I was really curious to see how Paris looks on the eve of the Olympics, if I see it, if I feel it differently than in other years I’ve been here.
OLYMPIC GAMES PARIS 2024
An Olympic construction site, that’s how I found Paris at the beginning of July 2024.
Taking advantage of the perfect weather – 15-20 degrees Celsius! – I walk through the well-known places already, after 16 visits here, but I also discover new places, for which I didn’t find time in other vacations or about which I only learned in recent years.
However, my curiosity is related to how Paris looks right before the Olympics begin.
EIFFEL TOWER
Oops! I go like it’s my own home to Trocadero, to greet the Eiffel Tower, when… what do you see? A fence, my friend!
You can’t step onto the wide terrace where, normally, crowds of tourists come to take pictures or to see the Tower’s “twinkles” at fixed hours.
And right here, a building for the Olympic Games is erected. I’m trying to figure out if it’s a place for journalists/correspondents?
It’s amusing how all of us gathered here are trying to find a solution to photograph the Eiffel Tower through the fence.
Certain joints of the fences create real windows towards the Tower, and we’re all taking pictures as if we have access to the forbidden fruit…
I’m even more crazy, though I have thousands of pictures from here:
I take a selfie with the fence, trying to capture the Eiffel Tower cleanly in the background.
Then I take advantage of a hole in the fence to stick in the phone, to take some unique pictures without a soul in sight:
After struggling foolishly for several minutes, standing in line at the crack in the fence, we discover a few steps away that the fence is not covered with anything! We rush there to get other good pictures.
What intrigues me is that I don’t know what’s hiding behind the fence. I go down, hoping I can descend the steps to the fountains, but it’s not possible. I cross paths with a police patrol, whom I ask if I can go down towards the Eiffel Tower. I can not!
So I turn back towards the metro and decide that the next day, I’ll go to the other side, to Champ de Mars, where I’m sure I’ll have an unobstructed view.
Gotcha!!!
No view, bro, because here the fence is even more extensive! Up to the main street!
Here, where you normally come to lie on the grass in the sun or walk on the alleys, now there are constructions, you see all kinds of machines and equipment, tents and… goodbye, you can’t come to the Eiffel Tower whenever you want
“Gentlemen police officers – I stop 3 who are making their rounds – look, there are people up in the Tower, so hey, I want to get there too, I can’t be the only loser”…
“You just walk until you can’t anymore, either on the parallel street or next to the fence, and you’ll eventually get there. But look, you can see it from here.” – they joke at the end.
If I had told them I had seen it 16 times until today, they would consider me suspicious…
And I go along the fence, until the access is blocked, I go on the street, I go next to the fence again, until I get close.
Full of people, full of police. Only at the entrance there is no one! What?!?
Well, don’t I take advantage to go up the Tower once more?!? Especially since it’s clear, only from the top I can see what the heck these people have done behind all the fences.
I immediately go through bag control, then wait 15 minutes in line for tickets (small line, but indecisive people…) and get a ticket to the top! Yuhuuuu.
Boy, oh boy, I’m the smartest at the top floor! With a windbreaker and long pants, I resist the strong wind the best. Others, new to visiting this floor, are having a hard time!
Well, let’s not forget the purpose and duration of the visit: I want to see what’s down there, behind the fences.
From the top floor, I take pictures both in front and behind.
Then I go down one floor and take pictures from here too.
Well, first a selfie with me, to add to the dozens of selfies taken in the same spot…
I try to zoom in as much as possible, maybe I can identify what sports will be held here:
Almost everyone is giving their opinion. Some in French, others in English or Spanish. But I’m not very convinced.
I go down another floor and realize I can “crochet” the Olympic rings both front and back, with what I photographed the day before:
Downstairs, I realize, as on the top floor, that there are not too many people, compared to what I’ve seen on other occasions. Some employees comment that there are far fewer tourists than last year at the same time.
I think people are scared by the weather and the preparations for the Olympics.
My luck…
I stay here a while longer to take about 2000 selfies, because, you know, I don’t have any with the Olympic rings…
At one point, someone offers to take a picture of me, in the well-known tradition “you take one for me, I take one for you”. How nice, because I notice that my phone, in vertical photos, makes me look much slimmer haha.
And speaking of “slim”: after a day of eating on the go, I decide to indulge myself on the Champs-Élysées, with some snails in delicious sauce and good beef, which didn’t last for a photo.
