PARIS — A century after public swimming was banned in the Seine due to unsafe water pollution, a new summer tradition is taking root in the heart of the French capital. For the second consecutive year, Paris city authorities launched three supervised, free public swimming sites along the iconic river on Saturday, opening the once-forbidden waterway to locals and tourists alike.
The three swimming zones are strategically located across the city: one near the Paris City Hall, a second at the Grenelle site within sight of the Eiffel Tower, and a third in eastern Paris. They are scheduled to remain open throughout the warm summer months, with operations contingent on daily water quality assessments and prevailing weather conditions. To ensure visitor safety, all sites operate under constant supervision from certified lifeguards, and official testing of water purity is conducted every single morning before opening to the public.
This milestone comes after the Seine hosted open-water swimming and triathlon events during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The high-profile international competition accelerated a massive, multibillion-euro river cleanup initiative launched by city authorities. The project included sweeping upgrades to Paris’s aging sewer network, construction of large-scale new rainwater storage facilities, and a series of other targeted interventions designed to cut polluted runoff into the river — work that finally reversed a century of declining water quality.
Public swimming in the Seine was outlawed nearly 100 years ago because of rampant pollution from untreated urban waste. For decades, Parisians seeking open-water summer swimming have only had access to designated public sites along a canal in the city’s northeast. Even after the 2024 rule change, last summer’s launch faced setbacks: multiple swimming days had to be canceled after heavy rainfalls increased pollution levels in upstream sections of the river, triggering health safety protocols.
This year, site managers have put new crowd control measures in place to handle the expected influx of visitors seeking relief from summer heat waves. At the popular Grenelle site near the Eiffel Tower, deputy site manager Clémence Donazzan explained that the zone has a maximum capacity of 200 swimmers at any given time. A queuing system operates at the entrance, with staff monitoring visitor numbers in real time to prevent overcrowding. “Everyone will eventually have access, even if there’s a short wait,” Donazzan noted.
For the many visitors already trying out the new sites, the experience has exceeded expectations. Stewart Talbot, a tourist from Melbourne, Australia who is spending a week in Paris, called the opportunity to swim in the Seine against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower unforgettable. “It’s amazing to be swimming in the Seine while looking at the Eiffel Tower,” Talbot said. “Maybe it’s not as good as the sea in Australia, but it’s better than our rivers.”
The initiative has also proven popular with Parisians of all ages, who have embraced the new public amenity. Nineteen-year-old Hermine Jegou, a local resident, praised the inclusive, cross-generational atmosphere of the swimming sites. “It’s great because it’s such a mix of people,” she said. “I love that everyone can get into the water — grandmothers, children — it’s just really nice.” Her 21-year-old sister Joanne Jegou agreed, saying she already planned to return. “It’s such a cool experience, especially being out in the sun and cooling off,” she said.