Parisian swimming sites in the Seine, the Canal Saint-Martin and the Bassin de la Villette attracted more than 180,000 visitors this summer, a “record” attendance as the capital endured several heatwaves, according to a report released Saturday by the City of Paris.
The three free sites on the Seine (Bras Marie in the heart of Paris, Bercy in the 12th arrondissement, and Grenelle in the 15th, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower) hosted 120,000 bathers in eight weeks, a 20% increase compared with 2025, according to the City.
These developed areas had opened last summer after a century-long ban on swimming in the river, in the wake of the 2024 Olympics. The season was hampered in July 2025 by summer rains, which had made the water unfit for swimming, but drew crowds in August.
This summer, the Bras Marie and Bercy sites had to be briefly closed intermittently at the end of July due to a fuel-oil pollution.
About 63,000 people also swam in the Paris canal sites: 51,000 bathers in the Bassin de la Villette (19th arrondissement) and 12,000 in the Canal Saint-Martin (10th), including 9,000 at its early opening decided by the Socialist mayor Emmanuel Grégoire in mid-June, during a heatwave.
Outdoor summer pools opened in four Paris sports centers also hosted 33,000 swimmers, bringing the total number of bathers in the capital to 216,000.
One third of the days when swimming was open corresponded to a heatwave episode, notes the city hall.
“These sites allowed a large number of Parisians to cool off during a summer I know to have been particularly trying because of the heat waves,” rejoices Emmanuel Grégoire, who promises to “go further” in 2027.
A project to open a new site in the Arsenal Basin at Bastille is currently under study.
Outside Paris, five swimming sites opened this summer in the Marne, a tributary of the Seine.
