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Get some exercise in Paris

 
Tired of visiting monuments and in need of exercise? Want to burn the fat you have been storing in enjoying too much good French food? Or simply, need some exercise? Here is a list of some great ideas to burn some calories and stayin shape to visit all these monuments and museums.

Paris is a great city where you can do many sports any time of the day without the need of a membership.

Allo Sports

Your first move, if you speak some French or can get someone to call for you, is "Allo Sports". This service of the city will tell you everything about free sports you can do in Paris. Tel: 01 42 76 54 54.

 

Ping pong


Ping pong is one these. In several public parks, the city has built the most wonderful ping pong tables: the tables are made of beautiful, smooth concrete and the nets of steel. They looks like the work of one of these hyper realist artists. You just need to bring your rackets and balls.
My favorite: In the shade of the beautiful Hôtel de Salé, in the 3rd arrondissement. You can also find these tables in the jardin de Valmy (10th arr.), or Square de la Roquette (11th arr.).

Basketball

There are now more places to find a game of pick up basketball with tough players but the court among the trees of the Luxembourg garden is one of the best. In the afternoon, any day of the week, you are certain, at least during the good months, to find enough players to have a game. Near the Petit Théatre de Marionnettes. You can also try a more urban version, under the aerial subway, at the metro Glacière (13th), at the station Stalingrad (19th), or even the Square of the rue Hélène (17th).

Squash

If squash is your game, you'll find open air courts at the "Fronton de Paris", at the Porte de Saint-Cloud. Sometimes the wall is taken by the lovers of the "pelote basque"
(jai alai).2, quai Saint-Exupéry. 16th.
Go

Lovers of more cerebral games can play the traditional Chinese game of Go. It will cost them just the price of a coffee or mint tea. Café Lescot. 26, rue Pierre Lescot. 1st.
Ride along the canal de l'Ourcq

On weekends, you can board one of the boats of Paris Canal and sail across Paris, from the Musée d'Orsay to La Villette, on the northeastern edge of the city. But that's only half the fun. Once you get there, you can borrow -it's free - a bike and ride along the canal de l'Ourcq all afternoon. Weekends and holidays, the boat leaves at 9:30am from the Musée d'Orsay. 20 euros per person on Sat. Sun. and 15 Euros on holidays. Paris Canal Tel: 01 42 40 96 97.

Climbing

The Eiffel Tower is illegal but if you are itching to climb, try some of the best climbing walls in France. The kingdom of hikers and campers, Au Vieux Campeur, has a wall in its store, in the heart of the Latin Quarter. 48, rue des Ecoles. 5th.
The pros like the ocre 20 meter high "mur Poissonniers". You just need to pay 5 euros per month to have a right to climb it. 2, rue Jean Cocteau. 18th. Tel: 01 42 51 24 68.

Other walls:

Jules Noel: 3, ave. Maurice d'Ocagne. 14th.
Tel: 01 45 39 54 37.
Mourlon: 19, rue Gaston de Cavaillet. 15th.
Tel: 01 45 75 40 43.

Fly Fishing


Among the tourists walking around Notre Dame, on the Ile de la Cité, some strange ritual goes almost unnoticed. Mostly men -sometimes a woman- with long poles, involved in strange and graceful movements.
They are members of a cult with a growing popularity: fly fishermen. And the reason for their visit on the little island in the middle of the Seine is "La Maison de la Mouche Dubos". The Maison Dubos (pronounce "du-boss") is the temple of the fly fishermen, the shrine of the "golden olive" or the "medicine fly" or of "watson's fancy", all great trout flies. Founded in 1934 by René Dubos, La Maison Dubos stocks over 2,200 references of flies and 400 varieties of fishing rods. It is now run by his 40 year old grand child, "Monsieur Nicolas", who took over in 1994. "I got bitten by the bug when I was very little," says Nicolas Varnous to explain his passion for the sport, almost a zen practice. "Fly fishing is an art that one needs to be worthy of. Fish don't jump in your bag. You need to understand the river, its water, the speed." Since this splendid store which has remained practically the same in 65 years, opened its doors, most of the world's great fly fishermen have paid a visit to the Maison de la Mouche Dubos: Hemingway, Charles Ritz, Sidney Bechet.

"Au Coin de Pêche", is the other mecca of fishing in the capital. A few blocks from the Arc of Triomphe, in the upscale 17th arrondissement, Au coin de Pche is hard to miss. A large swordfish is adorning its façade. "It is the oldest fishing store in Paris," claims Alain Mengual, its owner since 1992. "This place is a novel." Literally. It was founded in 1927 by Sacha Tolstoy, grandson of the author of War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy. After World War II, it was not rare to enter the store and bump into Sacha and Papa Hemingway talking fish and literature together. Au coin de Pêche, with its magnificent wood furniture, has remained the store of the political establishment, writers and show business.

La Maison de la Mouche Dubos. 1, Blvd Henri IV. 4th. Tel: 01 43 54 60 46
Au Coin de Pêche. 50, Avenue de Wagram. 17th. Tel: 01 42 27 28 61

 

In-Line Skating

Paris has become the European capital of in-line skating. A good place to start is with the Web site www.pari-roller.com. They are the organizers of the giant Friday Night Fever through Paris. Meeting point: 10pm, place d'Italie. Between 10,000 and 20,000 people skate through the city for three hours. The Paris police protect this wild ride. Its itinerary is posted on the pari-roller Web site.

