Paris Sports And Outdoor Activities

A city of culture, museums and galleries, Paris is also very much the main city of the French sports scene, having a number of the biggest and most important sports stadiums in France. Probably the most central is the multi-use Stade Sebastien Charlety, which goes back to 1939 and is located inside the 13th arrondissement, where it can accommodate some 20,000 spectators.

Sited around the south-western side of Paris, the Parc des Princes is really a leading football stadium, built-in 1897 and boasting a seating capacity of just below 50,000 spectators. Inside the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis, the Stade de France happens to be Europe's fifth-largest, while elsewhere, other notable sports stadiums range from the Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir in nearby Colombes and the Velodrome Jacques Anquetil (La Cipale) in Vincennes.

Ten best outdoor activities in Paris

1.sports in Paris France Cycling

With more than 60 miles / 100 km of cycle lanes within the city, cycling in Paris has become a popular and convenient method to travel around. Free leaflets detailing all cycle routes can easily be bought from town halls, tourist information offices as well as bicycle rental shops. Bikes could be rented either by the hour, day, weekend or week, but when you want a bike on a Sunday, it's best to reserve one in advance. Some bicycle rental shops offer excellent half-day cycle tours, covering a number of different routes.

Towards the end of June, the path of the grand finale from the Tour de France runs across the quais of the Rive Droite, before eventually crossing the finishing line around the Champs Elysees.

2.FITNESS CLUBS AND PARIS GYMS

Gymnasiums are extremely popular throughout Paris and many offer aerobics classes, dance workouts along with a variety of fitness programmes, in addition to yoga, martial arts and T'ai Chi lessons. Many also provide saunas, solariums and Turkish baths (hammans), for luxurious versions of the traditional Swedish sauna.

3.Pools

There are many municipal and privately run pools in Paris. Municipal pools in many cases are closed at set points during the week, so that nearby schools might have exclusive use of the facilities, and therefore you should always consult the timetables beforehand. The majority are closed all day on Monday. Privately run pools are usually twice as expensive and some have wave machines or water slides, and they're often part of vast sports complexes.

You will find 35 public pools in Paris with inexpensive admission fees. Regular swimmers should purchase a 10 admissions ticket which now (April 2006) costs E21.50.Every time you visit, the cashier crosses certainly one of 10 circles on the ticket..

The pools are almost all closed on Mondays. The one I understand best is in rue Blomet, Paris 15 (nearest metro station : Volontaires). It is 50 metres long. Wearing a swimming cap is obligatory. Taking your shoes off between your cash desk and the changing cubicles has been introduced. The showering areas won't be fully segregated, so it is hard to shower properly by taking off your swimming trunks.

But when you want to try something really different, visit the Piscine Pontoise. This beautiful Art deco pool, that has been filmed many times for either ads or movies, stays open during the night Monday to Friday, from 8.15pm to 11.45pm (3.70 euros during the day / 9 euros by night). An interesting experience in a beautiful decor. Come at the start of the morning to avoir the crowds. Staff not friendly.

4.Spectator sports

Rugby and football matches are popular in Paris. The Stade de France (in St. Denis) is really a large venue where the national rugby and football teams play games. The nation's rugby team play their Six Nations games in the stadium during February and March. The neighborhood rugby team, Stade Francais also play in the stadium for big fixtures. The domestic rugby club championship game can also be played there in June. The Parc des Princes stadium and Stade.Jean-Bouin are near to eachother, where club football and rugby games will also be played.

5.Rollerblade by night

It started one evening in 1993, there were only 12 of these. The Friday night rollermaniacs are actually a few thousand and have made their nightly apparition around the Paris boulevards an event worth experiencing. In 1998, in france they police even had to produce the world's first rollerblading force, to watch those wild rides. Who says Paris doesn't rock? Should you subscribe to the association Pari Roller, you'll even get insured in the event of accident. Otherwise, just join the rolling bandwagon.

6.Go punting

Parisians do not have lots of large parks, however they do have two magnificent woods – in the western world, plush Bois de Boulogne; in the east, petit-bourgeois Bois de Vincennes using its four lakes, among them Lac Daumesnil. I've fond childhood memories of feeding baguettes towards the ducks and going punting round the lake in June within the school holidays. You'll see what appears like a Buddhist temple – the remnants of the “temporary” temple built for the 1931 Colonial Exhibition that is still in use today. Bois de Vincennes is another haven for joggers, cyclists and bird lovers.

7.Pony rides

Little Parisians have ridden a pony or a donkey at least one time in their lives. You can find them out of all capital's main gardens – Luxembourg Gardens, Parc Monceau, Buttes Chaumont and, obviously, the Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes. There exists a particular fondness for the the Jardin des Tuileries and also the pony owners, Monsieur et Madame Gascard. They inherited their business using their great-grandmother who started by taking kids in a goat cart in 1898. Now you will see a procession of donkeys and goats with toddlers lying on their backs going slowly along the leafy lanes from the Tuileries. A bucolic sight right in the heart of Paris.

8.Canal cruising

Cruises on Canal Saint-Martin will require you back to the time from the seminal 1938 Marcel Carne's film Hotel du Nord, which still stands proudly right through the canal. A cruise in the Bastille marina towards the Marne river will require you to those bucolic open air dance halls, the famous “guinguettes” painted by Auguste Renoir and filmed by his son Jean Renoir.

9.Petanque at Nation

East of Bastille, place de la Nation stands like a proud star-shaped square designed by Baron Haussmann with big boulevards and avenues flowing from this. For a few months during the revolution, it had been called “square of the hung throne”, because it harboured the guillotine. Today, in more peaceful times, you are able to witness laidback petanque and boule parties anytime of day. Anyone can participate in or cheer on the players, who're mainly locals, among them many retired North-Africans.

10.Climbing in Buttes Chaumont

Built-in 1867, under Napoleon III, who wanted the Parisian working classes to obtain some fresh air, the Buttes Chaumont, within the north-east of Paris, is one of the city's big green spaces. It features purpose-built rocks, lakes, islands, a suspended bridge along with a hill from which the view over is breathtaking. Every single day from 9am to 10am, there are free qigong lessons, as well as for children, there's a special climbing wall close to the Pirates cafe.