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After seven years of negotiations the Amerami Association
eventually managed to save this prototype submarine from the scrap yard, so that it could
be restored, and from Toulon it was towed via Gibraltar, along the coast of Spain and
Portugal, eventually to Le Havre.
On 25th September 1989, the Argonaute slowly made its way through the seven locks of the
Saint-Denis Canal and once it had reached the quay on the Canal de l'Ourcq, the submarine
was lifted from the water by giant cranes and then transported on a 96-wheel trailer to
where the 400 tonne Argonaute would reach its final resting place.
And it was in 1991 that the Argonaute was finally ready to reveal its technological
mysteries and wonder to the public in its now permanent berth, which is in the Parc de la
Villette and opposite the Cité des Sciences
in the 19th Arrondissement of Paris.
So after being refurbished for easy visiting, you can get see things like the crew
stations and the torpedo launching housing, the periscope and the radar detectors, plus
the exhibition shows the history and techniques of submarines. You even have the use
of headphones in different languages for ease of exploring the inside of the submarine.
So when you are visiting Paris, why not make the time to go and see this French submarine,
which is a diesel marvel of its hey day, and fuel your curiosity for how those sailors
lived and worked.
The Argonaute submarine is open to visitors from 10am through to 6pm on a Tuesday to
Saturday and until 7pm on a Sunday, however it is closed on a Monday and on national
holidays.
Address & Contact Details:
Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie
30 Avenue Corentin Cariou
75019
Paris
France
Telephone: 1 40 05 70 00
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