This is Paris Canal Saint-Martin (10th/11th)

A guide to the neighborhood in Paris that feels most like home to me: Canal Saint-Martin. This is where I met my husband Eric, fell in love, and got married. We lived here together for 5 years. Eric first moved here 20 years ago when it was decidedly less lively and more of a rug district. The canal still hadn't been cleaned up, and the neighborhood was much quieter and off-the-beaten track. Now it's one of the most beloved and visited parts of the city for younger Parisians. Even with all of the changes over the years, it still doesn't feel touristy in the same way central Paris does. Thank goodness. This is a young, bustling, interesting, international, and creative neighborhood that seems to keep getting better with the time. And the minute we step off the metro at République and head towards the canal, we always feel like we're coming home.