In-Line Skating or Ice Skating, Take Your Pick
Do you love to roller skate? Well you won’t be alone if you decide to join “le Friday Night Fever” in Paris. Come rain or clear skies you can skate along with as many as ten to twenty thousand (yes, you read right!) other skaters who meet each Friday night to go roller skating throughout the streets of Paris on a three hour long journey.
It’s a wonderful way of meeting different people, or meeting up with those you met on an earlier excursion. People young and old, families, couples, just about anyone and everyone who loves to skate joins in the fun.
A police brigade clears the way ahead of the skaters as they snake their way through the avenues and boulevards, while more police and an ambulance stays behind the group making sure everyone gets through. It’s not for the beginner, however, as the group as a whole moves quite fast.
If you fall in the latter category, I suggest going to an ice-skating rink instead. There are three of them open from the beginning of December until the beginning of March.
You can skate on the first level of the Eiffel Tower. (Don’t forget that in France you start with the ground level and go up to the first.) The view is great, but there is the regular price of a ticket for going up the Eiffel Tower. The other two ice skating rinks are at the Gare Montparnasse and the Hôtel de Ville.
I personally prefer the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall), which is a beautiful building right near the Seine River. It’s the building that you see at the end of the movie in “Something’s Gotta Give” when Diane Keaton gets out of the taxis and finds Jack Nicholson looking at the river and the snow is falling. You can rent ice skates for 5 €, or bring your own and you can skate for free.
There are two rinks at the Hôtel de Ville. The big rink is for everyone, and you’ll see a fair number of good skaters who like to show off with spins and turns. The smaller one is reserved for beginners and children. That’s where you’ll find me! Music and a carousel nearby make the whole experience quite festive. Come and join the fun!
Photo credits: flickr
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[...] Free Activity – Rollerskating on Fridays This activity is not for beginners or for the timid, but if you love rollerskating, then you have to join in with the thousands that go swarming through the streets of Paris every Friday evening. For my full story, click here. [...]