As Paris, the City of Light, prepares to host the 2024 Olympics, many of the capital city’s iconic landmarks are being polished up and retooled in preparation for their starring role in what promises to be the most watched event of the year. Though the French capital previously hosted the Olympics in 1900 and 1924, when the 33rd edition of the Olympic Summer Games take over the city from July 6 – August 11, a century since being last held in the post-card perfect destination, they will look like no other Olympic Games ever held before. For what can outshine Paris better than Paris itself? 

Adopting a novel approach to the quadrennial sporting mega-event, Paris 2024 aims to reimagine the Olympic experience by departing from traditional stadium venues and integrating sports into the very fabric of the city. To this end, a full 80 percent of competition venues, hosting 22 sports, will be located within a 6-mile radius of the Olympic Village, which will itself be anchored a convenient 4 miles north of the center of Paris and just over a mile from the famed Stade de France. 

Moreover, the Paris 2024 Games will embrace not only the heart of Paris, but the whole of France celebrating the country’s many regions as well as its rich and diverse heritage. The football tournament, for example, will be played at six stadiums in other regions across France: Bordeaux, Nantes, Lyon, Saint-Etienne, Nice and Marseille, while the handball’s final phases’ games will be played in Lille, along with the basketball qualifications’ games, as sailing heads to Marseille. Meanwhile, for the first time in history, the Games will even benefit overseas territories and their communities, with Teahupo’o in Tahiti set to stage the Olympic surfing competition against the idyllic backdrop of the magnificent waves that have brought the island acclaim the world over. 

With the Games just over the horizon, here is a look at just a few of the showstopping venues set to take center stage at the Paris 2024 Olympics this summer. 

Paris Olympics 2024: The Venues 

Paris: The Seine 

Obviously, Paris is the host of the 2024 Olympics. However, in keeping with the mission to incorporate the Games seamlessly into the tapestry of the city, the French capital and its famed Seine River will both serve as venues in their own right for the upcoming Paris 2024 Games. 

Breaking with convention, the opening ceremony for this year’s Games will take place not in a stadium but in the heart of Paris, along its main artery, the Seine. The ceremony’s parade of athletes will be held on the City of Light’s most renowned waterway, with boats for each national delegation, equipped with cameras to allow television and online viewers to see the athletes up close. Wending their way from east to west, the 10,500 athletes will cross through the center of Paris, ultimately landing in the overall playing field for the Games in Trocadéro. Moreover, eighty giant screens and strategically placed speakers will allow all attendees to partake in the surreal atmosphere of this show which will reverberate throughout the city’s streets. 

Set to become the largest ever held in the history of the Games, the opening ceremony for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics will be open to all with no admission fee for most its spectators, in what is yet another first for this year’s event. 

Eiffel Tower Stadium/Champ de Mars Arena 

What better way to simultaneously celebrate the 2024 Olympic Games and Paris than to incorporate the city’s most prominent, recognizable and symbolic landmark, the Eiffel Tower? 

While the Eiffel Tower will provide a memorable setting for both the men’s and women’s beach volleyball tournaments which will take place in the open air right next to the Iron Lady, the Champ de Mars Arena, a 100,000 square foot temporary building located on the famous grassy lawns between the Eiffel Tower and the École Militaire, will host the judo and wrestling competitions. 

Palace of Versailles 

The Palace of Versailles, or the Château de Versailles as it is formally known, was originally built as a hunting lodge for King Louis XIII, before being transformed into an awe-inspiring palace by his son, Louis XIV throughout much of the 17th and 18th centuries. It has since become an enduring symbol of French opulence and grandeur and, for the Paris 2024 Games this UNESCO World Heritage site, with its sprawling gardens and ornate architecture, will find new life as an Olympic venue. 

This summer, the former royal residence will host equestrian and modern pentathlon events held in a temporary venue located in the sumptuous garden of the Palace and will also be seen by marathon runners as the route of the 42,195km race weaves from Paris to Versailles and back to Paris in honor of the Women’s March on Versailles, a protest during the French Revolution. 

Place de la Concorde 

Place de la Concorde, one of the most notable public squares in Paris, has, throughout history, borne witness to innumerable significant events and national celebrations, including the victory celebrations at the end of the First World War and the Liberation of Paris in WWII. It is also the home to the Luxor Obelisk, the oldest monument in Paris. 

In the shadows of history, old will meet new, as all urban sports, from 3×3 basketball and breaking to BMX freestyle and skateboarding, converge in a temporary urban park erected in the fabled square. 

The Grand Palais 

Built for the Exposition Universelle in 1900, the Grand Palais, a stunning glass and steel structure designed by renowned architect Henri Deglane, is a love letter to the grandeur of the Belle Époque era. Currently in use as a museum, art gallery, exhibition and concert hall, for the Paris 2024 Games it will serve as the venue for fencing and taekwondo events. 

Stade de France 

With a seating capacity of nearly 80,000, the Stade de France, located in the suburb of Saint-Denis, is not only the largest and most well-known stadium in France, but also among the largest stadiums in all of Europe. For more than two decades, the state-of-the-art facility has witnessed historic sporting moments, including the 1998 men’s FIFA World Cup. This summer the arena will provide an electric setting for yet more history as it hosts the closing ceremony for the 2024 Olympics, as well as the rugby sevens and several athletics events, including track and field. 

Roland Garros Stadium 

Named in memory of French aviator Roland Garros, the high temple of tennis has provided a showcase for some of the most mythical moments in tennis history over the 95 years it has hosted the French Open. Spread over nearly 30 acres and 18 clay courts, the stadium’s Simonne Mathieu and Suzanne Lenglen Courts will host tennis events at the Paris 2024 Games, while the Philippe Chatrier Court will host both boxing and tennis. 

Beyond the Olympic venues, there is, of course, much to see and do in Paris this summer. From exploring the city’s seminal icons, encompassing the Arc de Triomphe, the Sacré-Cœur Basilica, the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Eiffel Tower, to sampling its celebrated gastronomy scene, complete with everything from Michelin-starred eateries to chic local cafés and tantalizing street food markets, Paris earns its reputation as one of the world’s most fascinating cities in spades. 

Throw in the City of Light’s unparalleled museums like the Louvre, the world’s most-visited museum wherein resides Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo amid a multitude of other treasures; the Musée d’Orsay, with its outstanding collection of Impressionist paintings by Monet, Renoir and Cezanne, among others; and the Centre Pompidou (also known as Beaubourg), with its impressive collection of modern and contemporary art, and visitors to Paris will find themselves spoilt for choice during this summer’s Olympic festivities.  

Likewise, a stroll or a cruise along the romantic and arresting River Seine, a shopping excursion on the fabulous Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, an exploration of the mysterious Paris catacombs or a languid afternoon lounging about Paris’s beautifully maintained public parks like Bois de Vincennes and Bois de Boulogne, are also among the excellent diversions without which no visit to the French capital would be complete. 

The 2024 Olympics in Paris will be more than just a sporting event; they will be a celebration of human achievement set amidst captivating and historic landmarks, exquisite cuisine, and enough memorable experiences to last a lifetime. Whether you’re a sports enthusiast, an art aficionado, or a devoted Francophile, Paris has something magical on tap this summer that will both delight and inspire. So why not soak in the spirit of competition, explore the city and, as the French say, laissez le bon temps rouler (let the good times roll)? 

Let the games begin.