Summer in the city can feel relentless, and in Europe perhaps nowhere more so than Paris. Last month’s heatwave brought temperatures that exceeded 40°C and more widely, France’s three hottest days in recorded history. The orange heatwave alert is back in place in the city this week, with highs of 35°C expected during an extended spell of hot weather.
However, the French capital has been forward-thinking in its hot-weather planning. Since 2002, it has staged Paris-Plages for residents and workers unable or unwilling to flee the hot and humid city for the summer – temporary urban “beaches” pop up along the river in July and August, alongside games and summery activities. While swimming in the Seine was initially prohibited, it’s now integral to the event.
I visited last weekend, when the mercury was rising fast, and as a keen outdoor swimmer, immediately looked for the nearest place for a dip.
My home territory of London is sadly lacking in river swimming opportunities; there’s Ham, and soon, the Royal Docks will reopen, near Poplar. But imagine how wonderful it would be to swim at Westminster, or beside the London Eye?
Sadly, for hot and bothered Londoners, this remains a dream, both for now and the muck-spattered foreseeable, thanks to Thames Water’s dismal record – in 2025, there were more than 9,000 sewage spills in the river, lasting an average 12 hours each time.
Things are a little more optimistic in Paris, where the Seine was cleaned up in time for the 2024 Olympics (although after bursts of heavy rain, which led to toxic run-off, some competitors did fall ill). It was a €1.4 billion investment that paid off, in the quality both of water and of life for its citizens, notably during the increasingly frequent, debilitating heat waves.
Seine swimming has a well-documented heritage: ever since the mid-17th century its banks have drawn a fashionable crowd, with people both jumping into the river and, by the end of the 19th century, into about 20 floating pools filled with its water. But increasing industrial traffic and an onslaught of liquid filth meant that in 1923, it was officially banned.
But the tide has turned. Three new Seine swimming spots – free to enter – opened last year and are back this summer, alongside eight more free sites elsewhere in the city’s freshwater bodies.
I chose Bras-Marie (also known as Louis-Philippe after the bridge alongside), just an eight-minute walk from Notre Dame. I arrived at 8am, when it was already 26°C in the shade, and was greeted by a knot of lifeguards wearing concerned expressions and fluorescent T-shirts. Bad news: oil had been spotted in the water and the area was closed. I should keep an eye on the website and return later in the day.
Looking down into the pool, I could see how oil might have entered. The swimming zone is surrounded by wooden seating, and is impenetrable by boat, but the water comes in from the Seine, with just a rope and some buoys to stop swimmers heading off into the wide and silty yonder.
After a consolation croissant, I was back; the website now proclaimed that the area was open, and so it proved. I was directed to queue beside a sign which told me “la vie est un long fleuve tranquille” (life is a long, quiet river) and that the water temperature was 28°C.
“Regarde!” said the lady next to me, “poissons!” When I looked down, I saw the shimmer of a school of tiny fish, their silver scales catching in the sun.
Then it was my turn. I walked down the ramp to the open-air changing area (luckily, I had bought a poncho towel) and a wall of free lockers. Tow floats are both obligatory and provided, which made the whole enterprise feel very safe.
From the decking to the staff uniforms, it was all brand new and utterly wonderful. As the co-host of a wild swimming podcast, I’ve swum in all sorts of places, from Oslo to London’s Canary Wharf, but there was something special about swimming right in the centre of Paris, the river fresh and sparkling, people watching and waving from the bridge above.
In the rising heat of the day, the water was sublime. Swimmers under 1m 20cm are not allowed onto the site, which means no children; the sunbathers on the deck were mostly in their twenties and thirties, and very French – I saw five moustaches before I lost count.
Down in the water, where a few strands of weed fluttered green in the current, the swimmers were charming and well-behaved. No dive bombing or shoving, instead, the vibe was one of floating conversations punctured by the occasional elegant swan dive, all surveyed by the plentiful lifeguards.
I’d feared a certain Parisian froideur, but everyone was happy and helpful, whether it was showing me how to work the lockers or pointing out that I’d left my pants on the pavement.
After, as I towelled off, the group next to me were laughing as one young man slung his bag over his shoulder and joked, “À la pharmacie!” And, in truth, despite the dry weather and all the assurances of good water quality, I did spend the rest of the day wondering whether I was about to get ill. But I can report that, 48 hours on, I remain in good health, and keen to return. Paris may be a densely-packed city that lacks the abundant green spaces of London, but its free, urban outdoor pools are forward-thinking as Europe heats up. I can’t wait to go back later this summer: I’m planning a swim at another new swimming spot: Bras de Grenelle, down to the west, where there’s a view of the Eiffel Tower.
A map of Paris’s outdoor swimming locations, which are open until the end of August, are listed on parisjetaime.com
The Wild Swimming Wangers podcast is out now
