2024-08-12 08:53:48
Few could argue that the Paris Olympics were no surprise – especially with regard to the beautiful venues. From beach volleyball at the Eiffel Tower to exercise in the Grand Palais, equestrian events in the grounds of the Palace of Versailles to the city fair at the Place de la Concorde, the games are just as powerful.
The Olympics are over now, but there’s a second chance to experience all those beautiful venues in person – at the Paralympics which start in two weeks.
Games organizers are looking after temporary venues which have been set up around the city and the Paralympics events will be staged mainly in the same venues as the Olympics – with more traditional sports venues such as the Stade de France, which will host sports para.
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And the good news is that tickets are still available and start from €15. Meanwhile for those outside Paris, the prices for accommodation and travel have dropped to seasonal norms – making a trip to Paris last minute possible for some.
Ticket
Tickets are sold on the same platform as Olympic tickets – HERE – and the process is the same – buy tickets online and then download the Paris 2024 Ticket application to get the ticket. Like the Olympics, there is no option for paper tickets.
How to use Olympic and Paralympics equipment
There is also an official repair platform – HERE – allowing people to sell tickets they no longer want or cannot use.
Tickets for the Paralympics start at €15 with half of all tickets on sale for €25 or less. Tickets for the event range from €20 to €100.
On Saturday, around half of the 2.8 million tickets offered have been sold, meaning there are plenty of seats available even for the most popular events such as wheelchair basketball and sporting events.
The days
The Paralympics begin on Thursday, August 28th and run until Sunday, September 8th.
The opening ceremony is at 8pm on August 28th – like the Olympics this will take place in the city centre, not a stadium, although this time there will be no swimming parade. Instead the athletes will go down the Champs-Elysées and into the Place de la Concorde.
The ceremony itself was designed by Thomas Jolly – who also designed the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics – so expect the unexpected.
Events
The paralympic events follow the same pattern as the Olympics with many adaptations of the sport for example basketball becomes wheelchair basketball, volleyball becomes sitting soccer.
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Another difference is the event classifications according to disability level, meaning that instead of a men’s 100m final there are many according to disability level for example single-leg amputee, double leg-amputee and so on.
Like the Olympics, the marathon and cycling races will take place on a route that goes through the city and no tickets are needed – you can just go and watch the races. your area.
The fan area
The Olympic fan areas will still be there in place ready for the Paralympics, with the exception of the Trocadéro fan area, which will be closed. Instead the winning athletes will be paraded each day in La Villette park.
Other air zones will keep their big screens, entertainment and food and drink offerings.
MAP Where to find free air zones
Journey
Wondering if you can afford a trip to Paris for the Games? Well we won’t pretend that Paris is a cheap city, but travel websites are mostly listing prices during the Paralympics as or even below seasonal averages.
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Hotel booking website Kayak offers hotels from around €100 a night (for a double or twin room) while Booking.com offers hotels from around €100 a night and apartments for a little less. . Meanwhile Airbnb is listing apartments or studios that sleep two people from €65 a night.
When it comes to travel, prices are still about average for the season – if you are happy to travel on a weekday Eurostar has tickets for €73 per person departing from London, while that Easyjet offers flights departing from €75 from London, return from €35.
Flying from the US is naturally expensive, but even here the prices are within the current regulations, with Skyscanner offering flights from New York from €500.
Go ahead, you know you want to. . .
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