Parkour is all about freedom and seizing the moment – or location. It’s about exploring different places with your friends and going, “wow, that’s a rad place to backflip from.” However, some places are objectively better than others. You’d be pretty disappointed to find yourself on vacation in some flat city with no verticality and obstacles. Let’s list some of the gnarliest parkour sites in the world fit for both rookies and high-flyers.
France: Paris
Not needing presentation, and without further ado: Paris, the place where it all started.
- Olympiades
This spot has some curvy, sombrero-like rooftops, common meeting place for worldwide tracers. There are also some ground-level obstacles for newcomers.
- Bercy
Bercy is a rather small but fascinating place. Unique, post-modernist vertical designs are all but boring. It’s like Parkour on Mars.
- La Defense
La Defense is in the business district. There are many skyscrapers up top, and descending parallel walls down low. Also, it’s a well-known Parkour community hub.
- Pleyel
The Pleyel location is full of labyrinths and walls of every size.
Japan: Tokyo
Tokyo is a modern and high-tech urban jungle, perfect for Parkour. The possibilities are endless. Not to mention that foreigners will find the architecture fascinating. All the more pleasure to run it out.
- Mission Tokyo
This parkour gym opened in 2018, run by the Vaults101 crew – excellent assignment help and training spot, where you can get to know the local community.
- Komazawa
One of the most popular neighborhoods is in Komazawa, great for larger freerunning jams. You’ll find many walls, bars, and playground spots here. The vibe in this park is fantastic. Full of people enjoying their free time, jogging, and playing sports such as basketball and badminton.
- Shimo-Kitazawa
Another cool place is the Shimo-Kitazawa area. Although located near the busy Shibuya Crossing, this place is way more relaxed. It also has many small streets and obstacles.
United Kingdom: London
London makes our list once again. The city is like a living creature just waiting to be tamed by fearless freerunners.
- The logs at Regent’s Park
The artistic wooden construction is fit for Parkour of every difficulty. Just be careful when it’s humid or rains as the logs can get slippy beyond control.
- IMAX Spot
The IMAX spot is full of tunnels and railings. It also has a rad skatepark nearby, if you ever need extreme sports community guidance.
- Pimlico Estate
West London, in general, is full of Parkour opportunities. Even more for experienced runners who can perform some pretty dare devilish jumps.
- Nursery Row Park
Another beautiful spot for all-round training sessions is the Nursery Raw Park.
- Heygate Estate, Elephant & Castle
The Elephant & Castle domain is loaded full of gaps and rails. However, some pros consider it more of a warm-up site and for entry-level athletes.
Greece: Santorini
Santorini holds The Art Of Motion freerunning competition by Red Bull each year. The whole milky-white region seems to have been built exclusively for Parkour. The closely packed rooftops allow for a myriad of tricks and jumps. The slalom streets are incredible for wall rides and grabs. The whole place is like a never-ending adrenaline ride.
- Ammoudi Cliff Diving Spot
The whole region is packed with obstacles, so we’re not going to cite particular spots – except one: the Ammoudi Cliff. Just under Oia, you’ll find a little port called Ammoudi. Although not technically a spot for Parkour, this place will blow your mind. If you find the guts to jump, that is.
United States: New York Central Park
This impressive park embraces everybody, from regular people looking for a Sunday stroll, to tracers ready to leap over their heads. Well, New York, in general, is an excellent city to freerun. Still, Central Park is better because of the added natural elements.
- Umpire Rock, Columbus Circle
This massive rock cluster si great for both rock climbers and freerunners. Different slopes allow for a variety of tricks and courses.
- Tompkins Park, Alphabet City
Alphabet City is a playground filled with bars and rails, perfect for a game of tag, calisthenics training, or just straight Parkour.
- Rockefeller Park, Battery Park City
The spot is also known as “TriBeCa.” It has many cool elements, but the most exciting thing is the bridge, which is a regular meeting place for local runners.
Italy: Milan
Italy is a hit-or-miss kind of place for Parkour, but Milan is different. Especially since 2006, when the MilanMonkeys Crew established a well-grounded community. Local students, essay service writers, IT workers, video producers, and sports fans got together. They created the Parkour Milan Amateur Sports Association, which hosts foreigners and creates events to propagate Parkour in Italy as a legitimate activity. Also, the urban design of Milano offers limitless possibilities.
Canada: Calgary Century Gardens
The Century Gardens are renowned for their weird and vertical architectural structures typical of the ’70. Local authorities aren’t that happy that freerunning athletes are using the place to backflip, but they’ve come to accept it – more or less.
This brutalist place has been the source of many local debates for years. Some people want to bulldozer it, while preservationists held their ground for decades. It’s a classic space in the Parkour community and subculture. You shouldn’t miss this one.
Parkour is about exploration. Although the previous locations are the best in the world, nothing is stopping you from making your town a worthy competitor. It’s the people that make the spot, not the other way around. Still, if you want to walk in the footsteps of Parkour legends, you have to pay homage to these classic urban jungles.
Sources:
https://thebestparkourgear.com/7-best-parkour-locations/
https://wfpf.com/the-7-best-parkour-locations-in-the-world/
https://www.idaily.com/search/best-parkour-in-the-world
https://www.pinterest.com/xtremespots/parkour-free-run-spots/
https://www.flypgs.com/en/extreme-sports/parkour
Links:
- Tokyo Vaults101 Crew: https://www.vaults101store.com/
- Ammoudi coordinates: https://www.google.de/maps/place/36%C2%B027’26.8%22N+25%C2%B022’20.3%22E/@36.4574343,25.3701203,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d36.45743!4d25.372309?shorturl=1
- Milan MilanMonkeys Crew: https://www.milanmonkeys.com/
Other sources:
https://teamfarang.com/blogs/news/tokyo-city-guide
https://www.redbull.com/us-en/mysterious-places-part-5
https://www.lappset.com/News-and-updates/Blogs-and-articles/What-makes-a-good-parkour-spot
https://www.zeemaps.com/236269/name_of_your_marker
https://mpora.com/parkour/7-crazy-looking-cities-that-couldve-been-built-for-parkour/
https://thelondontraceur.wordpress.com/2013/11/13/top-5-london-parkour-spots/
https://www.themovementcreative.com/locations
Michael Gorman is a very skilled freelance essay writer and proof reader from the UK who currently works with some of the best professional essay writers. Being interested in everyday development, he writes various blog posts and discovers new aspects of human existence every day. Feel free to contact him via Facebook or check his Twitter.