Paris Tourist Sites Featured At The Olympic Stadiums
Curious about which iconic Parisian sites are being used for the Olympics this summer? L'OFFICIEL has you covered.
Hosting the Olympics is a major event for any city, and it takes months, and sometimes years, of work to prepare. This year, Paris is hosting the Summer Olympics and the city is ready to show off its reputation to the world. Tourists have always favored Paris for its beauty and history, with royal palaces and opulent architecture around every corner. The Paris Olympics will use iconic spots like the Eiffel Tower and the Grand Palais for the Olympic Games themselves, placing athletes in epicenters of fashion and art.
Paris won't be able to maintain most of their Olympic facilities after the games, so the city has largely opted for temporary options. One of the goals of the Paris Olympics has been to incorporate each sport into the historical setting of the city as thoroughly as possible, so popular spots like Versailles will be hosting various events. "From the early stages of bidding for the Games, Paris 2024 wanted to enable urban sports to become established in their natural environment, away from stadiums, at the heart of the city," the Olympic Committee explains on its website.
There are some cities that have kept their Olympic Villages intact after hosting, repurposing them into functional sporting facilities. For example, Lake Placid, New York still has its Olympic Center and other facilities from the 1980 Olympics open to the public. Tourists can learn how to ice skate where the same rink where the "Miracle on Ice" happened. In other places, Olympic facilities get abandoned and left alone to decay, like the aquatic center in Athens for the 2004 Olympics.
Because of the sheer number of historic areas and tourist attractions that the city is incorporating into the games this year, it wouldn't be possible to keep the Olympic facilities set up in the same places forever. All of the temporary facilities will be fully restored after the Olympics take place.
As you get ready to watch your favorite athletes compete, familiarize yourself with Paris's beloved tourist attractions that will serve as the stage for this year's Olympics with L'OFFICIEL's list of venues to visit.
The Eiffel Tower
Located right beside the Eiffel Tower, a public park called the Champ de Mars has always been a popular picnic and hang-out spot for Parisians. People often spend time in the park to watch fireworks, attend concerts, or watch football games with a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower behind them. For the 2024 Olympics, a temporary outdoor stadium will be erected in the Champ de Mars for the beach volleyball competitions.
The Seine
There has been a lot of buzz surrounding the water events at the Olympics ever since it was announced that athletes would be competing in the Seine, the river running through Paris. The French government has made an immense effort to clean the river, and the river itself will be used for triathlons and the swimming marathon. Specifically, the famous, fabulously opulent Pont Alexandre III bridge will be used as the finish line for these events. Fans will be able to watch the games from temporary stands set up on the banks of the Seine and the bridge itself.
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles, famously the historical home of King Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette, located just outside of Paris, will be used for equestrian events and pentathlon events. The gardens at Versailles draw large groups of tourists every day due to their beauty and scale. Just like the other event spaces for the Olympics, the temporary facilities set up at Versailles will be taken down after the games in order to preserve its historical splendor.
Invalides
Hôtel des Invalides, which was built in 1687 as a military hospital and a home for veterans, is a beautiful building and popular monument in Paris. Just outside the walls of the architectural marvel, there is a large lawn called the Esplanade des Invalides, a spot that is preferred among Parisians and tourists alike to enjoy some nature in the middle of the crowded city. The Esplanade des Invalides will be used during the Olympics for archery events.
Grand Palais
The Grand Palais, known for its iconic glass roof, will be used to host the fencing and taekwondo events in the Olympics. The Grand Palais was built for the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1900, and it has continued to host a number of exhibitions and events over the years.
La Concorde
The Place de la Concorde is a large public square in Paris, known as the site where Marie Antoinette was executed during the French Revolution. It is located right off of the Champs-Élysées, a popular shopping destination for tourists. At this year's Olympics, it will be used for several new events that the organizing committee has decided to add this year like BMX freestyle, skateboarding and 3x3 basketball.
Hôtel de Ville
Paris's city hall, the Hôtel de Ville, will be used to host this year's Olympic marathon. The Hôtel de Ville is a massive building that has been used as the city hall since 1357, and the square in front of it is a popular place for exhibitions, concerts and other large-scale events over the years. This summer, marathon runners will compete in this square and have the city's center as the backdrop to their competition.
