The Eiffel Tower shines in the colours of the Olympic flag
Just over 100 days before the opening of the Paris Olympics, the town is preparing to welcome hundreds of thousands of additional people. For anyone wondering how best to get around Paris, here’s a handy guide.
Where in Paris are the Olympic Games happening?
The Olympic Games in Paris happen not only in sports facilities, but throughout the town – on the Place de la Concorde, the Champ de Mars and the Trocadéro (in front of the Eiffel Tower), in addition to within the Grand Palais and Les Invalides.
The triathlon and marathon will probably be held throughout the town center. This week President Macron cut the ribbon on the opening of a brand new Olympic swimming center in Saint-Denis, but no latest sports stadiums have been built to host probably the most sustainable Games ever. Many events happen on the Parc des Princes (home of the Paris-Saint-Germain football club) and on the tennis courts of Roland Garros (home of the French Open).
For the open water swimming events, organizers are desperately working to make the Seine secure for swimming again, but when it rains before the Games and bacteria counts skyrocket, there’s little that might be done – although Macron himself has done so promised go in anyway.
Getting around throughout the Paris Olympics
500,000 persons are expected to be added to the 4 million each day travelers in Paris on public transport, and extra staff are already on site to accompany people to quite a few events in lots of locations across the capital.
Terrorism is a continuing threat and security is proving to be a nightmare, particularly for the opening ceremony, which for the primary time in Olympic history will happen not in an arena but along the Seine. For this reason, access is now only possible via an event with a ticket.
All venues are well connected to metro stations in addition to the inter-city long-distance train called RER (Regional Express Network) which travels to the Paris suburbs where some events are held to enliven lesser known areas. From the town center, the drive to the canoe and kayak spots on the Vaires-sur-Marnes water park and the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines BMX track takes about an hour and a half.
Download the obligatory apps to get around Paris
For visitors who wish to get around Paris easily, it’s best to download one among several apps to assist you to navigate the capital, notably CityMapper, Google Maps or Île-de-France Mobilitiés.
Citymapper provides real-time details about routes, combines different transportation methods and offers practical tips about how you can reach your destination faster, comparable to: B. which train carriage it is best to board or which exit door it is best to use.
Another good option could be to make use of the town’s Vélib’ bike rental network. There are bicycle stations in front of all Olympic Games venues. You may also download the apps to order taxis via Uber, Bolt and the Parisian equivalent Heetch, and naturally you may at all times use the official city of Paris taxis.
Visitors may also use The Check the English website to learn how long the journey between venues will take.
How do you pay for the Paris metro?
For occasional or one-off trips on the metro (subway), you should buy blocks of 10 prematurely with a Navigo Easy Pass (if obligatory, you may as well purchase single tickets at staffed ticket offices and machines).
There are two zones for the metro, one and two, and should you feel like you ought to travel so much, your best bet is to get a day pass called “Paris Visite” which supplies you unlimited travel for 1, 2, 3 or 5 days can drive. If you ought to go further afield you will want to take the RER which covers the larger Paris area. However, should you do not get out of the metro system, you may travel with the identical ticket until you exit the RER station.
The Summer Olympics in Paris will happen from July twenty sixth to August eleventh, the Paralympic Games from August twenty eighth to September eighth. Details for visitors might be found on the Paris Tourist Office in English Here.