NOTRE DAME DE PARIS
There is no visit to Paris without going to Notre Dame Cathedral. Especially since I saw it “wounded” some years ago, I want to see how it is now.
I like that they have replanted the grandstand in front of it, where you can sit peacefully to admire it, eat, drink, or take pictures.
https://youtube.com/shorts/-FD4WRoZ1xQ?feature=share
Here, it isn’t about the Olympics, it’s about the construction site that is restoring it. I look at the workers from above, watching them as much as I can to see what they are doing there:
https://youtube.com/shorts/W0Xpe-3vvWA?feature=share
Everyone who reaches the corner of the Cathedral takes pictures of the spire.
It signifies that the wound that hurt the most back then, in the 2019 fire, is now healed!
I indulge myself with pictures, sometimes with clouds, sometimes with sun, then I look at the panels below, filled with photos of those working on the restoration. Cool idea! You see many people, young or not so young, specialists or simple workers, all putting in the effort so that Notre Dame de Paris regains its splendor.
Where was this photographer when I needed her?
It’s still a construction site on all sides. A construction site with a story, a story from pictures and information that is worth seeing/reading.
From nearby, I get myself two scoops of the famous Berthillon ice cream and leisurely cross the bridge with palm trees to reach a metro.
THE PARIS METRO
Now, on the occasion of the Olympics, the metro is full of “signs”, explanatory panels, so you know which direction to take if you want to be a spectator at this or that sport.
Many stations are closed, already blocked, because competitions will be held there, and the construction sites are in full swing. You are repeatedly informed that the metro no longer stops at those stations, so you don’t get tricked.
Welcome, the controllers! They stopped me too when I was crossing from one section to another, to check if I had a ticket. I did. I even got myself a card with the Olympic logo! (Well, I got it because it was cheaper that way than buying single tickets, only later did I realize it was a special edition.)
Anyway, it takes a lot of courage to travel without a ticket on the Paris metro, considering that the turnstiles almost kill you with how brutally they close! It’s a kind of extreme sport to slip past other passengers.
MONTMARTRE
A lot of people on the steps of the Sacré-Coeur Basilica.
I look around and can’t figure out what’s different now compared to other times…
Oh, wait! The colorful steps and the reminder that the Olympics are coming very soon.
And something else: lots of police! A lot! And just as many gendarmes.
LAW ENFORCEMENT IN PARIS
I have never seen so many police and gendarmerie forces!
Teams of 5-6 police officers, 10 or even more gendarme or police cars at each tourist site!!!
Continuous patrolling! I feel safer this way, considering the experience I had exactly two years ago with some Romanian thieves, an experience you can read about here.
A tourist seems to read my thoughts and tells the police officers who came up with us on the Montmartre funicular: “At least this way we don’t have to fear thieves”.
“Well, don’t say hop” – one of them replies, meaning that thieves have no shame in acting even in the presence of the police.
I ask a police officer to let me photograph the “patch” on his shoulder. They all have one.
He takes it off, as it’s attached with a hook-and-loop fastener, and hands it to me for the photo. Oh, and I was hoping to take a picture directly on his well-worked arm 🙂
I see police officers, gendarmes, and also the army almost everywhere I go:
ARC DE TRIOMPHE
According to “tradition”, here you cross from one side of the Champs-Élysées boulevard to the other, stopping halfway to take a picture with the Arc de Triomphe. From farther away, from closer up, you wait for a free spot, right at the traffic light.
I take pictures too, of course. I catch all the traffic light colors on my face…
On the Arc is the Paralympic symbol, the three “crescent moons” colored in the three colors that are most commonly found on the flags of the world.
There is also a lot of police here. They “fraternize” with us, the gawkers.
I head down the boulevard and buy the smallest box of macarons from the famous Ladurée.
6 pieces = 20 euros! I won’t buy sweets for a week, man!
A little further down, where I always took pictures of the long line at the entrance to the Louis Vuitton store, I am utterly surprised by their building, shaped like a giant trunk! Tell me that’s not cool!
PLACE DE LA CONCORDE
Whoa. What do we have here?…
Total blockage at Place de la Concorde. You can’t take a single step because the square is under construction.
I “greet” the famous Egyptian obelisk in the center, take a picture of it through the mesh, then walk along the fence, trying to understand what’s there, what’s being built, what sports might be held here.
