Paris Plages from Bridge by Ken Eckert/wikimedia commons
Who needs the sea when you have the Seine? Just sit on some sand by the Seine and you’ll see.
Thanks to the office of the Mayer, citizens need not travel to the outskirts of France for a little sunbathing on the sand. Paris went out and brought the beach back to its citizens. Long stretches of sand are poured along the banks of the Seine each Summer, creating artificial beaches for locals and tourists to lounge. The Paris Beaches come complete with palm trees and beach themed activities. The program started in an effort to keep Parisians from fleeing to the beaches during the sweltering Summers. What started as one beach location on the Rive Droite quickly became so popular that two more beaches were added, at the Rive Gauche and La Villette. Beach-goers can beach hop thanks to a ferry that connects the three areas.