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You see, on the initiative of the Mayor of Paris, Bertrand
Delano? there is now a taste of the coast and the beaches in Paris itself, with a
creation called the Paris Plage, that lets the Parisians have some relaxation in a
completely different environment.
The Paris Plage is basically a giant beach area that is created every summer along the
banks of the River Seine and the success of this project
has meant that many other towns and cities in France have caught on to the idea and now
create their own temporary beaches and summer events.
An example of another temporary beach can be found in Saint Quentin, which is just outside
of Paris to the North, where they have created a large beach area at the town hall square
utilising several tonnes of sand, two swimming pools and several palm trees to make this
even more realistic.
But lets get back to the Paris Plage..
The first thing that happens, which would usually cause major headaches in any city, is to
temporarily close sections of the Georges Pompidou Expressway, which runs along the River
Seine along with other riverfront areas and then these are transformed into beaches with
thousands of tonnes of sand.
The next thing is to set a stage and the stage designers from Nez Haut, Jean-Christophe
Choblet and Sylvie Del Perico created this incredible summer time phenomenon which is
getting bigger and drawing more and more visitors each and every year.
When the event began the temporary beaches were on the Right Bank of the River Seine and
stretched for nearly two miles from The Louvre
to the Pont de Sully and incorporated parts of the existing Seine quays.
However, as the years have gone on, additional beaches have been added on the Left
Bank, which is along a stretch of land in front of the Port de la Gare and the
Bibliotheque Francois Mitterand. It is at this location that you will find the
famous Piscine Josephine Baker
floating swimming pool, an arts centre, and an outdoor library.
On the Paris Plage you will be able to laze around on deckchairs, or put your towel down
and sunbathe on the sand, sit in the shade under palm trees and umbrellas or get involved
with activities such as volleyball, a climbing wall and trampolines and then when you are
just too hot, cool off with the fantastic water sprays.
The Paris Plage is expanding year after year and there are now even more different things
to occupy everyone from the youngest to the oldest, and you can even get involved in
activities such as canoeing and kayaking in another part of Paris, where this novel idea has expanded to.
The prime spot for families with young children is close to Ch?telet, where there is a
special children's area with baby changing and feeding facilities and plenty of thing to
entertain the youngsters, but bear in mind that most French children are very well
behaved, so make sure you keep your children under control, or you could get some
disapproving looks!
Another thing you can do at any of the Paris Plage locations is surf, but on the
internet! In fact the whole area has a free Wi-Fi service for anyone to use, just be
careful that you do not get any sand in your laptop!
But basically, the urban beaches provide both the residents of Paris and tourists with a
completely free place to go and have some fun, just like being on holiday and these
beaches are set up from around the third week in July through to approximately the third
week in August.
So if you are stuck in Paris on a sweltering hot day, then why not think about something
different like the Paris Plage which is guaranteed to please the whole of the family.
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