Skating the Roads of Paris

Rollers et Coquillages, an inline-skating organization in Paris, on the road. Rollers et Coquillages Rollers et Coquillages, an inline-skating organization in Paris, on the road.
Globespotters

Paris

Paris

There are plenty of ways to get around Paris: Métro, taxis, biking. To that list, add in-line skating.

Every Sunday, the Paris-based in-line skating association Rollers et Coquillages organizes a three-hour skating tour that leaves the Nomades skate shop at Bastille in Paris’s 11th Arrondissement at 2.30 p.m. Up and rolling for 12 years, the tours attract  5,000 to 7,000 people every week.

Rollers et Coquillages offers over 150  routes — about 12 and a half miles each — and each week, participants can vote for their preferred route in an online poll on the group’s Web site. The tours incorporate tourist hot spots, including Hotel de Ville and Notre Dame, as well as lesser-known parts of the city like the Quai d’Austerlitz and Boulevard Ménilmontant. Traffic on the streets of Paris is brought to a standstill to accommodate the skaters, who are led by a team of volunteers clad in yellow T-shirts. Skating police officers are present to supervise the crowd and first aid-workers are also present on skates in case of injury.

The association’s name, which translates as Rollerblades and Seashells, was inspired by Brigitte Bardot’s song of summer abandon, “La Madrague”: “We like to think there is a beach under the pavements of Paris,” said  Philippe Moulié, head of Rollers et Coquillages, “It’s an analogy that embodies the fun, free-wheeling spirit of in-line skating.”

The tours are manageably paced, and there is a 20-minute break midway. That said, aspiring skating tourists should be relatively adept on in-line skates — the ability to brake is crucial, especially when hurtling down a steep boulevard surrounded by thousands of other skaters.

In-line skates can be rented at the tour’s starting point, Nomades skate shop (37 Boulevard Bourdon; 33-1-44-54-07-44) for 9 euros (about $12). Wrist guards and helmets are also available for 1 and 2 euros, respectively. An I.D. card is required as a deposit.

9:01 a.m. | Updated A previous version of this post misstated the Arrondissement where the Bastille is located. It has been corrected.