I see that the stands are already set up. It’s a really strange sight – to see these metal structures among the historically significant columns and statues.
HÔTEL DE VILLE PARIS
From a distance, you can see the city hall “plastered” with Olympic signs.
I’ve seen this area when it was an ice rink and when it was a beach volleyball court. Now it’s closed to be transformed into a “games terrace,” as the signs say.
I find out that all sorts of events and competitions will be held here all summer. It will be open until September 8, and entry is free.
On the city hall’s website, this is what the games terrace looks like from above:
Since I won’t be able to visit during or after the Olympics, I decide to take a photo, though unseen, as I struggle to lift my phone above the fence to catch a glimpse of the inside.
Looks like I managed it 🙂
I pass by the Louvre. Just to get a feel. The same familiar vibe, the same method of “pinching” the Pyramid’s tip with your fingers for a nice photo.
I remember that on my last museum visit, I spent a lot of time at the Venus de Milo, which fascinated me as a child when I first saw it. We’re ancient friends…
I’m including this museum piece here because I found it again, a bit different, in the city!
ASSEMBLÉE NATIONALE
While I expected to find Olympic signs, flags, banners, etc. at other iconic places in Paris, I must admit that the building of the National Assembly surprised me.
The fence is painted nicely on the outside, but, inside, there’s…
… a series of six Venus de Milo statues, each representing a sport, each painted in a bright color, standing out against the white stone background of the Palais Bourbon.
Oh, how much I love them! Well, the idea itself.
So, I photograph each lady through the fence.
MUSÉE D’ORSAY
And, since we’re talking about art, I decided to get “cultured” by visiting a museum that I never had time for (or at least never prioritized).
I visit the impressionist floor, as well as the temporary exhibition with impressionists gathered from various museums around the world.
“Me, me, me, I saw this in real life, in Arles!” – I want to boast to people, showing them the painting of Van Gogh’s bedroom. But I’m afraid the guards will kick me out of the museum and send me straight there, to Arles…
So I keep quiet, move to another room, where I grin sleepily at the camera, with Monet’s bridge in the background, because I also saw it in real life, just a few days ago, in Giverny.
The photo with the huge clock of the Museum seems like a “must”, considering how many visitors stand nicely in line to get photographed next to it.
And Paris seen through the clock face really looks cool… oh my, what time it is!!! I realize that the impressionists captivated me more than I had planned.
I hurry to leave because I have some souvenirs to buy and then I’m off.
OLYMPIC SOUVENIRS
Having visited Paris 16 times plus this one, I’ve pretty much taken everything that meant cute, colorful, useful souvenirs. Therefore, now I’m determined to look for souvenirs only with the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
And I find them! The Olympic mascot, in the size shown in the photo, is sold at the modest price of……… 100 euros! Oh my, does it also give massages to tired feet??
I take it from the shelf with confidence, take some pictures with it, and then put it back nicely, patting it on the head so it doesn’t get upset.
You can find the mascot in different sizes (from 20 euros to 100), in different forms (plush, mug, badge, balloon, pencil case, etc.), the mascot for the Olympic Games, but also for the Paralympic Games (having a prosthesis instead of a leg).
There are official stores that sell exclusively Olympic Games products, and you’re tempted to buy from them, especially since they are all over the city. But I also see Olympic souvenirs in supermarkets, which also have the stamp certifying they are original.
Now… to be honest, I chose what I liked without looking for the stamp, because, in the end, they are all Made in China 🙂
In a souvenir shop, I spot these postcards and stand there for minutes to admire them, to associate them with Romanian Olympians, to photograph them. I would buy them all! Luckily I see the price: 3 euros (the highest price I’ve seen so far in Paris for a postcard!)
In the end, I buy one, I don’t give up:
I write on it that I want us to have an Olympic swimming champion and put it in the mailbox. Not just any mailbox:
Now I’m waiting for the swimming events, as if I’ve placed a bet and can’t back out anymore. Les jeux sont faits 🙂
……………………………
This is the pre-Olympic Paris that I managed to discover in two days and a bit. I’m glad I did it!
Well, Paris during the pandemic remains, for me, one of the most unimaginable things! For those who haven’t seen it, here it is.
And since we’re talking about the Olympics, you can read here interesting, really cool things about the Olympics, and here about the fabulous opening of the London Olympics, where I participated. (And then, about the Closing Ceremony, where I photographed Hollywood stars who were sitting very close to me in the stands!)
