5 of the best places to swim outdoors in Paris

26.07.2023 - 00:07 / lonelyplanet.com / Anne Hidalgo / Paris / Art

Often described as the most romantic river in the world, the Seine in Paris is poised to open a new chapter in its mythology with the revival of an old heritage: the return of public swimming.

In 2025, locals and visitors alike will be able to swim and sunbathe at three points along the river. But you may be surprised to know that there are already several outdoor swimming pools across the city where you can escape the heat and cool off, some with views of the Eiffel Tower blinking in the distance.

Over the last few years, herculean efforts to clean the river in time for the 2024 Olympic Games have been underway, as open water swims, triathlon and paratriathlon competitions are scheduled to be held on the Seine next summer. After the games, the city will open its first three sites to public swimming in 2025 at Bras Marie, Bras de Grenelle and Bercy.

It’s not the first time the river has hosted Olympic sporting events. When the French capital hosted its first summer games in 1900, swimming events were also held on the Seine but further out between Asnières and Courbevoie bridges north of the city limits. This time, the starting line will be beneath the most ornamental and extravagant bridge in the city center: the Pont Alexandre III.

But the €1.4 billion overhaul isn’t just for the Olympics. The clean-up is also meant to have a long after-life and help Parisians reclaim the waterway which, during the 19th and early 20th centuries, had been a popular public swimming hole for Parisians. Though the city officially banned the practice in 1923, locals continued to take illicit dips until the 1960s, when the degradation of water quality made swimming impossible.

The transformation of the Seine is also part of Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s battle plan against the warming effects of climate change. Last year, the mercury broke the 40ºC (104ºF) threshold in Paris and by 2050, it’s estimated that the city will face temperatures as high as 50ºC. A study published in The Lancet this spring found that of all major European capitals, the risk of mortality from heat waves is greatest in Paris, due to a variety of factors including urban heat islands and air pollution. And remember: unlike the aggressive AC culture in North America, air conditioning is still relatively rare in private apartments, spotty in public buildings and available only on select metro lines. Along with the greening of public spaces, the opening of free, outdoor bathing sites is a strategy aimed at mitigating extreme urban heat.

In the meantime, you don’t have to wait until 2025 to take a cooling swim between your visit to the Louvre and dinner. Shake up your summer Paris itinerary with a dip in one of the several existing outdoor swimming holes in the city.