Live well. Eat well. Travel well.

Finally back from a trip to remember. First time attending the Olympics in a city I have been multiple times.

Took a chance on French Bee airlines (I will share my experience with this airline in a separate post… so keep an eye on it) arriving the same day the Olympics opening ceremony which I had tickets for. Beyond grateful that everything went well as planned!

I was in Paris for 6 days and 5 nights. Stayed in Holiday Inn Paris Opera in the 9th arrondissement. I was able to acquire the max tickets allowed which is 30 per account. 6 per event except for opening ceremony and finals, which is 4 per account. They are as follows:

• Opening Ceremony – Category E: 4 tickets at €90 each
• Concorde Urban Project – Standard: 6 tickets at €24 each
• Skateboarding – Category D: 4 tickets at €24 each
• Skateboarding – Category A: 2 tickets at €120 each
• Swimming – Category D: 6 tickets at €24 each
• Beach Volleyball – Category C: 6 tickets at €95 each

All tickets were digital with an option to purchase souvenir tickets that will be delivered after the Olympics, which I added to the order for some events. It was an additional €8.97 each plus 1.5% processing fee plus €9.99 shipping. Those are still to be delivered so I hope ordering them is worth it.

There were 3 different apps used, which was a little confusing at first and took me a while to get used to but they were all useful in their own ways.

Anyway, let me break down my experience with each of the events.

July 26th, Friday – Opening Ceremony

Our flight landed in Orly around 11AM (earlier than the expected 11:55AM). With the ceremony starting at 7:30 PM and gates opening 3 hours before the event, technically we have more or less 5 hours to: checkin; have lunch; freshen up; and figure out transportation directions before we need to be in line for the event.

Paris was “empty” as our taxi took us to our hotel, crossing the Seine… not a lot of folks walking around and not much traffic due to the fact that a Pass Jeux or a permit was needed throughout the day on the areas near the opening ceremony route whether you’re traveling by foot, bike, or car. Taxis get to use a special lane.

We checked in around 12:30 PM when regular checkin is at 4:00 PM, so our rooms were not yet ready. We had our luggage held at the lobby while we roam around and have a quick lunch. Around 3:00 PM we were able to get in our rooms to freshen up.

The Paris 2024 Transport app was the reliable map during the opening ceremony since it had the updated schedule of metro closures. We then headed to Gare d’Austerlitz station. It was a quick 17 min trip including the walks and metro ride.

We arrived close to 4:00 PM and there were lots in line and the gate wasn’t even open. It was around 4:30 when they opened the gates. After 3 checkpoints (security bag check, ticket check and another security check, and then ticket scan), we were able to find a spot to watch the opening ceremony by 5:30 PM.

The opening ceremony started promptly with the boat parades, fireworks, jets flying over spewing colored smokes displaying shapes and France colors, and a whole lot of entertainment including prerecorded and live performances.

It started with a sprinkle and later on poured. We were drenched by the time the United States boat showed up, which was around 9:15 PM then we left since we were soaked and uncomfortable already. We went back close to our hotel to find a place to eat and watch the rest of the opening ceremony. It lasted until about 11:30 PM.

It was an amazing experience seeing everyone cheer for their own country or their country of choice. For countries that have a few delegations that didn’t fill the boat, it was nice that they were grouped with others so they are still on a big boat.

July 28th, Sunday – Concorde Urban Project and Women’s Preliminary Skateboarding

After having a full free day to relax, we had an early start on Sunday. Skateboarding was scheduled for 12noon while the Concorde Urban Project was at 10:30 AM. I believe the latter was the only one that did not open 3 hours before the event. It opened right on the actual start time so we had to change plans… instead pf roaming around the grounds, we went straight to skateboarding.

It started with a line while gates weren’t open yet. Lo and behold, when the gates opened… it was chaotic. There were 4 games in the park and those that only had the park ticket… all of ticket holders have to go through the same 2 checkpoints and only get separated based on event ticket by the third checkpoint. Everybody was just trying to pass through the first gate for bag check. Then had to walk again through second checkpoint when they ask you for any drinks you brought. If you had a bottle, you must have a sip first before they let you in. Third checkpoint was the ticket scanning.

We got to our access point around 10:30AM and did not get in until almost noon. We had a few minutes to order food and drinks before the skateboarding event starts. By the time we got to our seats, Heat 1 already started so we missed a couple athletes do their trick, including Coco from Japan who won the gold.

It was so humid and hot that we felt miserable sitting under the sun. Although, we stayed and watched the tricks until intermissions. From our seats we were able to view 3×3 basketball and cycling.

July 29th, Monday

We had 2 tickets scheduled for Monday. One is for swimming in the morning then evening was beach volleyball.

Swimming

Swimming was at La Defense arena at 11:00 AM. The checkin process was so smooth compared to the other 2 we have already attended. We took our time for breakfast and by the time we got out of our metro/RER stop, it was already 10:40AM. We were surprised by 10:55 AM, we were already in our seats. Security checkpoints and directions were efficient and clear.

The relays started on time. It was scheduled to end at 1:00 PM but it ended way early. I guess swimmers were really fast that by 12:20 PM l, we were already out the stadium.

Beach Volleyball

This was the last event we had tickets for and the most awaited since it’s in a temporary stadium with the Eiffel Tower in the background. The event was scheduled to start at 8:00 PM. We got out the metro by 7:20 PM and walked about 15 minutes to our entrance. It wasn’t an organized line… squeeze in until you get filtered through the gate.

We were finally in by 7:45PM and were able to get refreshments and snacks before we went to our seats. By 8:00PM, we were seated just in time.

The atmosphere was the best out of all the events we attended. There was a DJ that encouraged everybody to cheer and participate to whatever was going on. There was also a light show just before the third match played.

The Eiffel Tower started to sparkle at 10:00 PM when France won the match vs Germany. The last match was USA and Australia. It ended with USA winning, just a minute before 11:00 PM when the next light sparkles the Eiffel Tower. It was an amazing sight to see!

Overall, it was an experience to remember and it might just be the start of looking forward to the next Olympics planning!