends over 130km and includes numerous engineering works, including locks, one of which held a world record, hydraulic and metal bridges, pumping stations, and the largest Sagebian wheel in the world!

Created by the City of Paris from 1802 on the order of Napoleon Bonaparte, these canals supplied the city with drinking water and facilitated the transport of goods and people. They illustrate the technical genius of the engineers of the 19th century and are still surprisingly useful today.

Why is such a network essential to the French capital? What inventions and feats of engineering had to be implemented to build such works of art and control the water in order to distribute it better? What problems and construction challenges did the project encounter throughout the capital’s evolution?

Using video footage, expert testimony, archive footage and 3D reconstructions, this documentary reveals the ingenuity of the engineers, builders and planners responsible for creating this incredible network.
A canal-side walk, revealing the secrets of a little-known heritage!