Combine Paris’ Olympic Games with sun-drenched Southern France for a dream itinerary. Paris: The Inside Scoop Last July, Paris announced its 2024 Olympic Games celebration sites, including Champions Park, which faces the iconic Eiffel Tower. It will be a meeting location for global sports fans to gather and celebrate athletes’ achievements and medals. This jam-packed itinerary highlights iconic landmarks and some of the city’s lesser-known locations. Take a break between Olympic events and get to know the city of light like a local. Monumental architectural sights you should not miss include the Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Sacré-Cœur of Montmartre. The Eiffel Tower will be a key venue for the Paris 2024 Games. Meet up there and enjoy watching beach volleyball and blind football events. Amble around the manicured lawns of this magnificent site — Paris’ most iconic public gardens. The Seine has undergone a significant cleanup and it is highly anticipated to host the Olympic Games opening ceremonies and major swimming events. While it is looking likely, its final go-ahead will hinge entirely on the rainfall leading up to the event and the water’s health. Art Scene Avoid the dense foot traffic and corner-bending queues around Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” at Le Louvre and visit two lesser-known contemporary museums near the Eiffel Tower. The first is the Musée d’Art Moderne, which pays tribute to the avant-gardistes. The second, the Palais de Tokyo, combines installations, videos, and new-age icons for a fully immersive contemporary art experience. If you are interested in buying art directly from undiscovered artists, take a step away from the well-trodden paths and visit a fascinating “fringe” art scene in Paris at 59 Rivoli — once an artists’ squat dating back to the 1800s. Today, 59 Rivoli has been lovingly restored into spacious modern studios. Eating Out Two of the city’s best boulangeries to stock up on golden flaky cones of buttery deliciousness are Mamiche and Boulangerie Utopie. Like all great boulangeries, expect fast-moving but long queues. Visit The Marché des Enfants Rouges, the oldest food market in Paris, and pick up lunch in a relaxed and convivial atmosphere while choosing from a wide variety of multicultural foods in a rainbow of colors and fragrant aromas. Chez Taeko offers authentic Japanese cuisine in a French market setting, and you can dine on the chairs scattered around the stall. Chez Alain Miam Miam sells mammoth-sized sarnies loaded with fromage and grilled on a crepe pan. You can find this foodie secret tucked off the busy Rue de Bretagne. Retail Therapy Shopping in Paris is optional, but it would be a shame not to peruse the boutiques at Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann, where its shoppers make dressing chic an art form. Its impressive glass Coupole, rising to a height of 140 feet, is visible from across the city. The pearl of St. Germain, Le Bon Marche, is an art deco one-stop department store with an array of high and contemporary fashion for women and men, a well-curated bookshop, homeware, beauty and cosmetics, and the fine Grande Epicerie food hall. Boutique de Cara is a consignment store that is a conscience-free, eco-friendly way of shopping — with moth hole-free clothes in an artfully curated boutique off Rue de Turenne in the Marais. Rails hung with a mix of classic styles and more avant-garde pieces from a range of eras include designer chic, rare Chanel jackets, long stripy Celine knits, Chloé frilly-sleeved shirts, and funky vintage Gucci boots. Nightlife Paris offers lively nightlife in the Latin Quarter. Catch a show, dinner, and Champagne in Montmartre, and watch world-famous French Cancan at the legendary Moulin Rouge or take in The Crazy Horse cabaret show. Both offer titillating entertainment, feathers, sequins, and rhinestones. Paris is famous for its long-thriving jazz scene; after all, Edith Piaf was born here. Paris boasts several iconic jazz clubs, many set in underground boltholes. Le Caveau de la Huchette jazz club is a stone’s throw from Notre Dame. It’s not a bottoms-glued-to-chairs affair, but a swinging venue to get footloose. Le Caveau des Oubliette, in a former medieval dungeon, is bursting with atmosphere. Other popular jazz haunts include La Bellevilloise, Sunset/Sunside, The Bal Blomet, Péniche Marcounet (for a jazz-on-water experience), and Mon Coeur Belleville. Book your Paris 2024 tickets and hospitality packages now and experience the upcoming Summer Games in the City of Light. Southern France: Choose an Alternative Olympic Games Itinerary While the main event will be in Paris, the Rugby Sevens competition will take place in Monaco from June 21–23, and the Olympic World Sailing venue is located in Marseille between two of the most important attractions in the city — the Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde and Prado Beach. Both events will take place in Southern France where you can combine exploring the rich and fascinating history of the Riviera in the Côte D’Azur — the go-to spot for chic yachting. The French Riviera has