Paris Olympics 2024 Tips
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The Olympics starts in Paris, France on July 26 and runs until August 11, 2024. This will be followed by the Paralympics which runs from August 28, 2024, to September 8, 2024.
Aside from Surfing (see below), the games are being held in the French mainland in different cities.
Paris Olympic Competition Venues
Map is courtesy of the official Olympics Website
Be sure and check your tickets and the websites for the venues for times and transportation.
You can use the French ground transportation system to get around to the particular venues. There’s the SNCF Railway to the cities outside of Paris and the Metro and RER within the city.
Surfing
You should also know that in addition to events being held in Paris, there is also one event being held in Teahupo’o, Tahiti, French Polynesia (as it is a French Overseas Territory). That event is Surfing.
So this is a good excuse to get yourself to Tahiti :-). But be careful as it’s also summer so the flights will be pretty full, plus the accommodations will be more expensive than usual.
If you go and are looking for accommodations, it looks like the rooms on that island are sold out already, so try Papette.
The dates are from Saturday, July 27, 2024, to Wednesday, July 31, 2024.
Airlines Serving Papette (PPT)
The following airlines serves Papette:
Air Caledonie International (SB), Air Caraibes (TX), Air France (AF) – SkyTeam, Air Moana (NM), Air New Zealand (NZ), Air Rarotonga (GZ), Air Tahiti (VT), Air Tahiti Nui (TN), Frenchbee (BF), Hawaiian Airlines (HA) and United Airlines (UA) – Star Alliance.
How Can I Get Tickets?
You can get tickets from the official ticketing website. You can use the Ticketing App to get available tickets on the day of the day of the games. Download the App from the Olympics website.
Seems like I always get hockey or volleyball tickets 🙂 at the Summer or the Winter Olympics :-). For me, it doesn’t matter what tickets I get as it’s so much fun. Of course, I wanted swimming tickets, but that has never happened :-).
If you have tickets you can look here for additional information as to what to expect.
Good luck.
Safety In Paris
Paris does have pickpockets on the trains, so be careful. I was in Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport and one of them distracted me while the other tried to insert his hands into my friends handbag. Luckily, we figured out what was going on soon enough and they exited the train just before the doors closed.
Be additionally vigilant as there will be a lot of people around.
Airports
There are three airports serving Paris, France.
- Paris-Beauvais (BVG)
- Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG)
- Paris-Orly (ORY)
Orly is considered the domestic airport, however, it does have international flights. As a matter of fact, Frenchbee is hubbed here and has flights to the U.S.
Almost every major worldwide airline serves Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG).
Ground Transportation
Both CDG and ORY are accessible by Paris’ public trains (RER) and Metro, so it’s pretty easy to get around. The RER will take you to the long-distance trains at Gare de Nord and Gare Montparnasse to name two of the large train stations.
You can purchase day passes at the airport’s train station in CDG and Orly.
Paris-Montparnasse Station
BVA, however, is accessible by bus which will take you to Paris.
I suggest stopping by the Metro/RER ticket booth, advise the agent of your plans and they will tell you the best plan of action. Note that there will perhaps be a very long line, but stick with it unless you know what you want. If so, then just use the kiosk and buy your ticket.
You can buy a ticket for each ride or purchase a day pass or a pass for a select number of days.
Paris By Bus
To get into Paris by bus, you will be routed to the Paris-Bercy bus station. From there you can walk to the Metro, then make your way into the center of Paris.
Accommodations
It will be difficult to find places to stay due to the volume of people and it’s summer and Paris is usually busy for summer anyway.
Consider staying outside of the city and taking the SNCF (regional trains) in. yes, it will add additional time to your day, but it may be worth it.
Also, remember that not all the games are being held in Paris itself, so consider staying in the city where the matches are being held. You can even fly into Belgium as basketball is close to the Belgium border.
Here is a map to book hotels if you’d like.
Things To Do In Paris
It’s Paris, so there’s lots to do.
Here are three sources for you:
- 100+ Free Things To Do In Paris – note that some of these may not be available due to the Games.
- 10in24.com, a website that will give you a list of things to do
- Viator, which will give you a list of paid attractions.