Parcours in Paris – The Free and Revolutionary Outdoor Fitness

Paris is a great place to get into free, outdoor fitness. But sadly, due to its narrow streets and cobblestones, la Ville Lumière doesn’t have a great reputation for outdoor sports.

You’d be more likely to find yourself strolling through Paris at sundown, meandering, savouring every moment and drinking in the light.

But before you imagine twisting your ankle on those cobbled pathways and hang up your trainers in defeat, allow me to let you in on a couple of local secrets…

Green Space

It might take you several Paris trips, or indeed visiting a parisian pal to discover Paris’ petite parkland features.

True, you’re not going to see get enormous stretches of green in Centre Ville, but locals make good of what they’ve got and maximise it for their training regimen.

Parc Monceau

This is where I’d recommend you’d go if you’re pushed on and motivated by being amongst other runners.

It’s also a great place to consider as a woman, if you’ve ever felt anxious about going out running on your own after dark.

I can pretty much guarantee you that you’ll be in the good company of many other after work sportifs in a chic quartier.

There is something really nice in the camaraderie of everyone doing laps together.

Oh, and if you’re single and looking, or even window shopping there are some beautiful people pacing the tarmac trails of Parc Monceau!

Photo credit by Frame Kings on Unsplash.

Buttes Chaumont

If you’re idea of a good day’s training has a fantasy backdrop that could leave you imagining that you had jogged right into Middle Earth, then Buttes Chaumont is the park for you.

If you’ve never been you’ll be struck by this stunning scenery.

Pro tip – it’s even more magical at sundown.

And although it does get more than a little crowded, young Paris jostling for picnic friends with their “potes” on the lawns; the track skirting round the edge is all yours to run your little heart out.

The fitness incentive here is that you’ll get a great ‘Leg Day’ workout as well, not to mention your glutes. There are some pretty steep inclines about in this undulating, elegant landscape.

However, you’ll be rewarded for your efforts with views like these:

The Temple Sybille at Buttes Chaumont park. Photo credit Sophia Novita from Pixabay.

The hardest thing will be not stopping to pull out your iPhone and take snaps every few seconds.

Ping Pong

As curious as it might seem, there are parks in the very heart of Paris where if you come equipped, you can enjoy a rather fun rally or two.

Ping Pong may not be synonymous with sport or fitness in your eyes, but you’ll soon discover in your new outdoor setting, there is plenty of sweeping lunges and scurrying to catch the ball.

Who’s keen for a game of Outdoor Ping Pong? Photo credit by La-Rel Easter on Unsplash.

Bring your rackets along to metro Temple.

The central spot for Ping Pong is located in a petite Parisian Park right in front of the Marie du 3ème arrondissement, or Town Hall in the 3rd.

Square du Temple, Elie Weisel,

64 Rue de Bretagne,

Paris 75003

Park Elie Weisel near Temple in Paris. Photo credit by Kate Reeves.

Pari Roller

This is one of the most original and stand out free fitness activities to “parcourir” Paris.

If Rollerskating has ever been in your repertoire – you fancy yourself an 80’s child, or back at Miami Beach, you should definitely come and join in the fun.

Pari Roller takes place every Friday night. Departure and Arrival are both at the Gare Montparnasse in the 14th arrondissement.

Photo credit by Sven Brandsma on Unsplash

This activity is free and run by an association. They take safety seriously and are a respectable, well-run club (so much so that they proudly boast the badge of the Parisian Police’s amongst other supporters on their website).

However, fun as this zany activity is, there are a few rules to be respected:

You need to be comfortably at ease on your skates to take part and able to handle the 22 kilometer route, as well as sharp turns, slowing down and breaking.

Skaters need to stay well behind the Pari Roller staff and watch them carefully for signals and instructions.

The route changes weekly. It’s always a lot of fun.

To get in touch, send an email and reserve your spot, click here!

Let’s Run Paris

Let’s run Paris is a friendly runners club. It was founded in 2012 by a group of friends wanting to train for semi and half marathons.

Eventually it bloomed into something bigger with plenty of international runners as well as those looking to train together in company keen to take part.

As well as training there are social events, so this would be an ideal place to start if the idea of hanging out after training and meeting new sporty friends appeals.

Saturday morning runs are in the tranquil 5th district, a lovely calm neighbourhood in Paris where time stands still. The club go for breakfast afterwards.

Monday evenings kick off is at the bar ‘Le Triomphe’ at Place de la Nation, for an East Paris, city slicker,  after work atmosphere.

The ‘Let’s Run Paris’ gang on a social jaunt. Photo credit www.letsrunparis.wordpress.com

Search Let’s Run Paris on their Facebook or Meet-Up pages, where they post details of up and coming runs.

Sur les Quais

The recently pedestrianised river banks are a great place to go for outdoor fitness.

There are plenty a spot to pick up a Velib and nearly as many climbing frames, painted race tracks and water fountains.

The huge advantage is that you’ll get the loveliest of views whilst you’re working out.

Cycling along the river banks of the Seine on a Spring day. Photo credit by Discover Walks.

Parcours Paris

A stroll through the Instagram of @ParkourParis is enough to leave you feeling very dizzy, as well as thankful that your feet are firmly planted on the ground.

Flying high over Parisian rooftops. Photo credit by @ParkourParis from Instagram.

