Britain's inland capital of London may be a far cry from beach resorts like Bondi and Bali, but some office workers have found something that comes close enough.
As the mercury continues to rise, women in bikinis mingled with workers dressed both formally and casually on "City Beach", a patch of sand imported to the heart of London's grimy East End.
"This weather won't last for long so you've got to enjoy it while you can," said Carolyn Baker, a 27-year-old data controller who sat back on a deck chair holding a glass of Pimms on her lunch break.
Wearing a short skirt and sleeveless top, she was among some 50 workers lounging on deckchairs or sipping drinks below parasols on the stretch of sand dotted with potted palm trees.
A small crowd stood around a Brazilian-style bar which pumped out house music and served pina coladas and cold beer. It proved to be a popular alternative to the traditional pub.
The 200 square metre beach is 50km from the nearest English seaside resort and is surrounded by decrepit warehouses.
Entrepreneur Richard Lee turned the unprepossessing car park into an in-land riviera four weeks ago, just in time to catch one of Britain's most intense heatwaves.
"I've been really lucky with the weather," Lee said. "It was a big gamble but it's paid off very well."
Paris beach opens
Across the Channel, Parisians were doing the same.
The city’s 2.5 kilometre sandy beach, situated along the River Seine’s right bank, had its annual opening this week.
Dotted with palm trees, deckchairs and umbrellas, has become a regular summer feature of Paris city-life since its inauguration in 2002.
This year though the scheme has been extended to the upcoming left bank
district of Bercy-Tolbiac, which now also sports a kilometre long beach between a new year-round floating swimming pool and a pedestrian walkway over the Seine.
This year the Paris Plages (Paris Beach), as it is known, has taken Tahiti as its theme, with visitors invited to take part in dance classes, shows and work-shops in traditional Polynesian huts erected among a lush tropical jungle.
The month-long event, which is completely free, is expected to attract four million visitors, 200,000 more than last year.
This year 2,500 tonnes of sand have been trucked to the quayside, along with 68 palms stretching eight metres high.
The idea has proved so successful with city-dwellers that it has also been copied in other French cities such as Dijon and Lille, as well as other capitals like Berlin and Tokyo.
Visitors can also take part in 20 sports such as boules, volleyball, and frisbee throwing, while a giant sandpit has been set up for children as well as a pirate's ship and a trampoline.
Although no swimming is allowed in the Seine, water fountains and jets have been set up along the beach.