JARDIN DES PLANTES BATOBUS STOP

 

In days gone by, this stop was a beach where rich and poor alike came to wash themselves, stripped naked. Under pressure from shocked riverside residents, the 1st bath-house was established in 1680 and bathing in the river was prohibited.
In the 18th Century, the quay became a commercial port and warehouses were built with magnificent vaults. This wine market, that the elderly residents of the district still talk of warmly, rivalled that of Bercy. Things collapsed when rail transport took over from river transport, and it was demolished in the early 1960s to make way for the construction of the Faculté des Sciences for the University (Jussieu).
Far back in time, Louis XIII's herbalists established the Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle (Natural History Museum).
At the beginning of the 20th Century a Mosque was built here, and then towards the end, the splendid Institut du Monde Arabe (Institute of the Arab World).
So welcome to our new stop, in a district where past and present cultures meet with all Nature's treasures in the Jardin des Plantes (Botanical Gardens). As proof, sculptures have sprouted on the quay and the wolves in the Zoo lie in wait for the boats.