This popular type of “Parkour” has its roots in street graffiti culture, as well as sportswear and fashion.

Sure, some of these ‘traceurs’ go to dizzying and death defying heights in search of similar shots, (you probably would not get insured for this).

And yet Parkour Paris is a popular and established discipline, offering courses to those interested in mastering this newest of crafts.

Photo credit by Justin Chrn on Unsplash.

While their courses aren’t free, (and this article is dealing with the free outdoor fitness that Paris can offer), they are extremely good value coming in at €20 for a couple of hours training during the school holidays.

After you’ve learnt the basics you’ll be able to practice Parkour outside with your friends for free, as many teens in Paris already do spontaneously.

This type of fitness uses the urban environment around you, transforming the concrete jungle into participants’ personal playground.

It originated when older kids and teens were out of the house, at a loose end and decided to reimagine their environment whilst pushing their physical limits.

I suppose this craze could be seen as the original rebel ‘free fitness’ craze.

Seine side Salsa

Like your fitness served up with a little flair, romance and latino charm?

The best option for your free workout is going to be the outdoor Summer Seine-side dancing that takes place on the river banks near the Institut du monde Arabe and the Gare d’Austerlitz.

Enjoy balmy nights in Paris with free outdoor Salsa dancing. Photo credit by Discover Walks.

The season usually opens in June.

The ambiance of summer evenings here, especially through July and August, is magical. Heady nights are heightened by recent rising temperatures and the concrete structures absorb the heat in the day, giving it off again all night long, which adds to the holiday feeling.

Experienced dancers mingle with novices. Spoiler alert – it’s probably easier to turn up without the moves and learn as a lady.

All ages mix here and there’s often an impromptu audience set up with picnics and beers nearby, drawn out by the good weather lively spectacle.

The magical atmosphere, dancing salsa in Paris. Photo credit by Ardian Lumi on Unsplash.

I’d recommend this one for locals and tourists alike. The latter will be especially enraptured by the ‘Midnight in Paris’ Woody Allen-esque atmosphere.

Outdoor Yoga

The Ashram where I studied Yoga and acquired my 200 hours Yoga Teacher Training organises occasional outdoor Yoga practice in central Paris.

Here are yogis from the Sivananda Paris centre dressed in white and yellow enjoying their morning asana practice underneath Paris’ most famous landmark.

Eiffel Tower yoga – Photo credit by Soulseed Media, fro ma previous Discover Walks article.

Last year the Embassy of India in Paris, the airline ‘Air India’, in conjunction with the park la Villette, organised an enormous free outdoor yoga event.

It was held on June 15th 2019 to celebrate the “Journée Internationale du Yoga”, (international day of yoga).

Here’s a photo of the open air practice from their website:

The International day of yoga being celebrated with a free event in Parc de la Villette. Photo credit by http://journeeinternationaleduyoga.com/

Of course, you don’t need me to tell you that there is no need to wait for a free yoga event in order to practice outdoors in Paris.

You simply need to be reasonably at ease in your asana practice with a short series of postures that you are comfortable linking together and executing without a teacher present.

And then, roll up your mat, slip into some comfy clothes and go and find a clean dry patch of grass in a Parisian park.

My last piece of advice, (sadly), is to exercise reasonable vigilance and watch your personal belongings during savasana, perhaps sliding them under your mat.

Wild Swimming

Now this one has got to be a fairly controversial addition to the list!

I can see you now recoiling behind your computers and smartphones…

But for many hardy, healthy swimmers the idea of wild swimming in an iconic city is appealing.

After all, it was back in 1988, that the former Mayor, Jacques Chirac, promised parisians that within five years they would be able to take a dip in the Seine.

Photo credit by Alex Voyer on ‘Outdoor Swimming Society’ taken from their website https://www.outdoorswimmingsociety.com/

This promise certainly seems to catch the popular imagination as thirty years later our current Mayor Anne Hidalgo is making the same pledge in Paris’ bid for the 2024 Olympics!

I’ll admit that it is much easier to find guides to wild swimming spots outside the city. This is probably for several reasons, ranging from hygiene and water quality concerns to the legal aspect: You are very much breaking the law by plunging into Seine alongside the bateaux mouches.

Picnics along the Canal Saint Martin! The canals serve as another wild swimming spot. Photo credit by by Steve from Wikimedia Commons, from a previous Discover Walks article.

However, I managed to track down the tall tales of one wild swimmer and fan of “les baignades sauvages”, Alex Voyer a member of an unofficial wild swimming club paddling their way through Parisian canals and rivers.

Founded as a facebook group in 2012 and going by the name “Laboratoire des Baignades Urbaines Expérimentales”, (translating to “Laboratory of Experimental Urban Swimming”), likes to bring die hard aficionados with fair weather frolickers.

Photo credit by Alex Voyer from ‘Outdoor Swimming Society’ taken from their website https://www.outdoorswimmingsociety.com/

Alex is a swimmer, free-diver and photographer. Like many fans of free and revolutionary outdoor fitness, he was spurred on by a thirst for adventure.

He loved the idea, or transforming his urban environment into a place he could get inspiration, take photos and experiment, so started swimming in the Canal de l’Ourcq near his flat.

If you’re curious to find out more about these free swimming revolutionaries, defying the rules in true French style, details are on their Facebook group is here.