Every summer Paris turns a bit of itself into Paris-Plage (Paris Beach) when part of the Pompidou Expressway along the banks of the River Seine are cleard of traffic and a mad-made beach created with tons of sand to create a tropical island atmosphere in what is a noisy, fume-laden, congested major artery through the centre of Paris. This has proved very popular with Parisiens and visitors alike.
However there is another reason to take your bikini to Paris – with the opening of the Piscine Josephine Baker, a swimming pool floating on the Seine! It all looks very moderm with plenty of deck space, a huge pool.
The pool is named after Josephine Baker a famous cabaret artiste from the USA who made her name in Paris with sensual and scantily-dressed (or scantily undressed) performances from the 1920s onwards. She reportedly appeared on one ocassion with a skirt made from 16 bananas strung together!
Whislt the dress code will be less formal than normal for Paris, I suspect any attempt to emulate Josephine will not be welcomed.
Interestingly this is not the first floating swimming pool on the Seine – the Piscine Deligny was built in 1805 but unfortunately sank in 1995.
For more info on the Paris‘ Swimming Pool Piscine Josephine Baker – see equipement.paris.fr/
Addess: Quai François Mauriac, 75013 Paris
The all-year-round art-deco Swimming Pool Piscine des Amiraux has reopened (7 November 2017) at 6, rue Hermann Lachapelle in the 18e arrondisement. This pool which was built in 1927-1930, featured in the film Amelie, and has been undergoing renovation for the last 2 years – see www.paris.fr
Discover more from FrenchDuck.com
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.