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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
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Helen Massy-Beresford

Paris cleaned up the Seine – and gave swimmers a new way to beat the heat. Will your city follow suit?

Swimming at the Bras Marie, Paris, 13 July 2025.
Swimming at the Bras Marie, Paris, 13 July 2025. Photograph: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images

After la rentrée, when adults and children alike across France head back to work and school after the seemingly endless summer holidays, you would be forgiven for thinking autumn is upon us. But, weather permitting, enthusiastic swimmers in Paris will be able to prolong that holiday feeling into September – by taking a dip in the River Seine.

For nearly 100,000 swimmers, one of the highlights of this summer in the city has been being able to take a splash in the cool river waters at one of the three free public bathing spots, made available this year for the first time in over a century.

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