BERLIN -- Surf's up in London, Paris and Berlin this summer.
Alongside the Thames, Seine and Spree Rivers, inner-city beaches invite visitors to take a break from the sights, slip off their shoes and let sand soothe tired feet. Imagine yourself on a deck chair under a palm tree or a striped umbrella, a cooling drink in hand -- in the shadow of Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower or the Reichstag.
The trend is actually an update of an urban tradition where bathing stations were popular ways to beat the heat on a summer's day. The Bains Deligny added splash to Paris life in 1840 when a 100-metre-long barge (the one used to carry Napoleon's ashes) was moored at Concorde and filled with fresh water. Swimming in view of the Eiffel Tower continued until 1993, when the boat sank after springing a leak.
But this month Parisians can don their finest swimsuits and tread water once again, in a new 220-square-metre pool open for the month-long Paris Plage festival. The temporary pool, misting machines and a sun deck on the banks of the Seine are located between the Marie Bridge and the Sully Bridge. There are plans to have a permanent barge pool in place once again by 2006 beside the National Library.
After a dip, visitors can enjoy the free hammocks, potted palms and parasols that line three kilometres along the Right Bank from the Louvre to L'île Saint-Louis. There's a sandy beach area for volleyball and a lawn for the traditional French game pétanque, a kind of lawn bowling that's best played with a cigarette dangling from your lips.
With a little imagination, aided by the smell of tanning cream in the air, riverside strollers are transported to the Côte d'Azure. Cafés, fountains, live music and atmospheric candelabra lighting help set the mood for the event, now in its third year and called "a bit crazy" by the mayor of Paris when first proposed. Three million people went to the beach in Paris last year.
Berlin is capitalizing on its many waterways to bring a bit of the Baltic Sea to the banks of the Spree. Barge loads of powdery white sand have been spread at three different locations that are now hot spots for the summer scene.
The Strandbar Mitte opposite Museum Island opened in 2002 when a theatre producer wanted to create a relaxing venue for patrons of the nearby Hexenkessel Hoftheater. It's considered the first artificial inner-city beach in Europe.
With 250 tons of sand, beach chairs, palm trees and a bar that offers a wide range of tropical cocktails and fruit drinks, visitors kick back and groove to the sounds of reggae music while gazing at boat traffic on the Spree under the watchful eye of that enduring Socialist symbol of East Berlin, the Television Tower. It all makes for a wonderfully incongruous clash of cultures.
A much larger beach, with more than 1,000 tons of sand, graces the shores of the Spree near the Reichstag. The Ostrand beach, a desert oasis, hosts music festivals throughout the summer.
Berlin is also reviving a swimming barge this year with a floating pool designed by local artist Suzanne Lorenz. The Spree Bathing Ship spans the river in the Treptow neighbourhood. Two floating decks on either side link the ship with the river bank; on top is a serene beach. Having the pool set at eye level to the Spree creates the effect of swimming in the river itself.
Two other installations are drawing attention to nautical Berlin. The abstract and metaphorical significance of bridges in a city that for decades was preoccupied with walls is a timely addition to a city still in the throes of reuniting its eastern and western quarters. At Museum Island, a video projection of flowing water across the Friedrich Bridge gives the eerie illusion of a real river flowing over the bridge. Nighttime strollers "wade" across this strikingly realistic virtual flood.
Reviving the past and recognizing the potential for urban recreation today is behind London's Reclaim the Beach movement. London's Riviera was created in the 1930s with tons of sand laid between the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. People swam in the Thames until 1971, when the river was declared unsafe for bathing.
A new beach has been established in front of Royal Festival Hall, where stairs lead down to the embankment. No one swims, but monthly parties are held throughout the summer to raise awareness of this under-appreciated asset.
"All along the banks of the Thames there is foreshore that could offer Londoners and visitors pleasures that are normally associated with the seaside," said Reclaim movement's Kevin Kelly.
While less structured than Paris or Berlin, London's beach scene encourages people to bring chairs, picnics, musical instruments, even toys to build sand castles. Why not build a bonfire while you're at it? Unlike the Seine and the Spree, the Thames is a tidal river that retreats twice a day to expose even more potential beach area. Visitors have to be aware of the water's edge as the river currents are strong and constantly shifting. But for a few hours each day, swaths of sandy riverbed are revealed that capture the imagination amid the hubbub of the busy city in an all-too fleeting summer.
Pack your bags
PARIS
Paris Plage runs until Aug. 20 this year. There is no admission charge to stroll the length of the beach, which is open from 9:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day.
Visitors can also enjoy a free game of pétanque or volleyball, as well as rock-wall climbing.
BERLIN
Berlin's Strandbar Mitte and the Ostrand open at 10 a.m. and have no fixed closing time (and are often busy until well past midnight.) The beaches are open until the end of September. The Spree Bathing Ship is open from 8 a.m. to midnight daily with an admission fee of about $5. Take the subway (U-Bahn) to Schlesisches Tor or the S-Bahn line to Treptower Park.
LONDON
London's beach is located on the South Bank of the Thames opposite Charing Cross Station. To find out when Reclaim the Beach events take place, visit http://www.swarming.org.uk.
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