Thinking of Traveling to Paris for the 2024 Olympics? A Word of Advice - Don’t.
Since moving to Paris in 2021, every couple of weeks – I’ve taken a walk to a grocery store on the other side of Champs des Mars and passed a homeless man at the corner.
Over the past couple of years, I caught myself cracking a soft smile every time I passed his set-up: stacked high with books and nestled by food given to him from strangers on the street.
One time, I even saw a few high school aged kids sitting in a semi-circle surrounding him – encapsulated as he read from one of his many stories.
But the last time I walked by his corner, he was gone.
After meeting a friend outside a café around the corner of my apartment, she told me that Paris had started kicking homeless people out of the streets prior to the 2024 Olympics – presumably in order to keep up a good image of the city for the millions of tourists expected to visit.
I had an uncomfortable twinge that twisted itself into a knot at the pit of my stomach. I knew, whether I wanted to accept it or not, that “homeless guy with the books” had been taken away – and I felt a desolate lack of control as I began to worry about what had happened to him.
This is just the start to a long list of the out-of-hand circumstances that have started to loom over Paris before the 2024 Olympics kick off this summer.
View of the Eiffel Tower from the top of Le Sacré-Cœur in Montmarte; March 2022
Anyone who lives in Paris can tell you that summer is one of the best times in the city. Parisians come out from their frigid hibernation, our six-month-long white skies finally clear, and the city finally feels like it has a pulse again as people return to strolling the streets to bask in the renewed longer hours of the day.
The 2024 Olympics, set to take place this summer, is incentivizing people to book European escapes in order to make the most of their trip – but even as a lover of the city and an adopted Parisian myself, I can’t say I’m looking forward to the boost in visitors this summer.
If you didn’t already know, Paris is the most visited city in the world – bringing in almost 45 million visitors in 2022 alone. In fact, France itself was the most visited country in the world in 2023 – a number bound to increase as we inch towards the Olympics.
Paris isn’t a stranger to tourists, but saying that visiting the country during the Olympics will be different this summer is a drastic understatement.
According to Forbes, 11 million visitors will be attracted to the city during the games – and as Paris is already facing a housing crisis on its own, this is a massive cause for concern for both tourists and residents alike.
View of Paris from Le Centre Pompidou in May 2019
A city notorious for giving newcomers and long-time quasi-Parisians alike a tough time finding housing shouldn’t be ready to welcome millions of people with open arms. All of the AirBnB’s, hotels, and other short-term accommodations should be kept available for those already living in Paris searching for a more permanent place to live.
It isn’t just finding accommodation during the games that will prove miserable – but enjoying the city while you’re here could be an uphill battle, too.
Transportation will be more expensive than ever before in Paris, with metro prices skyrocketing to €4 for a single ride – a near double increase from the current price of €2,10. To better understand the frustration on behalf of those who live in Paris, single ride metro passes used to cost €1,90 until the price increase last January.
This short-term price increase is expected to last until September 8th, 2024 – meaning even after the vast majority of tourists have already left Paris (seeing as the Olympic Games only run through August 11th, 2024), students, au pairs, and any resident without a Navigo (Paris’s monthly metro pass which many residents subscribe to) pass will be subject to these inflated fees.
Considering Navigo passes already rose from €84,10 per month last January 2023 from its original price of €75,20 – the short-term increase in single-rides isn’t likely to gain the support of our protest-loving French friends.
In addition to this, it isn’t far off to surmise that pit-pocketing may also increase during the 2024 Olympics.
View of Eiffel Tower from Galeries Lafayette with Cloudy Skies in July 2021
The combination of an increase in vulnerable tourists perusing the city and angry Parisians hunting for spare change following the spike in metro tickets and Naivgo passes isn’t a good one.
Even if you don’t mind paying a pretty penny to ride Paris’s metro this summer, your body might – seeing as many of Paris’s metro lines still lack air conditioning and are jammed-packed from head-to-toe, even in the middle of the day when you’d be sight-seeing.
Those who don't bear Paris's metro on a daily basis don't realize just how dysfunctional it can be. It isn’t unusual to be late to meet friends in Paris during apéro hour, as you’re often unable to board a metro overflowing with people and will be forced to wait two, three, maybe even four stops before you can comfortably hop on without being squished.
Now, picture millions of additional bodies trying to hop on and get from one point to another – with the same amount of metro cars no increase in the frequency of service.
My friends and I can only imagine the horror of trying to take the metro this summer – as people from all around the world settle into our city, when the metro can barely accommodate those who already live here.
Metro Entrance for École Militaire on L'avenue de La Bourdonnais in February 2022
In fact, travel within the European Union may prove uncomfortable as well. Summer is already high season for travel for Europe, but the uptick in visitors could cause tedious delays in both train stations and airports – none of which any American traveling across the pond wants to experience whilst on summer vacation with the family.
Even if you decide to stay in Paris and don’t venture elsewhere in Europe, wandering around France’s capital won’t possess the same allure as it usually would.
View of Eiffel Tower from a cafe in 16th arr in January 2022
Currently, multiple of Paris’s most recognizable landmarks are under renovation – such as Palais Garnier in l’Opéra, the infamous arch tourists might pass in Jardin des Tuileries before heading to the Louvre, and Notre-Dame following the devastating fire back in April 2019.
These are all set to be completed prior to the Olympics, but as anyone living in France would tell you – don’t count on anything to get done on the timeline you’d like it to.
In layman's terms, the French don’t only appreciate slow living – but subscribe to slower-working conditions than many of us in the U.S. are used to.
Therefore, I wouldn’t be surprised if one or more of these monuments ends up missing its deadline to be completed by the Olympics – leaving tourists disappointed with scaffolding instead of the intricate designs they hoped to see with their bare eyes.
View of Notre-Dame shortly after April 2019 fire in May 2019
Despite all of these compelling reasons to avoid a trip to Paris during the 2024 Olympics, there is still one overarching reason why tourists shouldn’t dream of seeing the Eiffel Tower this summer: the magical element that makes Paris the city it is won’t be as easy to capture in the midst of the spike in tourism.
Marveling in Paris’s exquisite architecture and stumbling down side streets with cinematic views of famous landmarks such as the Sacré-Cœur won’t elicit the same personal feeling it usually would with millions of additional people roaming the streets.
As the layout of the city is the antithesis of a grid, composed of massive diagonal avenues and hole-in-the-wall style sidewalks– Paris depicts the beauty in getting lost.
One of the most captivating parts of Paris is to wander around and discover the enchanting street you’ve stumbled across, such as when you've already lost sight of the way to the restaurant you were walking towards – but no longer seem to mind.
Street view of Rue de l’ancienne comédie in the 6th arr in January 2022
Paris shines brightest when people accept its mysterious and marvelous finite pockets of charm. Taking the moment to pause and witness these pieces of magic will undoubtedly be next to impossible with the amount of tourists expected to visit this summer.
Many of us who made the move to Paris are likely to tell you it’s like living in a real-life movie, but I can’t help but think anyone who dares to visit this summer will find themselves in a horror film instead.
I for one, am ready to take shelter in my apartment – determined to avoid unnecessary crowds and trouble.
For now, I plan to enjoy my city in the calm before the storm – as I’m about to get up from writing this article to take a walk across the park to the same grocery store where “homeless guy with the books” used to live.
I have no doubt that when the Olympics roll around, I’ll think about him more often – and if you decide to come to Paris during the Olympics, you should too.
View of Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre at Sunrise in July 2021
Looking for more insider travel tips from a local in Paris?
Click Here to read more on Paris!