Manmade beaches in cities have become quite the happening thing, and a few European urban beaches feature true summer-in-the-city frolicking (though some of the "urban beaches" blooming in the city sun all over the world have some serious shortcomings -- like you can't go in the nearby water). A few of the urban beaches in Europe that may be worth dipping a toe into the sand or social scenes:
© Kit HartfordEvery July through August, sand is loaded onto a bank of the Seine to create the "Paris Plage" along the road and river from Ile St. Louis to the Jardin des Tuileries -- something to do for those Parisians left in the city in summer, and one of the five top free things for
you to do in Paris. Umbrellas, concerts... park a picnic on this man-made Paris beach starting around the third weekend in July to meet people and lounge. Rouse yourself long enough to watch a wild bike ride-parade-street happening near nearby Hotel de Ville on summer Friday nights.
Spree River - Berlin Urban Beaches
Sand trucked in from the Baltic Sea to twenty spots in Berlin along the Spree River add up to probably the best urban beachy fun in Europe, with some beaches being a bit grittier than others -- as in, hooked into the cool club scene here in one of the cities you'll most like in Europe. A few sandy social spots to drop into:
- Bundespressestrand and Capital Beach, both near the central train station (Hauptbahnoff)
- Oststrand -- Berlin's biggest urban beach, covering 7000 square meters (you'll like this beach, found by the former Berlin Wall near the famous East Side Gallery, the best)
If you go:
Amsterdam Plage and
Strand West are the manmade beaches in Amsterdam you'll like. Strand West is a bit of a bus ride and walk from Amsterdam's center, and Amsterdam Plage is a short walk from the central train station; Amsterdam Plage's also open all summer, while most of Europe's other urban beaches are basically one-month wonders. While you're thinking of sun and sand in Amsterdam, you may also want to take a quick trip to the hip
Bloemendaal, a real beach just a short hop from Amsterdam.
If you go:
Situated along the Quai des Peniches on the northwest side of the city, Belgium's Brussels Spa, or Bruxelles les Bains (or Brussel Bad) offers a Sports Field (beach soccer, rugby, climbing, petanque, climbing and rowing) beside the beach umbrellas and bars.
If you go:
Copenhagen’s Copencabana (Copencabana Havnebadet, Havneholmen) is a 2500 meter sand beach with plenty of palm trees and an adjoining swimming pool, and the adjacent Copenhagen Harbor is clean enough for swimming (the last public pool in the harbor had closed five decades ago due to truly terrible water). More swimming nearby, too, at Havnebadet at Islands Brygge in Copencabana's former site.
Amager Strandpark (Njalsgade 13), not far from the city center, is a pleasant place for a picnic or kayak rentals and subsequent fun in the sun. If you go:
Žluté lázne is very close to the city center and can be a family scene some days, though the hammocks are always a good place to recuperate from a tour of
Prague's clubs. Pražská pláž in Prague 5 is made of riverfront sand and offers a pool, volleyball and alla that. Either sunny spot has plenty of places to eat and drink.
If you go:
Ireland's first manmade beach debuted in Dublin in 2008 at George's Dock in Docklands (an urban renewal area downtown) and started the summer with serious social event plans like Tango Night, Salsa Night and Trash and Treasure Blind Date Night, all of which happen amid the usual palm trees and beach umbrellas. Showers, towels and change rooms for all, plus lunchtime workout classes, mini golf, beach rugby and volleyball for the athletically inclined, and boules for the less so. We'll see if it lasts -- so far, the Dublin drizzle seems to keeping it cool and calm (and not in a good way).
If you go:
