Paris Plage, Paris

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“To err is human. To loaf is Parisian.”
— Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

SUMMER LOAFING Our visit coincided with the sixth annual installment of Paris Plage, when a two-mile stretch of Rive Droite is turned into a beach with 2,000 tons of golden sand. Potted palm trees, blue chaise lounges and sun umbrellas help Parisians loaf in style.

Unlike many beaches in France, topless sunbathing is not allowed; Paris Plage is a family friendly happening. Swimming in the Seine is verboten.

Some locations of the beaches, they do not line the entire length of the river, are listed below.

From the Louvre to Pont de Sully
Opened in 2002, this 1.8- mile stretch was the first plage. It runs along the River Seine through historical Paris, and features a swimming pool, concert stage, rollerblading, tai-chi, wall climbing, boules etc.

The beach at Port de la Gare is below the François Mitterrand National Library in the 13th arrondissement. This spot is for the cerebral crowd not the family; it offers free newspapers, books on loan, a café with wi-fi access, and classes in drawing, painting, writing, etc. The floating swimming pool, named for Joséphine Baker, gives relief from the heat in the daytime, and musical shows are offered on the boats moored by the river banks.

Paris Plage:
Since 2002, the City of Paris has turned the banks of the Seine into a summertime "beach oasis." Mid-July through August, over 2,000 tons of white sand is brought onto the banks from Ile St. Louis to the Jardin des Tuileries for this temporary beach party. August is typically the month when most Parisians hit the road for their summer travels. Chatelet is a good metro stop to get off at to get to the plage. Those who are stuck in the city can be found lounging under the big umbrellas and enjoying free concerts and family activities at Paris Plage. If you really want to fit in, don a wide-brimmed hat and grab your sarong!

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Paris-plage is an initiative of the Paris municipality to bring the beach to the Parisians who cannot or are too lazy to go to the sea, to go there or simply want to get tanned. This enterprise suggest turning the proverb if the mountain will not go to Mahomet, let Mahomet go to the mountain into if the Parisians don't go to the beach, the beach goes to the Parisians! So, it was decided to provide a beach along the Seine.
Paris-plage has been existing since 2002 and it has proved very successful. My parents and I saw also artists who were building sculptures of sand, as the last photo shows.
The only disadvantage is that people are not allowed to bathe in the river.

For many years it was the case that Paris virtually shut down during August. I guess in the days before air-conditioning it made alot of sense. Nowadays, it is still the case that many smaller, usually family-run, restaurants and shops close for the duration of August (or sometimes July, or sometimes both). The same is also true of many theatres and similar places.

It must be a mark of how well Paris does as a tourist destination, as elsewhere in Europe August is the month when such businesses make a good deal of their annual turnover.

It is a mark of how much the city 'empties out', that for the fast few years (since 2002) a two mile stretch of the right bank of the Seine is converted to a beach. I've not been, but thousands of tons of sand, palm trees and a swimming pool seem to have been an enormous hit - and now a tradition that Paris will expect to see every year.

The beach area is normally a dual carriageway, and closing it for a month (last week in July and first three in August) at any other time of the year would cause mayhem and gridlock.