Active Pursuits

In addition to lazing about in a park or the terrace of your favorite café, there's actually quite a bit going on in outdoor Paris. Over the last decade, a somewhat more American approach to fitness has become popular, with more folks jogging and taking up gym memberships than ever before. Here are a few suggestions for getting out and exploring Paris's natural side.

The "Beach" of Paris -- Relaxing under a palm tree on a chaise lounge sounds more Caribbean than Parisian, but a nearly 4.8km (3-mile) stretch of sandy shore opens along the Seine each summer. With the Eiffel Tower looming in the background, visitors and locals can enjoy the plage (beach), splash in fountains, swing in hammocks, play volleyball, or enjoy a picnic. Just don't go into the polluted water of the murky Seine.

Bicycling

Bicycling through the streets and parks of Paris, perhaps with a baguette tucked under your arm, might have become your fantasy after seeing your first Maurice Chevalier film. Luckily, in the last few years the city has become even more bike-friendly than ever before.

In 2007 Mayor Bertrand Delanoë launched the Vélib' bicycle rental program, bringing 10,000 bikes into the city, placing them in specially built bike racks around high-pedestrian destinations. (The name Vélib' is a portmanteau of vélo for bicycle and liberté for freedom or liberty.)Today, there are more than 20,000 bicycles and more than 1,200 stations throughout Paris. The Velib' users have become ubiquitous around the city, at all hours of the day and night.

Buy a 1-day (1€) or 7-day (5€) short-term ticket (abonnement courte durée) at any Vélib station or tabac. You will need a valid credit card (in order to charge a temporary security deposit of 150€).

The bicycle can be used for free as long as it's returned to any of the Vélib' stations within 30 minutes of its rental. Afterward, you will be charged 1€ for the next 30 minutes, then 2€ for the next 30 minutes, then afterward an additional 4€, and so on.

Bikes are one size fits all, with adjustable seats; children 13 and younger are not permitted to use the cycles. Maps showing the locations of Vélib stations throughout Paris are available at the city hall in each of the 20 arrondissements. For more information, call tel. 01-30-79-79-30, or see www.velib.paris.fr.

Riding a bike around Paris is lovely, but for some well-informed commentary on what you're seeing, Bike About Tours (tel. 06-18-80-84-92; www.bikeabouttours.com) has a staff of friendly and knowledgeable -- and fluent-English speakers. The 3 1/2-hour tours cost 30€ per person and includes helmet, bicycle, and insurance. All tours, which range from the big monuments to personalized "hidden Paris" adventures, leave from the statue of Charlemagne in front of Notre Dame at 10am (and 3pm during the summer). You can also organize private tours and rent bikes at a reasonable 15€ per day rate. With small groups (12 people maximum) you won't get lost in the crowd, or worse, left behind in the often-confusing maze of boulevards.

Fitness Centers

You may be shocked to see Parisians taking cigarette breaks outside gym entrances, but the fitness trend has found a foot here and is moving toward a serious approach to le gym. Only big corporate hotels usually offer onsite fitness centers, so hitting up the local gyms are a good way to get in your regular workout routine. Body Gym, 157 rue du Faubourg St-Antoine, 11e (tel. 01-43-42-42-33; www.bodygymparis.com; Métro: Ledru Rollin), near an older building near the Gare de Lyon, looks like a corridor from a Métro station, but the machines are modern and up to date. Patronized mostly by office workers and residents of this sometimes gritty neighborhood, it offers views of Paris many visitors don't often see. A one-visit pass costs 17€, and they are open weekdays from 8am to 9:30pm, 9am to 7pm on Saturdays, and 10am to 2pm Sundays. Club Med Gyms, 149 rue de Rennes, 6e (tel. 01-45-44-24-35; Métro: Montparnasse or St-Sulpice; also at 147 rue Saint-Honoré, 1er; tel. 01-40-20-03-03; Métro: Châtelet-Les Halles) is the largest and most popular chains of fitness centers is in France. There are 22 gyms scattered throughout Paris and its suburbs. The two noted here are the largest on the Left and Right Banks of the Seine and they offer every conceivable kind of fitness, body-building, and cardio training machine, as well as squash courts. Hours can vary, but most are open from morning to 10pm on weekdays. For additional addresses of gyms within this respected chain, check out www.clubmedgym.fr.

Ice-Skating

In the deep of winter (usually around Christmas to Feb), Paris officials set up two huge outdoor rinks, each of which is free (not counting the 4€ for skate rental). The better of the two is in front of the Hotel de Ville in the 4th (Métro: Hôtel-de-Ville). It's open Monday to Thursday noon to 10pm, Friday noon to midnight, and Sunday 9am to 10pm. Smaller but still charming is at the Eiffel Tower in the 7th (Métro: Bir Hakeim). It's open every day from 10:30am to 10:30pm and Saturday and Sunday 9am to 8pm.

Jogging

The French say le jogging, and also le footing, although the latter is outmoded. Once pretty much ridiculed, the sport itself has gained quite a following in Paris recently. The most popular places for jogging include the quays of the Seine and Jardin du Luxembourg.

Some other lovely routes are the Parc des Buttes Chaumont and Promenade Plantée  -- the converted green rooftop of the old train trestle route. The entrance is just behind the opera house at Bastille along avenue Daumesnil, and continuing all the way to the Bois de Vincennes on the city's "green lung."

Other spots are paths around the lakes in the Bois de Boulogne and the Bois de Vincennes.

Swimming

Paris offers some three dozen public swimming pools called piscines. They are found throughout the city, and a complete list of them is available at www.sport.paris.fr. Admission to any municipal pool is 3€; you can also purchase a carnet granting 10 visits for 24€.

Our favorite Right Bank pool is Suzanne Berlioux, 10 place de la Rotonde, Forum des Halles in the 1st (tel. 01-42-36-98-44; Métro: Les Halles). This vast pool is in the underground forum with a wall of windows streaming in natural light. On the Left Bank, St-Germain is a standout, at 12 rue Lobineau in the 6th (tel. 01-56-81-25-40; Métro: Mabillon or Odéon). This 25m (82-ft.) pool is in a modern underground space near Marché St-Germain.

Tennis

There are 43 public tennis courts in Paris for recreational use. The courts in the Jardin de Luxembourg (6e; Métro: Saint-Placide) are particularly nice. There is also in the Marais at 5-7 rue Neuve-Saint-Pierre (4e; Métro: Saint Paul). The fee for an hour of play is 7.50€ in an open courts, and 14€ for covered courts. Note: You will need to bring your own tennis equipment. More locations can be found at www.paris.fr.