Would You Swim in the Seine? It’s Only for the Bold

I was chatting with a French woman at a party the other day, and mentioned to her that I was going to Paris with friends who wanted to swim in the Seine, which has just recently opened to public swimming (for the first time in over a hundred years!). She looked at me in horror. “Tell your friends,” she said, wagging a finger at me, “do not even put a toe in that water!”

Her reaction was not a surprise. Ever since President Macron declared he would clean up the highly polluted Seine and make it safe for swimming for the Olympics, and spent over a billion euros doing it, many of the French have been highly skeptical (Macron publicly promised to take a dip himself. And has he? Non.). As of this month, there are three swimming spots in Paris, very small areas roped off and available for a brief swim. They check the pollution level daily, and it is often closed.  

But our visiting friends, who are très sportif and had it on their Paris bucket list, are not easily deterred. So off we went to the swimming hole at L’isle St. Louis, near the Paris Plage.

The swimming spot is right next to the Paris Plage.

As we were getting off of our river water shuttle, I asked the Captain  to direct us to the swimming spot. She pointed us in the right direction and then said, “Bon courage, mesdames, et adieu.” Translation: “Be brave, and go with God.” This did not give us a warm fuzzy feeling

The swimming spot, roped off in a wide, quiet corner of the river, was quite small, about the size of an Olympic swimming pool. They had built a nice deck, with gates at each end. Cheerful young folks manned the gates; 100 people at a time was the limit, and there was a line. They informed everyone that we were welcome to come in for a brief dip, but if we wanted to lounge and lay in the sun, the Paris Plage was nearby.

Sun worshippers on another section of the Paris “Plage”.

Because the currents were strong, everyone was issued a yellow float to tie to  their waist, and there were two lifeguards. Our friends took the chilly plunge, and confirmed that indeed it was a workout just  to swim a couple of laps.

One of my friends takes to the water.

I stayed on the deck and played photographer. They had cleverly placed lockers under each bench where you could leave your stuff, but there was nowhere to change. It was quite amusing to watch the women try to change in and out of their maillots de bain, with nothing to shelter them but a towel; there were many techniques, none of them easy. One friend actually put her bathing suit on over the towel, then pulled the towel out, and voila.

Lockers were cleverly placed under benches. Watching the swimmers change with nothing but a towel was a show in itself.

Mission accomplished, we trekked back to our water ferry, where we encountered the same captain. “You survived!”, she exclaimed. But then she raised an eyebrow and added, “for now.”

In the COMMENTS: Christopher, anything with cinnamon and I’m in. Let us know if you try the air fryer. Natalia, you do have to get out the deep fryer  for the yeasty, Krispy Kreme type (which have their own charms), but for cake donuts, I think baking makes a better donut. But Bonnie, I am shocked to learn there is a KK in Paris! Nor did I know glazed donuts were at Aldi. That’s very dangerous as there is one here I can walk to. And, Michaela, there are few things sweeter than a KK. As a sugar addict, that’s why I love them.

Favorite READS and TO WATCH: Natalia has a 1970 classic to revisit, 84 Charring Cross Road, about two book lovers across the pond who know each other only by their written correspondence. It was also a star-studded film.