Paris Plages 2011

Celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, Paris Plages once again transforms the quays of the Seine into a riverside beach, with stretches of sand, lawns and boardwalks, umbrellas and deck chairs, water sprays, a swimming pool, a carousel, pétanque courts, cafés and ice cream stands, concerts, rock-climbing walls, skateboard areas, a trampoline, kayaking and pedal boats on the water and much more. The main plage stretches for one kilometer (over half a mile) along the Georges Pompidou expressway, on the Right Bank of the Seine from the quai du Louvre to the Pont Arcole, and for this tenth edition the city is trucking in 10 times as much sand as in previous years, promising plenty of beach games and sand castle building. Many of the same activities, including boating, tai chi and dance classes, will take place around the basin of La Villette in the city’s northeastern 19th arrondissement. It’s all crowded, it’s fun even just to watch and it’s all free.

Daily 8 am to midnight (swimming pool until 8 pm), July 21 through August 21, 2011