Parts of the Seine are opening to bathers and Berliners are pushing authorities to permit river dips, while other hotspots continue to delight city dwellers
The last time there was full-scale river swimming in Berlin’s city centre, before access was outlawed a century ago, there were probably fewer inflatable unicorns and fluorescent pool noodles.
But this week, a “Dip-Dip-Hurrah” demonstration to push for the lifting of the roaring 20s-era ban saw about 300 people, many with colourful swimming caps and assorted flotation devices, bob down the Spree river as the golden-hour sun bathed the old Prussian monuments of the historic Mitte district in a warm light.
Across Europe, emboldened by a nine-year plan to clean up the Seine River in time for last year’s Paris Olympics, city residents are pushing authorities to make their waterways swimmable.
Here, Guardian reporters detail some of urban Europe’s wild swimming hotspots – both those that are coming, and those that have been delighting city swimmers for years.
