Things to do in Paris during the 2024 Olympics
Paris is your playground during the 2024 Olympics. Ok sure, maybe you failed to bag a ticket for those coveted beach volleyball games in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, but there are still plenty of things to do in Paris during the 2024 Olympics. Admittedly, at time of writing, there are very few tickets left for Olympic events in central Paris, though you can still find plenty for football matches and more at outlying stadiums.
There are rather more available for the Paralympics, which runs from August 28th and September 8th and includes the likes of wheelchair rugby at the Champ de Mars Arena and archery at Les Invalides. Check out our guide to the various 2024 Olympic venues and find remaining available tickets here.
With so many of the games taking place in view of the city’s architectural landmarks – the Eiffel Tower, Grand Palais and Place de la Concorde among them – there are plenty of ways to get close to the action without paying for the privilege. Read on for our guide to some of the best things to see and do during the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Catch the Opening Ceremony
The official opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics will break with tradition by taking place outside the confines of a stadium. Instead, this year, a biblical flotilla of vessels will flood the Seine, transforming the four-mile journey between the Jardin de Tuileries and Trocadéro plaza into a carnival of color, sound and – most probably – fireworks. Hundreds of thousands of spectators are expected to fill the quays and bridges, with remaining tickets changing hands for an eye-watering €2,700 (nearly $3,000)!
But you won’t have to mortgage a kidney to experience the electric party atmosphere: access to the upper banks is free and, though your view may be (shall we say) limited, the 80 giant screens located along the course mean you and your fellow partygoers won’t have to miss a moment.
Further Olympic Fun
A vast amount of clever planning for the Paris 2024 Olympics will transform the city center into one big playground. Hit up spots including Parc de la Villette, one of the largest green spaces in Paris, where Club France will be headquartered during the Games and athletes and fans alike will be able to come together and cheer on the Games on giant screens. Villette is something of a cultural mecca, packed with theaters, concert halls and cool museums, not to mention a series of 26 metal sculptures by architect Bernard Tschumi, meaning there’s still plenty to do if the Olympics ain’t your bag.
You can also catch some of the action live (and for free) courtesy of events like the marathon, taking place on August 10th (men’s race) and 11th (women’s race). The decision to break with tradition and close the Games with the women’s marathon rather than the men’s is symbolic, with the route from the Hôtel de Ville to Versailles and back recognizing a key moment from the French Revolution: that of the Women’s March on Versailles on October 5th, 1789. You can catch the action from various viewpoints along the route. Head out of town to Parc des Marnes in pretty Marnes-la-Coquette to cheer the runners on their way to Versailles, then stroll east along the Seine to catch them arriving back in town.
Unleash Your Inner Athlete
You don’t have to be an Olympic athlete to get involved in Paris’s plethora of outdoor pursuits. Whether it's pétanque that tickles your pickle or boating that, um floats your boat, we’ve got the sporting activity for you. Disclaimer: we may be using the term ‘sporting’ rather loosely here.
Sure, you might not be quite as speedy as the riders at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Vélodrome, but whizzing around Paris on two wheels is a great way to see the city. Simply rent a bike via the excellent Vélib' Métropole system, and set off on romantic meanders alongside picturesque Canal Saint-Martin, or on serious sightseeing sprees, taking in the Louvre, Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Latin Quarter and more in and around the banks of the Seine.
Take on local hipsters and elderly stalwarts at the ancient boule-throwing art of pétanque in scenic locations around the city, including Luxembourg Gardens and Place de la Nation. It’s a great way to get to know the locals and while away a warm summer evening, but watch out for those deadeye old folks – they’ve been playing this game for decades so under no circumstances should you accept that wager!
More placid still is the popular pastime of renting old-school toy wooden boats to sail on the Grand Bassin lake at the Palais de Luxembourg. Head down on a Sunday, when the Luxembourg Nautical Club join in the fun with their flotilla of (silent) motor boats and submarines. Or get on board yourself: electric vessels are available to rent by the day for excursions on the likes of Canal de l'Ourcq and Canal Saint-Martin, and you can take rowboats out onto the lake at beautiful Bois du Boulogne.
Best of the Rest
Paris’s attractions remain well and truly open for business throughout the 2024 Olympics, meaning there are plenty of things to do that aren’t in any way sport-related. For example, you could grab the opportunity to catch some of the planet’s finest art. We’re talking the Mona Lisa herself at the mighty Louvre Museum, the world’s largest collection of Impressionist masterpieces in Musée d’Orsay, a plethora of Picasso pieces at the self-explanatory Picasso Museum, and the Rodin Museum’s really rather extraordinary sculpture garden (pictured above).
Or turn shopping into a national sport with sprints along the Champs-Elysées and credit card-swiping marathons at the legendary Galeries Lafayette and atmospheric 19th-century shopping arcades.
Finally, there's no sport more Parisian than perching yourself elegantly at a sidewalk café, and peering judgmentally at passers-by through Jackie O-sized sunglasses as you nurse your croissant and café crème. Overflowing ashtray of lipstick-stained cigarette butts optional.
Many of these fine Parisian pursuits are included with a Paris Pass, giving you access to dozens of great things to do in Paris during the 2024 Olympic Games.
Check out our guide to getting around Paris during the Olympics here.
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