25 Places in Paris to Watch the Olympics – That Aren’t the Venues

There’s more than one way to skin a cat – which is a horrible saying, so we’re sorry – and similarly, there’s absolutely more than one way to pull together an unforgettable trip to Paris for this summer’s Olympic Games. You can go all in, of course, with tickets to watch the action every day that you’re there (if you’re lucky enough to get your paws on them!), or you can mix and match, supplementing your days within the Olympic bubble with ‘off’ days spent exploring and soaking up the city’s inimitable cultural scene. But there’s another way to do things, too – and it’s one that’ll allow you to feel the Olympic buzz around Paris even if you don’t have a single ticket to your name.

Enter the Paris 2024 Fan Zones. There’ll be nearly 250 of these set up across France, but the main concentration of them is across Paris and its suburbs. These fan zones are free to access, and will host big-screen live showings of the day’s biggest competitions – though there’s no confirmation, just yet, whether fans can head to specific zones to watch specific sports – as well as food and drinks, and activities, including some have-a-go sport stations, and, in some cases, live music.

Every arrondissement, or neighbourhood, will play host to at least one fan zone, with the notable exception of the hugely popular seventh. But for folks staying in that area, never fear: you can either head to the major fan hub at Trocadero, just across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower, or tiptoe over the border into the sixth, where the charismatic Place Saint-Sulpice will host a zone.

Not all fan zones are created equal, though, and while all will offer a brilliant place to get stuck into the beating heart of the Olympics – and explore Paris’s churches, parks, cultural centres, and town halls – there’s a couple that have some exciting additional offerings on the programme.

Chief among these is the Champions Park at Trocadéro, which overlooks the Tour d’Eiffel and which will host around 15,000 fans per day. Here, you’ll be able to access grandstand seating and watch live broadcasts of finals – and you’ll get to celebrate with Olympic medal winners themselves, who’ll take part in a high-octane parade through the venue the day after their medal ceremonies. The Champions Park is, like all the fan zones, free to access, and will be open from 4.00 p.m. to 11.30 p.m. each day from July 29 to August 10, though it will be shut on August 2 and 4.

The mothership of the fan zones will be the Grande Halle de la Villette, which will be open from 10.00 a.m. til 2.00 a.m. from late July until early September – or, in other words, the entirety of the Games. Every inch of the 55-hectare park will be devoted to providing the full Olympic experience to an estimated 700,000 fans over the course of the Games – there’ll be multiple big screens broadcasting an array of sports, chances to meet athletes from all disciplines, demonstrations to watch, opportunities to try your hand at a plethora of sports, as well as plenty of food options and cultural events, too.

The Terrasse des Jeux at the Hôtel de Ville is also an all-singing, all-dancing – quite literally – hub. Here, you’ll find two big screens, workshops and demonstrations spanning sport, culture, and social and environmental issues, as well as a raised relaxation terrace that’ll give you unrivalled views over the Seine and Notre Dame. There’s six sports areas for trying out a variety of disciplines, including a climbing wall, and there’s a huge focus on Paris’s broad array of dance troupes on the performance schedule. The best bit about the Terrasse, though? It’s fully accessible and has special events on the programme that are intended for people of differing physical abilities and a programme for seniors, too. It’ll be open from July 14 until mid-September, and during the Games, you can pop in every day from 10.00 a.m. to midnight.

Here's the full list of planned zones and their locations, plus their nearest Metro stations:

• 1^st arrondissement: Quartier Jeunes (Metro: Louvre-Rivoli, line 1)
• 2^nd arrondissement: La Fabrique de la Solidarité (Metro: Bourse, line 3, or Pyramides – a ten minute walk, roughly, but accessible from lines 7 and 14)
• 3^rd arrondissement : Hôtel de Ville (Metro: Hôtel de Ville, lines 1 and 11)
• 4^th arrondissement: Académie du Climat (Metro: Hôtel de Ville, lines 1 and 11, or Saint-Paul, line 1, or Pont Marie, line 7)
• 4^th arrondissement: Parc Rives de Seine (Metro: Pont Neuf, line 7, or Cité, line 4)
• 5^th arrondissement: Arènes de Lutèce (Metro: Cardinal Lemoine, line 10, or Place Monge, line 7)
• 6^th arrondissement: Place Saint-Sulpice (Metro: Saint-Germain-des-Pres, line 4, or Mabillon, line 10)
• 8^th arrondissement: Parc Monceau (Metro: Monceau, line 2)
• 9^th arrondissement: Mairie du 9e (Metro: Richelieu-Drouot, lines 8 and 9)
• 10^th arrondissement: Grange aux Belles (Metro: Colonel Fabien, line 2)
• 10^th arrondissement: Canal Saint-Martin (Metro: Goncourt, line 11, or République, lines 3, 5, 8, 9, and 11)
• 11^th arrondissement: Mairie du 11e (Metro: Voltaire, line 9)
• 12^th arrondissement: Allée Vivaldi (Metro: Montgallet, line 8, or Dugommier, line 6)
• 13^th arrondissement: Parc de Choisy (Metro: Tolbiac, line 7)
• 14^th arrondissement: Complexe sportif Elisabeth (Metro: Porte d’Orleans, line 4)
• 15^th arrondissement: Mairie du 15e (Metro: Vaugirard, line 12)
• 16^th arrondissement: Trocadéro Champions Park (Metro: Trocadéro, lines 6 and 9, or to avoid the throngs, it’s a short walk up from Passy, line 6, or from the RER C line at Champ de Mars, just across the river)
• 16^th arrondissement: Parc Sainte-Périne (Metro: Chardon Lagache, line 10)
• 17^th arrondissement: Parc Clichy Batignolles Martin Luther-King (Metro: Brochant, line 13, or Porte de Clichy, lines 13, 14, and RER C, or Pont Cardinet, lines 14 or L)
• 18^th arrondissement: Square Léon Serpollet (Metro: Lamarck-Caulaincourt, line 12)
• 18^th arrondissement: Jardins d’Éole (Metro: Riquet, line 7, or La Chapelle, line 2)
• 19^th arrondissement: Parc de la Villette Club France (Metro: Porte de Pantin, line 5)
• 19^th arrondissement: Bassin de la Villette (Metro: Laumiére, line 5)
• 19^th arrondissement: Place Stalingrad (Metro: Jaurés, lines 2, 6 or 7B)
• 20^th arrondissement: Louis Lumière sports complex (Metro: Porte de Bagnolet, line 3, or Porte de Montreuil, line 9)

Staying outside the city centre for the Olympics? You, too, will be able to access some jam-packed fan zones in the Île-de-France region, even if you don’t fancy venturing into town. There are 13 of these planned currently, and the closest to Versailles is Club 2024, hosted at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines leisure island. That’s just 12km west of the town of Versailles, or 25 minutes or so by car, or you can take the N or U train, or the RER C, from Versailles to Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines station and walk about 20 minutes or so to get to the park.

Actually, though, walking from the station is probably the last option you’ll be likely to take, because Yvelines is so well-served by fun ways to get around. You can hire a bike at the station, or you can jump on the new automated, totally free shuttle system, which covers a 2km loop around the town and can take you to the fan zone or to one of the multiple Olympic venues in the immediate area.

The fan zone, which will be set up much like a festival site, and will feature screens, performances, plenty of food options, workshops, yoga classes, a roller-disco, a dojo, shopping, and some late-night DJ sets, will be open from July 27 to August 11.