2024 Olympics in Paris: plan ahead for the fun and games
With less than a year until the Olympics, the French capital’s major hotels are fully reserved. There are, however, alternatives.
Every July, a shift takes place on the streets of Paris. Locals, fleeing to coast and country for their mid-year sojourns, are replaced by swathes of tourists. Many local businesses are shuttered, while queues snake between museums and monuments, and open-topped buses packed with visitors cram the city’s famous avenues and boulevards.
Next summer, however, Paris’s streets will be shared by tourists and locals alike as the city becomes the centre of the sporting world as host of the 2024 Olympics. Next year’s Olympic slogan is Games Wide Open, signalling a return to the excitement and energy created by the millions of spectators and visitors expected to celebrate the third Paris Olympiad and the first Games to be held in the city in 100 years.
Given Tokyo’s Games were devoid of international spectators, the City of Lights is expected to attract record crowds between July 26 and September 8, when the Paralympics end. More than 600,000 people are likely to witness the opening ceremony along the Seine River, the first time the event has been held outside a stadium.
“French culture already has a wow factor about it, and (organisers) have very ambitious plans for the Games,” says Luke Pellegrini, the Australian Olympic Committee’s chief of sports and teams. It’s an enormous undertaking, he concedes, but there is a collective confidence that the event will be one of the most spectacular in Olympic history.
“They’ve got a lot of operational challenges they still need to overcome … but having the athlete parade as a 6km boat trip through Paris culminating at the Eiffel Tower? What a way to show off a city.”
More than half of the 10 million tickets to the 329 Olympic events have already been sold, with the most recent release issued on July 5, with more to come.
WHERE TO STAY
Pellegrini, in charge of logistics and operations for Australia’s athletes, says Aussie travellers planning to attend Paris 2024 are at a disadvantage when it comes to booking flights and accommodation. Those who haven’t yet secured a room at one of the city’s major hotels are already too late, with officials and sponsors reserving most rooms – in some cases entire hotels – years in advance.
For example, most of French hotel company Accor’s Paris properties are booked out, Pellegrini says. Sometimes organisers book more rooms than necessary and will release those closer to the time, but Australian visitors shouldn’t bank on scoring one. “It’s already too late to find great deals for accommodation,” confirms Paris-based travel agent Marie Vendroux, but she advises reservations can still be found at smaller hotels. Being one of the world’s most visited tourist destinations, boutique properties abound, and the city has recently welcomed a spate of cool new offerings in desirable arrondissements.
“The transportation to Olympics venues will be very smooth, so we suggest to book a boutique hotel or an apartment in Le Marais for example, which is very central,” says Vendroux, who runs The French Travel agency. The trendy district, which straddles the 3rd and 4th arrondissements, has several new options in its inventory. The most recent is Le Grand Mazarin, five-star lodgings featuring 50 guestrooms and 11 suites that will open next month. Last November, Maisons Particulieres Collection launched Maison Proust, a beautiful Belle Epoque 23-room option inspired by novelist Marcel Proust.
The best chance to secure a stay – and the best way to experience Paris like a local – is to book a pied-a-terre through a homestay service such as Olympic sponsor Airbnb.
Thousands of Parisians seeking to avoid the visitor influx have begun listing their homes on the site, with options ranging from tiny studios to spacious three-bedroom apartments.
CULTURE
Sport may dominate the agenda, but Olympic organisers and the French Ministry of Culture have been working together to ensure Paris’s museums, landmarks and artistic communities are also ready for their moment in the global spotlight. Last year, France launched its Cultural Olympiad, an initiative promoting the arts in the lead-up to the Games. All 14 museums under the Paris Musees umbrella will celebrate the nation’s sporting legacy, with exhibitions featuring fashion, art and historical artefacts before, during and after the Games.
In June, the Palais Galliera launched a fashion retrospective La Mode en Mouvement, which runs until September 2025. Musee d’Art Moderne de Paris will present an exhibit of sport’s representation in contemporary art, and the Musee Carnavalet will showcase a selection of Olympic memorabilia and equipment.
The Bourse de Commerce, a 19th-century building located between Les Halle and the Seine, is one of several sites that have been renovated and converted into museums in the past two years. Under the direction of Kering founder Francois-Henri Pinault, Japanese architect Tadao Ando was tasked with transforming the building into one of Paris’s most exciting new contemporary art museums. It reopened in 2021 after a reported €100m restoration and is one of two European museums created to house the 10,000 modern artworks in the Pinault Collection.
Hotel de la Marine, which historically was used to store and maintain royal furniture, and later became the headquarters of France’s naval ministry, is another site recently opened to the public after renovation by the Centre des Monuments Nationaux, a body responsible for preserving more than 100 castles, monuments and sites.
Travellers planning to visit multiple landmarks should consider signing up to the organisation’s Passion Monuments annual member-ship, which includes entry to more than 90 of its most visited sites for €45 ($75). Vendroux suggests visitors book tickets to the most popular attractions well in advance.
“Don’t plan too many activities each day,” she advises, “and wake up early to visit the city’s landmarks without the crowd.”
HOUSE PARTIES
They were originally designed as intimate hubs where family, friends and team staff could celebrate the success (and commiserate the losses) of their country’s athletes, but today many Olympic Hospitality Houses have evolved to become destinations in their own right.
Australia doesn’t usually host a hospitality venue at the Games, and Pellegrini confirms next year’s event is no exception, however there are plenty of other houses where visitors can soak up the excitement. While some remain closed to anyone outside the team’s inner circle, others have become known as must-do Olympic experiences.
The Netherlands’ NL House is probably the most popular, attracting thousands of Dutch fans and foreigners through its signature orange doors since its inception at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics (ticket required).
Belgium is another country known to put on a memorable bash at its temporary Olympic headquarters, which next year will be close to the Champs-Elysees. The venue, which is expected to host more than 30,000 people over the fortnight, will serve local cuisine, feature live music performances and give guests the chance to meet athletes.
Other countries with hospitality houses include New Zealand, Sweden, Germany, France, Brazil and Ireland, with more to be confirmed.
OUTSIDE PARIS
Much of the sporting action is taking place within Paris, but there is plenty happening further afield. Soccer fans will want to add Nantes, Lyon and Bordeaux to their itinerary, with the regional cities hosting men’s and women’s matches. Bordeaux’s bars come alive at this time of year, which will only add to the lively atmosphere. It’s also worth escaping the city for a day trip to Cap Ferret, a coastal village in Arcachon Bay, about an hour’s drive from the famed wine capital. Rent a bike, explore sandy beaches and dine at restaurants serving pork pate, wines and oysters, a local delicacy.
Nantes, 350km north of Bordeaux, is known for its abundant green spaces, with 100 parks dotted throughout the city. In summer they resemble giant patchwork quilts as citizens and tourists picnic on the grass. Before joining them, pick up a selection of cheeses, smallgoods and pastries at Marche de Talensac, the city’s best fresh produce market.
Foodies should head straight to Lyon, France’s gastronomical capital. From the legendary pastry dishes at chez Paul Bocuse and Christophe Roure’s edible sculptures at Le Neuvieme Art to Takao Takano’s delicate Japanese fare, Michelin-starred restaurants are ubiquitous in the city and surrounds.
In southern France, Marseilles will be the hub for sailing competitions, including the dinghy, kitesurfing and skiff events. Crowds will converge on the Vieux Port, where waterfront restaurants along the Rue Commune serve bowls of fragrant bouillabaisse with crusty baguettes.