I quit my job at the LA Olympics in 2023, but funnily enough my boyfriend ended up working with the Paris Olympics in 2024. So through a strange twist of fate, I ended up going to Paris for the Olympic Games (and for my boyfriend’s birthday).

I had visited Paris once before when I was about 11 and remember it being hot and crowded. I was scared this trip would be insanely crowded and overrun with tourists, but I found Paris to be delightful and even quiet at times! While some of the areas near the Olympic events were a bit packed, the rest of the city was pleasant. There were no lines to get anywhere, no waiting for tables. Most of the Parisians had left the city and the Olympic tourists were not a loud, drunk crowd. It was also insanely easy to get into the city via the 2.5 hour Eurostar train from central London.

Olympics

The Olympics! We attended two events - the men’s skateboard park final and the women’s bronze medal team table tennis match. There were pros and cons to attending the live Olympic events. The energy in the stadium was fantastic with lots of country flags and pretty much everyone cheered for everyone. Definitely good vibes in the crowds! The only downside was that we weren’t able to hear the commentary and backstory about the athletes like we do on television, so it felt like a bit of context was missing.

One of the coolest events held while we were in Paris was the Marathon Pour Tous. Non-Olympic athletes were given the opportunity to run the Olympic marathon course. My boyfriend manages a singer, Harry Hudson, and Harry and his brother Remy were invited to run Marathon Pour Tous by the IOC. The marathon had 20K people and started at 10pm. 20K people running 26 miles at 10pm?! Couldn’t be me. But what an incredible opportunity and stunning course! We headed to the finish line around 3am to cheer Harry and Remy on as they finished and finally made it home around 5am — just in time to get a few hours sleep before our train ride to Switzerland!

Sightseeing

One unexpected benefit of visiting Paris during the Olympics was the lack of tourists at major attractions. I hadn’t initially planned a bunch of things to do in Paris because I guessed everything would be insanely busy. However it seemed everyone had a pretty packed schedule with the various Olympic events throughout the day, so nothing ever seemed that crowded.

My absolute favorite spot was the 13th century chapel Sainte-Chapelle. I audibly gasped after walking into this place. It is unlike anything I’ve ever seen! The level of detail was just unreal and I can’t imagine the amount of work it took to construct it. The chapel is small and only requires about a 15-30 minute visit, but it is absolutely worth visiting.

Along with Sainte-Chapelle, we also walked by the Louvre (sup Mona Lisa), visited the famous bookstore Shakespeare and Company (no line to get in when we went on Friday at 5pm), sat on the bleachers outside Notre Dame Cathedral (still under construction at the time of this writing), and spent a good chunk of time in the Picasso Museum gift shop (the budget alternative to paying for museum tickets…). We also stopped by the beautiful Hotel Costes for a drink (aka ginger beer) late one evening. I have never seen such a wealthy looking crowd as I did walking into that dining room. JUST WOW.

Paris is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever visited and I loved just walking around aimlessly, constantly looking up at the stunning old architecture.

Dining

We started every day with — you guessed it — croissants from our closest bakery, Petite Île Boulangerie. They also served coffee but it looked like it came out of an automated machine, so we opted to explore the options nearby. Our favorite coffee was actually from Typica, conveniently located next door. I also enjoyed the coffee at a bunch of nearby spots - Dreamin Man (tiny, tiny cafe), Los Andes (walk-up counter), Fauna (where I SWEAR I saw Norwegian Olympian runner Jakob Ingebrigtsen), and Fringe.

Beyond pastries, we had some excellent meals at Chez Elo (incredible ham & cheese sandwich and a wonderful chocolate chip cookie) and Kuccini (carbonara and gnocchi were a hit). We dined at L’Avenue one night which was not my vibe, but the Le Tigre steak there with cilantro was a TREAT.

Clean water was available throughout the city for refilling water bottles. I used this water location website to locate them.

Lodging

We stayed in the 3rd Arrondissement at 1K Hotel which ended up being great because the area was full of shops, cafes, restaurants, and it rarely felt crowded. The hotel had a Peruvian restaurant, Inka, where we dined one night and had delicious chicken tacos and a solid ceviche. Their basil drink was 10/10. The hotel also had a mezcal speakeasy, which we did not explore but it seemed to draw in a big crowd as people were constantly coming and going through the kitchen. Friends were staying at nearby Hotel Sinner, which had a STUNNING lobby with these red-orange chairs that I cannot stop thinking about.