Rollerblading events:

  • Wednesday: 8:30pm. Starts in front of the Vieux Campeur store, 38, rue Saint Jacques. 5th. Fifteen to 20 kms through Paris. You need to register. Tel: 01 53 10 48 30. Max 100 persons.
    Metro: Saint Michel

  • Thursday: 3pm, meeting point in front of the Vertical Line store. 60 bis, ave Raymond Poincarré. 16th.Metro Victor Hugo or Trocadero. 8pm, departs from the Ilios store. 4, allée Vivaldi. 12th.

  • Friday: 10pm, in front of Vertical Line. 60bis, ave Raymond Poincarré. 16th . For advanced bladers. 20-25 kms. Metro Victor Hugo or Trocadero

  • Saturday: 2pm. Starts in front of the Gare Montparnasse.
    9:30 pm. Starts from the Trocadéro, one Sat. each month for a ride based on a theme.
    Info: 0145 88 23 75. Metro Monparnasse

  • Sunday: Last Sunday of each month, "randonnée picnic" -skate and picnic- Organized by the RATP
    (the transit authority). To know the meeting point: Tel: 01 42 72 08 08.


    There are two main rollerblading associations:

-Paris Roller. Tel: 01 43 36 89 81

-Rollers et Coquillages. Tel: 01 42 72 08 08

To rent in-line skates: Check out any store of the Decathlon chain.
Try the store 23, blvd de la Madeleine. 1st. Tel: 01 55 35 97 55. Metro Madeleine

Also:

  • Vertical Line. The temple of rollerblading. 60bis, ave Raymond Poincarré. 16th. Tel: 01 47 27 21 21 -Nomades. 37, blvd Bourdon. 4th. Tel: 01 44 54 07 44 Metro Victor Hugo or Trocadero

  • Ilios. 4, allée Vivaldi. 12th. Tel: 01 44 74 75 76.

A dip in Paris

Piscine de Pontoise

Piscine des Halles

Why not go swimming when everyone else is already in bed? Several Paris swimming pools remain open late:

  • Piscine de Pontoise. 1930's decor, great atmosphere. Bring your favorite CD and the lifeguard will play it for you. Mon-Fri. until 11:45pm. 19, rue de Pontoise. 5th. Tel: 01 55 42 77 88
    Metro: Maubert/Mutualité

  • Piscine des Halles, in the heart of the monstrous Forum, a great Olympics size pool.
    Tues., Thu., Fri., until 10pm. 10, place de la Rotonde. 1st.Tel: 01 42 36 98 44


  • Piscine Georges-Vallerey. This one is only for good weather because it is in the open.
    Tues., Thu. until 10pm. 148, ave Gambetta. 20th. Tel: 01 40 31 15 20.
The best bike rides:
  • Despite the diesel fumes and high rate of pollution, Paris is slowly becoming friendlier to bikes, thanks in part to activists like the "Mouvement de Défense de la bicyclette", which is planning to organize a "Bike Pride Parade". Every last Saturday of the month, the Paris transit authority, the RATP, organizes a "citybike": a two hour tour around the city. Among the tours imagined by Marine Doisy, the young woman who has come up with the idea and sold it to the 100 year olf RATP: Paris Mystérieux, a tour through the tales and legends in Paris, or "Egypt in Paris". The meeting point is made public one week ahead. Free. Tel: 01 53 46 43 77. For 4 euros you can rent a bike.

Other organized tours:
  • Paris à Vélo, C'est Sympa. 37, blvd Bourdon. 4th. Tel: 01 48 87 60 01. 170F for a half day ride. 50 euros for a full day.


One of the best organizations:

  • Paris Vélo. 2, rue du fer à Moulin. 5th. Tel: 01 43 37 59 22. 20 euros for three hours.

  • Escapades Nature. 3, rue Antoine Vollon. 12th. Tel: 01 53 17 03 18. Starts at 40 euros
    for a full day tour

  • Bullfrog Bike Tours. 116, ave du Général Leclerc. 14th. Tel: 06 09 98 08 60.
    20 euros for three hours.


To rent a bicycle:

  • Décathlon. 23, blvd de la Madeleine. 1st. Tel: 01 55 35 97 55.
    Also, 26, ave de Wagram. 8th. Tel: 01 45 72 66 88.
  • You can get a map of the city's bike lanes ("pistes cyclables") at the Paris Tourism Office or in every arrondissement city hall ("mairie d'arrondissement") or click here to view a virtual version.

 

Chemin de grande randonnée

Since 1991, two 17 km hikes through Paris have been open. The first one goes from La Villette to the Parc Montsouris, the other one, from the Bois de Vincennes to the Bois de Boulogne. Since last spring, another "Chemin de grande randonnée" -a trail- has been opened from the Quai d'Austerlitz to the pont de l'Alma. The best way to hike through the city is to start with a visit to the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre (FFRP). 14, rue Riquet. 14th. Tel: 01 44 89 93 93. The FFRP sells an excellent booklet with 23 walks through the city.

You can also get the "Paris à Pied " topo-guide (that's their name). which will give you everything you need to know about the three trails across Paris. One of our favorite way of walking around Paris is accompanied by Arthur Gillette's little guides. This American in Paris has published six guides on six themes -The Paris of the foundations or Paris in the 14th century. Media Cartes. 4 euros each or 10 for the series. The Pompidou Center also organizes walks through Paris lead by scholars.
Tel: 01 44 78 46 25 80.

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