Every year, Paris transforms the riverbanks of the Seine into artificial, sandy beaches packed with deckchairs, free libraries, beach volleyball, ice cream vendors and complimentary concerts. It is the “Paris Plages” event and this is the 13th year the city has offered these free, urban oases for tourists and locals to enjoy, reports The Huffington Post.

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The beaches opened to the public on July 19.  Most will remain open until August 17, although the beach in the city’s 19th ‘arrondissement’ on the Bassin de la Villette canal will remain open until August 24, the Paris Tourism Office told weather.com.

August is typically a very hot month and many businesses shut down for the entire month as the locals take their vacations, according to Smithsonian.com, emptying the city out.  As a result, the magazine’s website reports, the annual “Paris Plages” event actually started as an attempt to reverse this trend and keep people in the city of Paris during the summer.  

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