Even though Paris is full of tourists most of the year and especially during the summer, most of them are still here at any given time.

The Paris Plages operation has been wildly successful for the last several years, but the banks of the Seine have become incredibly overcrowded. Therefore, for the last 2 years, a Paris Plages annex has been created along the Bassin de la Villette in the 19th arrondissement, a place where most tourists don't stray.

So -- if my link works -- here is what it looked like last night around 9pm, without many tourists but with plenty of Parisians:

http://tinyurl.com/59khxn

Oops... I meant to say &quot;most of the <b>Parisians</b> are still here at any given time.&quot;

Okay, that didn't work. Gotta go back and read the Shutterfly instructions better.

This should work, or I am really a dummy (a distinct possibility):

http://kerouacphotos.site.shutterfly.com/

Handy link, thanks. I'll be staying near there in a couple of weeks time, so that'll be an interesting alternative.

Don't click on &quot;slideshow&quot; or you won't see the comments for each photo.

Great pics Kerouac!Does this scene only happen here in the summer? It looks like a great place to take a picnic and people watch and we'd check it out if it looked anything like this on a nice day in May. What's the closest metro stop?

Paris Plages is only from mid-July to mid-August, but the Bassin de la Villette is popular all year round when the weather is nice.

The nearest metro stations would include Stalingrad, Jean-Jaur&egrave;s, Riquet or Crim&eacute;e.

Thanks kerouac. We always miss Paris Plages, it is fun to see some photos. Maybe next year...

That looks AWESOME!! Man, do I want to be there right now. Thanks for posting, Kerouac.

I loved them- seeing the couples dancing and the kids playing in the sand brought a smile to my face. Thanks for posting.

Last August, we took the Batobus all the way from Eiffel to Lyon and back. The <i>plages</i> were going full tilt much of the way.

What we old farts call &quot;a happening.&quot; Groovy.