Swimming in River Seine

For more than one hundred years, people were not allowed to swim in the River Seine in Paris, France. Recently, local and visiting people can jump in the water at three sites if the weather permits. One of them is close to the Eiffel Tower.

The sites have showers, changing rooms, and the types of furniture you might find on a beach (shade umbrellas, beach chairs, etc.)

Many people arrived early on Saturday morning to swim, after a clean-up before the Summer Olympics last year. For more than a hundred years, swimming was not allowed in the River Seine because there was water pollution that could make people sick.

Although before last year’s Summer Olympics, over 1.2 billion euros were put into cleaning up the Seine’s pollution.

To make sure people can safely relish this experience, the government has taken a few safety measures, such as daily testing for pollution in the water and putting lifeguards at each swimming site. Flags will tell people about the levels of pollution in the water every single day. The swimming sites will likely be closed the following day if it rains.

There are three public swimming sites in the River Seine – one near the Notre Dame Cathedral, another one close to the Eiffel Tower, and one in eastern Paris. Each site is equipped with showers, changing rooms, and beach furniture, with enough room to fit 300 people relaxing on towels, free from the noisiness of the city. All three swimming areas will be open with no cost to the public, who are at least 10 or 14 years old, until the end of August!

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