Paris recovered its cool this week with the reopening of the floating Piscine Josephine Baker, which was forced to close only days after its original opening on July 6 when tiles started to come loose from the bottom of the pool. The reopening on Thursday coincided with the annual arrival of sand on the banks of the Seine to create an urban beach, so that Paris now offers a diminutive but architecturally stunning and fully formed seaside resort. Paris Plage features the familiar deck chairs, parasols and palm trees that have lined the banks of the Seine for the past four years, but this year adds a Tahiti Zone with dance, canoe lessons, massage and music.
The 17 million Piscine Josephine Baker - named after the American cabaret singer who joined the French resistance - is a reworking of the 200-year-old brass and carved wood Deligny pool that sank into the Seine in 1993. It has a sleek retractable roof and pumps treated and purified water direct from the river. Up to 375 people can swim in the 25-metre pool with extra space on the sundeck and in the cafe and gym. It is moored on the left bank of the Seine near the four glass towers of the National library. Piscine Josephine Baker, Quai de la Gare, 13th (0033 1 5661 9650, mairie13 .paris.fr). Admission 5 for two hours and 5 for each additional hour. Monday-Friday 10am-10pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am-8pm. Eurostar (08705 186186, eurostar.com) to Paris from £59 return.
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