everything from chi-chi wood-decked beach clubs overlooking the ocean to lively nightlife, stretches of serene white-sand beaches, jungle pine forests, cliff-jumping cliffs, and vibrant flame-hued sunsets. With Monaco, Antibes, and Cannes, all within a short distance of each other, you won’t be stuck for choice. All locations are a half-day trip from Paris via train, too. Booking requests are required for a mooring for your boat, and during the 2024 summer season, the ports will be swarming with Olympic tourists, so get well organized in advance to avoid disappointment. Cannes Palm-fringed Cannes is a beautiful place to relax and La Croisette runs the length of the seafront, which is ideal for drinks, lunch, beach clubs, and casinos. Explore the charming historic quarter of Le Suquet, admire the view from the church of Notre-Dame d’Esperance, or peruse the boutiques on the Rue d’Antibes. It’s worth taking a day trip to Île Sainte-Marguerite, a blip of an island characterized by its towering eucalypt forest. It is the largest of the two Lérins, just north of Saint-Honorat and once famously home to a prison that housed the Man in the Iron Mask, a prisoner King Louis XIV wanted to remain unidentified for his 11-year confinement. Walk around the historic battlements and marvel at Fort Royal Museum, north of the island. Climb all 109 steps to reach the Musée de la Castre, set within a medieval castle once home to the monks of Lérins. Towering above the city, it provides amazing 360 views of Cannes and beyond. Marvel at the medieval artifacts, Asian instruments, and quirky paintings. The Port of Cannes (Vieux Port) Marina, part of the Riviera Ports network and situated near Cannes’ old town, houses 650 berths for yachts up to 215 feet (65 meters) in size. Also, in Cannes is Port de la Pointe Croisette Marina, a smaller port for sailing boats with 237 berths. Heading south around the Cap d’Antibes brings you to another port in the French Riviera worth looking into berthing your yacht — the Port Camille Rayon. There are moorings for 500 boats with a maximum length of 245 feet (75 meters). Monaco The gilded home of superyachts and the royal-crested principality, Monaco is a playground and haven for the rich and famous. The marble-clad Casino de Monte-Carlo is a must-see and the set location for the famous Bond film “Casino Royale.” Even if you are not interested in playing a game, wander around the lobby and take in the iconic chandeliers, gilt, and impressive paintings in a truly opulent building that exudes glamor. Plage Mala is a secluded pebble beach nestled into a cave with a dramatic cliff-jumping backdrop. The beach is only accessible by foot or via an exclusive taxi boat. It’s an excellent place for snorkeling too. Paloma Beach is one of the most exclusive beaches in Monaco, graced by visits from Coco Chanel, Elton John, and Tom Cruise. The menu consists of refined Mediterranean cuisine and fresh seafood. You will find the jet-set crowd at Nikki Beach relaxing in rooftop-high luxury at the Fairmont Monte-Carlo hotel, an international luxury beach club providing breathtaking views of the Mediterranean. Also worth visiting is La Note Bleue, a musically-themed restaurant and beach club that is also a tribute to the saxophonist Barney Wilsem. The iconic perch, Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, is the epitome of glamor in the Cote-D’azur and well worth visiting for a spot of lunch. The world-famous sixties photographer Aaron Slims often took photos of attractive people doing watersports and stylishly lounging here. The largest marina in the center of Port Hercule and the only deep-water port on the French Riviera, Hercules Port has 760 berths and is the most exclusive international yachting hub in the Mediterranean. Don’t be surprised if you struggle with availability; you might be better off going a little farther afield. Yacht Club Monaco, with 26 superyacht berths from 28 to 60 meters, has limited availability and is likely to be fully occupied. Bookings can be made online. https://espaceclient.ports-monaco.com/en/ https://yacht-club-monaco.mc/en/ycm-marina-en/ Antibes La Groupe Bay, Bay of Antibes Billionaires, gets overcrowded during peak times, so this beach is worth a visit only if you are up at dawn. The winding paths provide beautiful views of the calm, clear beach. Port Vauban and its 1,500 berths, modernized infrastructure, and capacity to accommodate boats up to 525 feet (160 meters) make it another superyacht hub. There are direct trains to Paris from Antibes, with direct fast trains taking five hours and 20 minutes. Aside from Monaco, Antibes, and Cannes, other unmissable seaside resorts in Southern France include Cap-d’Ail, Antibes, Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Juan-les-Pins, and Theoule-sur-Mer. https://leportvauban.com/en/book/ Tickets and hospitality packages for the sailing events at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are available through the Paris 2024 ticket portal. For further details on the games schedule, visit the Olympics official website. https://tickets.paris2024.org/en/ https://olympics.com/en/