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The Paris mayor plunged into the Seine on Wednesday morning, fulfilling a long-standing promise to prove the water is clean enough for the Paris Olympic Games just nine days before the opening ceremony on the river.
“The water tastes delicious,” Ms Hidalgo said as she took her first strokes in the water near the Notre Dame Cathedral in sunny 20C weather.
Following her 100 metre swim, the mayor said she felt “very lucky” for the city to be able to host several open swimming competitions in the river during the games.
“We did it,” she said.
It was not always clear they would.
Ms Hidalgo had been scheduled to make her dip into the Seine last month, but had to delay the swim because of high levels of bacteria in the water.
Official testing by the city of Paris between June 3 and July 2 showed higher than acceptable levels of e-coli at the Alexandre III Bridge, where several triathlon events are scheduled.
But on Wednesday, city officials sought to reassure the crowds that had gathered to watch the event.
“The Seine [water] quality is perfect,” said Tony Estanguet, the Paris 2024 Olympic chief, who swam in the water alongside Ms Hidalgo.
While swimming in the river was banned in 1923 due to high levels of bacteria, the city has spent more than £1 million since 2015 to make the Seine swimmable for the first time in more than a century.
To improve water quality and prevent sewage from entering the river, the city constructed a giant underground water storage tank, revamped sewer infrastructure, and upgraded wastewater treatment plants.
The city says it plans to open parts of the river to the public for swimming starting in 2025.
“[The Olympics] will leave an important legacy for people to swim in these waters for generations to come,” said Mr Estanguet.
To help test the waters on Wednesday, the city invited around 100 participants from local swim clubs who splashed around eagerly in the waters.
Pierre Fuzeau, a swimmer with the Paris swim club Les Ourcq Polaires, said: “This water has many health benefits!” He rejected previous claims about the river’s pollution levels being well above swimming standards as “fake news”, claiming he had secretly swam in the Seine in the past without any issues.
“I’ve never been sick,” he said.
Other swimmers told The Telegraph they started the morning with a bit more trepidation.
Victoire Lacaille, 22, said: “I’m nervous,” moments before the big swim kicked off.
But as soon as she jumped in, she smiled and gave a big thumbs up.
“It’s just exquisite,” Ms Lacaille said, pointing to the views of the city surrounding her.
Hundreds of spectators watched from nearby bridges – some still unsure about whether or not they would want to jump in themselves.
Arnaud Gerard, who watched from the Ile-Saint-Louis, said: “I think it’s still too dirty in spite of what they’ve done.”
Thomas Napolitano, who works for the city of Paris and swam in the river on Wednesday, called on sceptics such as Mr Gerard to reconsider.
“Only stupid people don’t change their minds,” he said. “Scientists have proven that [the water] is clean and I fully trust them.”
Mr Napolitano also said for him and many Parisians, Wednesday’s big swim was personal. Politicians have promised to clean up the Seine for decades, including Jacques Chirac, the former French president, in 1988, though the plan was never realised.
“This is an old promise I’ve been hearing since I was a kid,” Mr Napolitano said. “Even when it was forbidden some people were still swimming in the canals illegally – but this is taking it a notch further.”