Page 351 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Paris

ENTER T AINMENT IN P ARIS  349

Sport and Fitness
Paris offers plenty of opportunities to keep fit and exercise. for details of the route and for
The city has a superb range of sporting facilities, from rollerblade rental outlets.
beautiful Art Deco swimming pools to state-of-the-art Another, more family-friendly,
gyms and health clubs; the municipal website www.paris.fr circuit starts from Place de la
Bastille at 2.30pm on Sundays
and the town halls of each arrondissement are good sources (see www.rollers-coquillages.
of information. With its glorious backdrop of elegant streets, org). As a safety precaution, the
parks and riverside, Paris is a great city for cycling and trip is cancelled in wet weather.
jogging. It’s also the scene of some of France’s most exciting
spectator sports. The Roland Garros tennis tournament, for Running and Climbing
example, and the Tour de France bicycle race are national Paris’s parks are attractive
institutions. For details regarding all sporting events that places for jogging; among
take place in and around Paris, contact Paris’s tourist office the most popular are the
(see p359). The weekly entertainment guides L’Officiel des Jardin du Luxembourg, Parc
Spectacles, Pariscope and the Wednesday edition of Le Monceau and the Jardin des
Figaro also have good listings of the week’s sporting Tuileries. The Berges de Seine
is a nice short stretch, or you
events (see p332). For in-depth sports coverage, see could do a longer circuit at
the daily paper L’Equipe (www.lequipe.fr). the Bois de Boulogne and
Bois de Vincennes. You can
even combine running with
Cycling card (bookable online). The sightseeing by booking a
Cycling has become a much service extends to children guide to run with you, either
more attractive and viable and is known as P’tit Vélib’. individually or in small groups,
means of getting around If you’d prefer to take an with Paris Running Tours.
Paris. There are some 700 km organized cycle tour through Just outside central Paris, in
(435 miles) of cycle lanes (pistes the city, there are several Pantin, is MurMur, one of the
cyclables) in the capital, a figure organizations that run fun world’s largest indoor climbing
that is set to double by 2020, trips. In spring and summer, arenas. There are plenty of
and Parisian drivers are Fat Tire Bike Tours runs trips climbing walls, boulders and a
becoming more respectful of (from €32 per person) in which place to practise ice-climbing.
cyclists as more people turn to knowledgeable guides There’s another branch in Issy-
travelling on two wheels. Pick shepherd cyclists around the les-Moulineaux, set into the
up a copy of the free Paris à Vélo streets of Paris while imparting arches of a railway viaduct.
map from a tourist office or interesting information on the
download it from paris.fr to find city’s landmarks. Its partner,
details of all the city’s cycle lanes. City Segway Tours, offers Swimming
The nicest time to go for a guided tours on electric There is a massive aquatic
cycle ride is on Sundays and Segway scooters (over 12s only). fun park, Aquaboulevard,
national holidays, when some Paris à Vélo C’est Sympa! runs in south Paris (see p355). In
of the quaysides next to the multilingual tours to offbeat addition to an exotic artificial
Seine and the Canal St-Martin parts of the city (from €35). beach, swimming pools, water
are closed to traffic. Otherwise, toboggans and rapids, there
the most pleasant spots are the are tennis and squash courts,
Bois de Vincennes and the Bois Rollerblading golf, bowling, table tennis,
de Boulogne for a leisurely bike Rollerbladers can enjoy parades billiards, a gym, bars and shops.
ride through the woods, or the through Paris on Friday nights. Of the many municipal
2-km (1.2-mile) Berges de Seine. The police close off boulevards swimming pools, one of the
The easiest way to hire a around the city, allowing best is the Piscine Suzanne
bike is to make use of the thousands of skate fans to Berlioux, in Place de la Rotonde,
self-service Vélib’ scheme. join the fun every week. The with an Olympic-sized pool in
Bikes can be hired at around 27-km- (16.5-mile-) circuit the underground shopping
1,800 locations across the city. usually starts near the Tour complex. For a handsome 1930s
The first 30 minutes are free; Montparnasse at 10pm and decor of mosaics, plus two levels
beyond the first half-hour, lasts three hours, but you can of private changing cabins, a
additional charges apply: join the route at any point if whirlpool, sauna and water jets,
€1 for the next 30 minutes, the whole circuit seems a little go to the Piscine Pontoise-
€2 for another 30 minutes too much. In order to join in, Quartier Latin. This complex
and thereafter at €4 for every you need to know how to also has a small gym overlooking
additional 30 minutes. You can brake and change direction. the pool. Fitness fans can pump
also buy a one- or seven-day Contact www.pari-roller.com a little iron before taking a dip.

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