Paris is always a good idea. But Paris during the 2024 Olympic Games is an even better one. So, with just seven months to go until the opening ceremony, we’ve compiled a sporting guide to the City of Light – which could be the basis of your next client away day or team incentives trip.
Swimming
The open-water swimmers may be competing in the Seine, but we’ll be sticking to hotel pools. Some of our top places to swim and stay include Le Bristol, The Shangri-La, Maison Proust, and Le Grand Mazarin. And whilst it’s not quite a pool for swimming lengths in, the water basin hidden down some secret stairs at Château Voltaire is worth checking out, too.
If you were one of the few to get your hands on Gucci’s AW23 crystal bikini, you should show it off. And we can think of no better place to do so than the canary yellow walls at Piscine Molitor. Home to the bikini’s first outing by French designer Louis Réard in 1946, the pool reopened after a $100 million renovation in 2014 and was recently featured in Netflix’s smash hit Emily in Paris.
Piscine Molitor, Paris
Weightlifting
Stand away from the barbells and instead test your strength at Phillipe Conticini, whose super-size pastries challenge even the fittest of Instagram influencers. If you’ve worked up an appetite from all the lifting and posing that accompanies the €32 Croissant XL, refuel with a Paris-Brest amande noisette – one of the best pastries in the city.
Phillipe Conticini's super-sized pastries
Tennis
Tennis in Paris is, like many things, done with a little more panache. The best courts are found on rooftops – so, those in the know are either heading to the third floor above Saint Léon Parish’s chapel or having a knockabout with views of the Eiffel Tower at La Cavalerie.
For something more adventurous still, follow the signs for ‘Garage/Tennis’ near the Panthéon where you’ll discover Eric Pigeyre’s secret court hidden above a parking garage. It feels like a sporting speakeasy – with the warehouse chic vibe to match.
And if you’re a purist seeking a finer surface of play, look no further than the British Embassy – there’s an immaculate grass court disguised in a sheltered corner of the grounds.
Discover Paris's secret rooftop courts
Sailing
In summer, most Parisians swap the city for the coast – and you should do the same. Set your sails for the car-free island of Porquerolles, stopping at Chanel’s Domaine de L’Ile vineyard before chartering a sailing yacht and heading out to sea. And, of course, no sailing trip is complete without a bottle or two of only the most fashionable rosé, best sipped under the salty sun.
Sip and sail your way along the coast
The marathon
In an Olympic programming first, and as a tribute to the Women’s March in 1789, the Women’s Marathon is signing off the Paris Olympics on 11th August.
However, the real marathon takes place outside the Cédric Grolet Opéra. In nothing less than a feat of endurance, hordes of people gather daily in surprisingly orderly queues that regularly last for hours. And the reward at the end is just as sweet as a post-marathon high.
Cédric Grolet Opéra
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