Hot Town, Summer in the City

Paris can be sizzlin' hot in the summer. But for the handful of Parisians who don't flock down to the Côte d'Azur for the month of August, there's a solution ... Paris Plages! Each year, they truck in tons and tons of sand to line the banks of the Seine, install lounge chairs and umbrellas, and ... voilà! You're at the beach! I don't think anyone actually swims in the Seine (yuck!), but they do bring in some pools for splashing.

Today is the first day of Paris Plages, and they'll last for the next four weeks. So if you can't hop on over to check it out for yourself, then perhaps you'll want to click on one of these links:

• Paris Plages info / history
• Paris Plages pictures from past years

Enjoy!