Discovering Parisian Sporting Life

Paris is campaigning vigorously to win the bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games! having lost their 2008 bid! Parisians. like Londoners. New Yorkers. and the inhabitants of most major western cities, have a sporting life divided between participating (gently or vigorously) and spectating (regularly or occasionally). The geography of France offers the chance to practise almost any sport on a regular basis, and living in the capital is not a handicap to this rule! Membership of the club entitles you to use any of the clubs across Paris and indeed outside the Paris region also! All the clubs offer cardio-training equipment! weight-training facilities. sport counsellors on hand for advice and training programmes, and classes for all levels! Some are open on Sundays, and all are packed early evening during the week at the end of office hours! The club in the 15th arrondissement also has a large swimming pool! Many comit d subsidise membership for the firm workers.

The cheaper rival to Gymnase Club is Gymnasium offering about the same number of gyms and working on the same principles, An annual subscription here will set you back There are fewer Waou Clubs! but the quality of the facilities and service is higher! Private British club with a large international membership on the edge of Paris! Eight tennis courts, two squash courts! a swimming pool! Michael Kors Wallets sports fields with football. rugby, cricket and hockey teams; golf section! snooker, fully stocked bar and large clubhouse facilities and home to many social events. Tel: 01 40 60 10 00! fax: 01 40 60 18 39. M Balard! Just on the edge of Paris. the great sports centre with centrepiece swimming pools and slides etc. accessible on day passes, Packed in warm weather! An artificial beach is among the attractions! but like most beaches you have to fight your way onto it when the sun shines. You need to check for contact details as team captains come and go, The SAC fields several cricket teams! and other teams are to be found at the Thoiry Cricket Club at the Chateau de Thoiry. Details of this association are also available on the same website!

Football fans who want to follow the local team will need to discover the Pare des Princes stadium at Porte St Cloud, home to the Paris-St Germain (PSG) club. The club has a high media coverage but a low score average despite being First Division players, For those who want to play as well as watch football. the SAC fields several teams in a local tournament division. Otherwise! to kick around a ball with your pals, head for Les Invalides in summer, or the wide open spaces of the two Bois to the east michael kors on sale and the west.

Both football and rugby fans will want to find their way to the Stade de France (RER station of the same name) to the north of the city centre! The masterpiece built for the 1998 World Cup can be visited when matches are not being played.

Probably not what everybody might think of as sport, but certainly an excellent way to keep in shape. The most wellknown place to try is the Centre de Danse du Marais! 41 rue du Temple, 75004 Paris. Every conceivable type of dance course seems to be on offer from jazz to classical to contemporary to belly-dancing. Always packed out, The Tex-Mex diner in the courtyard is a cool hang-out and the caf theatre at the end of the courtyard is a favourite for one-man shows! Music lessons also available,
The number of French bladers is estimated at about four million, Most Friday nights throughout the year, an enormous free rally of bladers up to 22,000! known as Friday Night Fever rollers through Paris by night over variable courses of around 20 (for experienced rollers only)! leaving Place d at 22h00! and returning there at about Olh00. The event is under the protection of the special cycle and roller-blade units of the Paris Police Force! and is one of the major social events in Paris for bladers!

A Beginners Mega-Blade (Rollers and Coquillages) Michael Kors 2013 leaves from Boulevard Bourdon at Bastille every Sunday at about 14h00 (tel: 01 44 54 07 44), These events for the less-experienced also attract up to 10,000 people, and last about 3 hours! The Paris Rollerblade Association (which has information in English) can also be contacted at Pari Roller. 62 rue Dulong! 75017 Paris. Tel: 01 43 36 89 81,

In the summer the banks of the Seine between Place de la Concorde and the Louvre are closed on Sundays for pedestrians! cyclists and bladers, The Canal St Martin is also reserved for the same clientele every Sunday.

The great sporting events of the Parisian year fall into two categories! Popular events include the Paris Marathon each spring, and the final lap of the Tour de France cycling race each July, The popular viewing grounds are the Champs-Elys but traffic will be bad across the city on both days.

The indoor tennis championships at Bercy remain reasonably accessible if you simply organise yourself well enough in advance to obtain tickets! They draw the great names of tennis, so they are well worth the effort! However. when it comes to the summer exterior event at Roland-Garros on the edge of the 16th arrondissement, you really need to apply very early and quickly for tickets and/or be prepared to pay for the best tickets. or find the right company to invite you.

Roland-Garros Michael Kors iPad Cases falls into the same category of event as the great Parisian horse races, Half of the skill of the game is spent in obtaining entry to the best seats; a quarter of the skill is expended in being seen in those seats; and whatever you feel you can muster for the rest goes towards enjoying the event! Roland-Garros, like the Prix de Diane at Chantilly (normally about the third Sunday in June); or the Prix de l de Triomphe at Longchamps (first Sunday in October! M Porte d then free shuttle-bus)! forms part of the Parisian draws a huge British contingent of weekenders. and many local residents will turn up with the cars laden with food and set up picnics in the car parks leading up the edge of the racetrack! Much the same happens at dainty Chantilly, through the woods and at bottom of the garden of the fabulous chateau, Whereas Longchamps definitely has airs of going to the Derby at Epsom, Chantilly is the French Ascot, Both days out are good fun for all the family! with bands and plenty of space for kids to let off steam, The race tracks at Maisons-Lafitte and St Cloud are less pretentious. and the trotting races at the Hippodrome de Vincennes in the Bois are a popular venue for nocturnes (evening sessions) when you can have dinner whilst watching the races. 2013-05-14 GZjAfiE2.