Episode 01 · Paris

The Secret Swimmers of the Seine.

The Seine swims again. Tiny Zara follows Paris’s river from a century-old ban to the day the city opened the water again.

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EIFFEL TOWER → GRENELLE → BRAS MARIE → BERCY

Zara in her Paris look stepping above the Seine near Pont Alexandre III

Paris looks different at Zara’s scale: one bridge becomes a runway, and the Seine becomes the whole horizon.

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01 / The comeback

Paris spent a century keeping swimmers out of the Seine.

Then the city rebuilt the river’s hidden systems—sewers, overflow controls and a vast rainwater basin—until three public bathing areas could welcome swimmers back.

Zara crossing above the Seine beside an ornate Paris bridge

The river at the center of Paris Once too polluted for a legal swim, the Seine became the city’s boldest comeback story.

Zara in a red beret posing beside the Eiffel Tower

A promise measured in generations. From Jacques Chirac’s 1988 pledge to the first public plunge in July 2025.

1923the year swimming in the Seine was banned

€1.4Binvested in the wider river-cleanup programme

3public bathing sites opened on 5 July 2025

40K+swimmers counted by 11 August 2025

02 / How it happened

The river’s makeover happened mostly out of sight.

The postcard view stayed familiar. Under the streets, Paris built the infrastructure that could keep sewage out of the river during heavy rain.

Zara leaning beside the Luxor Obelisk at Place de la Concorde

A century-long ban

Swimming was outlawed in 1923 as pollution made the Seine unsafe. The rule lasted for more than 100 years.

Zara looking across the ornate Palais Garnier in Paris

A giant hidden basin

The Austerlitz storage basin can hold 50,000 cubic metres of stormwater before it reaches the river.

The Olympic test

The Seine hosted open-water events in 2024, putting the cleanup—and its limits—under a global spotlight.

Zara looking over Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris

Swimming returns

Grenelle, Bras Marie and Bercy opened in July 2025, with daily access still governed by weather and water-quality checks.

“A hundred years ago, this was a sewer with a view. Today? Bring your swimsuit.”

Zara’s Paris field note

03 / Field notes

Zara’s Paris, landmark by landmark.

Her red-beret Paris look travels from the Eiffel Tower to Montmartre, the Louvre, Notre-Dame and the river that ties the whole city together. Tap any image to open it.

Zara peering through the Arc de Triomphe

Zara balancing beside the Louvre Pyramid

Zara crossing above the Seine near Pont Alexandre III

Zara beside the Luxor Obelisk at Place de la Concorde

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YouTube stays the full episode. The 9:16 Reel opens on Instagram so nothing here is cropped or blank.

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Reporting & source notes

City of Paris — Swimming in the Seine guide
The three bathing sites, opening date, access rules and the city’s cleanup programme.
Associated Press — The Seine is open for swimming
The 1923 ban, €1.4 billion programme, 50,000 m³ basin and early swimmer count.

Paris changed the river beneath the postcard.

Now the Seine belongs to swimmers again.