Paris-Plages: Summer fun in the City of Lights

Maybe you love Paris in the Springtime, but this city is just as amorous in the summertime. If your Europe vacation brings you to Paris between July 20 and August 19, you’re in for an added treat. This is the time of year when the City of Lights celebrates Paris-Plages, a festival that transforms the banks of the Seine River into temporary beaches — complete with sand and palm trees, with the hopes that people in city during the summer can also enjoy some seaside relief.

Even the view from atop the Eiffel Tower changes, with Paris-Plages dotting the scenery with countless sunbathers, kayakers and beach volleyball tournaments. A few weeks before the Rugby World Cup, you’ll also find a “beach rugby” field set up smack in front of the Hôtel de Ville, Paris’s legendary city hall.

Whit Honea is a travel writer living in Seattle with his wife and two children. He packs light and travels often to far-away places, exotic lands and more than a few theme parks.