The canal was built, at the behest of Napoléon, from 1802 to 1825, with the aim of providing the city with drinking water. It was not assigned to navigable traffic until the 1850s and was partly covered (between Bastille and République) by Haussmann in 1862. With its quiet banks, locks, and footbridges, the canal is one of the city's most picturesque spots and much loved by novelists and film directors. Major development has transformed the northern end of the canal, around place de Stalingrad and its 18th-century rotunda. There are EUR1.50 barge rides (embarkation at 13 quai de la Loire, La Villette, Paris, France) through the canal's nine locks along the once-industrial Bassin de la Villette to the nearby Parc de la Villette. Métro: Jacques Bonsergent (southern end) or Jaurès (northern end).