Let's go to the beach - Paris Plages!


After hearing about "Paris Plages" for the past couple of months, I wasn't going to let the grey skies and cool weather keep me from enjoying the beach along the Seine yesterday. From July 21 until August 21, you can relax under an umbrella, play a game of petanque, take a Tai Chi course, build a sand castle, or dance the night away. And the best part is that all of the activities are completely free from 8:00 a.m. until midnight! One of the beaches stretches from the Pont des Arts to the Pont de Sully, while the other beach is located at the Bassin de la Villette.

Sleeping Beauty's Castle is sponsored by Disneyland Paris.

If you feel inspired after seeing Sleeping Beauty's Castle, there are plenty of free sand toys to make your own creation, although you probably won't need a team of seven sculptures from five different countries to help you. The castle, which is made out of 40 tons of sand, will be inaugurated by Micky Mouse on July 23.

But if playing in the sand isn't your thing, challenge your partner to a game of petanque. This stylish English woman, one of the few people who was wearing flip flops instead of boots on the beach, was very amenable when I asked if I could take a picture of her in action. Unfortunately, she didn't know that it was going to take me such a long time to get a good photo! I'm not sure that her husband was very pleased about all of the extra practice because she was already quite a good shot and the score wasn't in his favor!


And don't worry that the beach was completely empty on opening day. These people looked very comfortable and didn't appear to mind the cool weather.

For more information, please click here to visit the official Paris Plages website in English.

Comments

  1. I love the photo with the folks lounging in their sweaters. At least the guy with the orange parka took it off.

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  2. And thank goodness that a few of the people in the photo threw caution to the wind and removed their shoes. I couldn't believe all of the people who were wearing heavy winter boots on the beach. It has been cold, but not boot weather cold.

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  3. the beach in winter is lovely.

    I've never been in Paris while this was going on. Would be fun to see. Where are the lifeguards?

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  4. I agree, the beach in winter is lovely, especially the Chicago beaches with the wind whipping up the waves in Lake Michigan - very dramatic.

    You would probably need more than a lifeguard to save you if you went swimming in the Seine. It's really dirty. The beaches are more about enjoying the sun and the views of the Seine, the city, and the other people than for swimming, although there is a pool at the other beach at the Bassin de la Villette. They have big showers for people to cool off.

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  5. You get to experience the beach without actually being at the beach! That's... cool! Sorry, I'm running out of words here. The Sleeping Beauty castle looks awesome, by the way!

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