Dive into the Seine: Paris to Debut Three Supervised Swimming Spots in 2025
Basking in the Seine: French capital welcomes three open-water swimming spots in July - Three designated swimming spots along the Seine River in Paris will be open to the public in July.
Fancy a splash in the Seine? Starting July 2025, Paris will offer three supervised swimming spots for bold adventurers.
Mayor Anne Hidalgo, a long-time advocate for river bathing, was one of the first to take the plunge last year. However, the activity will only kick off when currents are manageable and water quality, post-rain, meets the mark, warned Marc Guillaume, Prefect of the Ile de France region. Daily water tests will ensure safety standards. During the 2024 Olympic Games, several events were delayed due to water contamination following intense rainfall.
Until a few years ago, around 23,000 Paris households were still directly discharging wastewater into the Seine or Marne rivers, earning the river the unflattering nickname "Paris's toilet." A €1.4 billion cleanup campaign, in anticipation of the Olympics, has since connected an additional 2,000 households to the sewage system, as reported by Guillaume.
City teams went door-to-door to persuade residents to hook up, while boat operators on the Seine were reminded to play by the rules and keep wastewater out of the river. A 50,000 cubic meter overflow basin was built nearby Austerlitz train station to prevent floods of sewage into the Seine during heavy rain. This is roughly the same as 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools!
Swimming competitions were initially held in the Seine during the 1900 Summer Olympics, however, they took place outside the city. At that time, there were floating bathhouses in Paris stocked with water from the Seine. Swimming in the Seine was banned in Paris in 1923.
- Parisian river bathing sensation
- Anne Hidalgo
- Safe swimming spots
- Olympic Games
- Water clean-up efforts
- Sewage system upgrade
[1] L'Equipe[2] Les Echos[3] World Aquatics[4] Paris Métropole[5] Le Parisien
"Paris's mayor, Anne Hidalgo, eagerly anticipates the opening of safe swimming spots along the Seine in July 2025, a testament to the city's successful water clean-up efforts following the upgrade of the sewage system and stringent regulations, which were initiated in anticipation of the 2024 Olympics. This revives the Parisian river bathing sensation, last seen during the 1900 Summer Olympics, but with a focus on improved safety and outdoor-living lifestyle, говорит о возрождении чувства русского баня в Париже, последний раз виденной во время летних Олимпийских игр в 1900 году, но с упорным вниманием к безопасности и на бизнесе недвижимости и живущем в природе, внешнем декоре и красоте дома."
