Put on your swimwear, chicest sun glasses and lots of that sun lotion. Here are the 9 best urban beaches in Europe where you can enjoy the pleasures of big city life, as well as a lazy day at the shore – right in the city centre!
Paris Plages, Paris
Paris Plages. ©Paris Tourist Office – Photographer : Amélie Dupont
Take a thousand tonnes of sand, a smattering of palm trees, deckchairs, glistering torsos and ubiquitous ice cream sellers – and you have the Paris Plages. The ‘Parisian Riviera’ spans 3 km along the right bank of the Seine from Louvre to Pont Sully.
During the summer, parts of the riverside are closed off from traffic and you can join the thousands of Parisians and tourists that enjoy the rather surreal experience lying in the middle of the street wearing only bikini or Speedos and a top hat. Beware, no g-strings, topless girls or nudist beachgoers – unless you want to be fined!
The Paris Plages is a highly popular, free ‘event’ instituted by the City Fathers in 2002. Originally it was thought of as a getaway for the thousands of Parisians who couldn’t afford to go on holiday, but the project was immediately adopted by the whole city and now millions of people visit the beach next to the city hall every summer.
Islands Brygge Harbour Bath, Copenhagen
Island Brygge Harbour Bath. © Webjay
Beach life in inner city Copenhagen! To many this probably doesn’t sound too tempting, if possible at all. However, the beach scene in the Danish capital is actually alive and vibrant (at least on those few days during the summer when the sun shines).
The most popular dipping spot is Islands Brygge, which used to be an industrial and rundown harbour area before it was cleaned up by the local municipality. Today it’s the Copenhagen hotspot, where the local youth hang out trying to impress the opposite sex with their fit bodies, new swimwear and diving skills.
Though swimming is only allowed inside the pool area, it is very popular to jump into the water all along the water front. In the evenings, the lawns along the waterfront are packed with people having barbecues, listening to music and drinking anything alcoholic.
Hidropark, Kiev
Hidropark Beach. © stephanemartin
With Russia’s much controversial annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, Ukraine lost some of its most pristine beaches. However, there’s still a beach scene in Ukraine – even in Kiev hundreds of kilometres from the sea.
On hot summer days the masses head for Hidropark, a short metro ride from the city centre. Along the Dnipro River are beaches which are jam-packed with locals playing beach volleyball, swimming and grilling juicy kebabs. The area also hosts a casino, a nudist beach, a beachfront disco and the world’s largest outdoor gym. What more can you ask for?
South Bank Beach, London
South Bank Beach. © ChodHound
In London life’s a beach … with a little bit of imagination. If real sand is what you’re after, then you might want to consider heading down to the south bank of the Thames: it’s a tidal river, which means that the water ebbs back at certain times of day to display wide swathes of rather dirty sand.
This doesn’t dissuade some diehards, however – more often than not there are a few people picking their way over the sand and pebbles. Flip flops not particularly recommended, however, in light of the amount of debris that’s floating around in the river, some of which is very interesting and some of which is … er, not.
Blijburg aan Zee, Amsterdam
Blijburg aan Zee. © amsfrank
Blijburg aan Zee is the funky nomadic beach of Amsterdam. It’s the true Amsterdammer’s beach pavilion with a rustic, organic, unmistakable island feel infused with a relaxed, bohemian, Havana Nights vibe. The creatively handmade characteristics give Blijburg its natural beachy atmosphere.
Since it’s opening in 2003, Blijburg has been the most popular urban beach in Amsterdam, and has had three different locations along the eastern side of the Ijburg islands. It’s so loved that beachgoers follow it wherever it goes. They’re simply happy, “blij,” with Blijburg. Who wouldn’t be?
Bonfires, festivals, live music, theme parties, summer drinks, vegetarian and organic dishes from around the world. And *drum roll* … swimming is officially allowed!
Yaam, Berlin
The new Yaam Beach, Berlin. © Yaam Beach
Raw, rainy and far from the ocean – Berlin is not the most obvious place to find a beach bar. Nevertheless, the city has several along the river Spree where artificial palm trees are set up and sand from the city’s construction sites or the Baltic coast is brought in by truck turning the German capital into a (kind of) tropical paradise on a hot summer’s day.
One of the city’s most popular and definitely most chilled beach bars is Yaam in Friedrichshain. The place is one of Berlin’s finest ambassadors of reggae and other Caribbean tunes and the bar offers a selection of Caribbean foods and drinks as well.
It’s not all about chilling in the sand at Yaam though, the place also host concerts, different sport activities and a kids’ area.
Žluté lázně, Prague
Žluté lázně. © Žluté lázně
Just because you are in middle of a capital city in a landlocked central European country doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the pleasures of beach life. At least not in Prague.
Prague’s largest beach along the Vltava River provides a recreational area for table tennis, football, volleyball, petanque , climbing, or leisurely naps in a hammock. There’s a children’s pool which provides a great balance to the beach’s restaurant (with beer garden), WiFi access, DJ sounds and, yes, even its nude section. Located on the Vltava’s eastern bank (under beautiful wooded cliffs) a few tram stops south of Vysehrad castle, Zlute Lazne provides something cool for anyone who’s hot.
Brussels Beach, Brussels
Brussels Beach. © Flikkesteph
Where do members of the European Parliament, diplomats and EU interns go to cool off after a long and hot day at the office? The answer is Brussels Beach.
During the warm season the cobbled quays along the Canal of Brussels is turned into a beach with the help of imported sand, palm trees and sundeck chairs. It’s the place to go for a game of beach volleyball, followed by achilled fruit cocktail under a parasol.
Långholmen Beach, Stockholm
Långholmen Beach. © Jess Pac
Swedish summers aren’t hot and humid; they’re relatively cool and pleasant. Just like the ambience of its capital city, Stockholm, where people take advantage of the extremely long Nordic sunshine days by dipping in to the clean waters of Stockholm’s stunning archipelago.
One of Stockholm’s most popular and best-known inner-city beaches is Långholmen Beach on the island of Långholmen, just north of a former prison. It gets pretty crowded on warm weekends, with families setting up picnics on the grass and rowdy teens taking over the swimming platform.
It’s the perfect place to relax and bask in the sun—and you can cool down easily enough at the nearby ice cream vendor.
