Open Swim: Conquering open water

Everyone in the water 💦

The Open Swim Harmonie Mutuelle circuit is back again this year and is becoming more and more popular! 😎 Swimming is a low-impact sport that requires little physical fitness, so it’s accessible to as many people as possible at any age. It’s the ultimate health sport! ✨ And there’s no need to be Laure Manaudou to start a race: you just need to know how to swim 🏊‍♀️. But open-water swimming is different from doing laps in a pool ☝️. Here, you are completely free. More sensory than the pool, the discipline wins people over with its direct contact with nature and its many benefits: reduced stress, a cardiovascular boost, and a feeling of freedom 🦋. The practice already attracts hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts in France. The only condition for taking the plunge is wanting to! Still a bit apprehensive? Intro sessions are here to sweep away all your fears with a single freestyle stroke 😉.

(Photo credit: Sebastien Ferraro)

Get initiated before taking the plunge 🤓

Before lining up at the start of an open-sea race or in a big lake, why not try the discipline in real-life conditions, supervised by professionals? 🌊 No need to be a swimming ace to take part. These intro sessions organized by Harmonie Mutuelle are free, open to everyone upon registration, and are here to give you all the keys before you dive into the deep end! 🛀 Come discover the practice, safely, at the stops in Cassis, Gérardmer, Paris and La Baule. Intro sessions to discover the practice safely are offered to make the sport accessible 🥰. On the program: supervision by professionals, answers to your questions, expert advice, and loan of a wetsuit and a buoy 🛟. The goal of these moments is for you to build confidence in the water, because yes, you don’t swim the same in the sea as in a pool! Here, you’ll learn to manage your breathing, your orientation (yep, you won’t have lane lines to guide you 😅), and the currents that could carry you away from the finish line 🏁. Enough to feel like a fish in water! 🐟 The intro sessions also make it possible to be in a group and therefore to motivate each other among participants—sign up here: together, we’re stronger 💪.

🎥 Discover open-water swimming with Open Swim Harmonie Mutuelle:

And if, as you go along, you want to switch into competition mode, head to one of these cities to start your season ⬇️.

Dates you don’t want to miss 📆

Meeting up on the start line of an open-water race may seem intimidating, but it’s the best way to begin! You’re supervised throughout the course and you benefit from an exceptional setting 🤩. As a major partner of Open Swim, Harmonie Mutuelle is committed to eco-responsible events that preserve our environment and the magical places where you’ll be swimming! 🌍 Come on, here’s a quick overview of the Open Swim Harmonie Mutuelle to whet your appetite 🤤. The first stop, the Open Swim Harmonie Mutuelle Cassis (Sunday 7 June 2026), takes place in one of the most beautiful Mediterranean calanques, with a breathtaking panorama of the castle and Cap Canaille 😇. For the second stop, head to the Open Swim Harmonie Mutuelle Gérardmer (Saturday 27 June 2026) in the heart of the Vosges, in the largest natural lake in the range, with its iconic "Lake Loop" race (4.5 km, with and without fins) 🏞️. Next comes the circuit’s legendary stop, the Open Swim Harmonie Mutuelle Paris (Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 July 2026). It’s not every day you get to swim in the Canal de l’Ourcq and the Seine right in the heart of the capital, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower 😍. To fill your summer holidays, the Open Swim Harmonie Mutuelle La Baule (Saturday 22 August 2026) will have you swimming in an exceptional setting where your body becomes one with the ocean 🫧. With all that, we hope you’re not underwater 😂.

(Photo credit: Sebastien Ferraro)

Now that it’s obvious, shall we meet up at a race on the Open Swim Harmonie Mutuelle circuit? 😜