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How to get around Paris during the Olympic Games

The greatest show on earth is about to kick off in the French capital – here’s all the info you need about transport during the 2024 Olympics

Liv Kelly
Written by
Liv Kelly
Contributing Writer
Paris Champs-Elysees at night with cars
Photograph: Shutterstock
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Paris is vast, but getting around it can be simple if you’re familiar with your route or good at reading maps in French. However, it might not be so easy to figure out your travel through the city over the next couple of weeks. 

The Olympics are set to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors to Paris, meaning the public transport networks are going to be under quite some strain. So, here is a roundup of absolutely everything you need to know about getting around Paris, whether you’re biking, metro-ing, bussing or driving. 

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Road closures during the Olympics

There will be colour-coded traffic regulations in place across Paris, including a red perimeter (which allows the free movement of cyclists and pedestrians, and people with QR codes can travel via motor vehicle) and a blue perimeter (which allows only people with a legit reason to go to an address within the blue zone with a motor vehicle). You can read more about traffic and driving regulations in our guide right here

Interlinked cycling lanes

Paris has just announced a sprawling 60km bike lane network which will be in place to ease getting between various Olympic venues, but they’ll remain in use after the Games are over. What’s more, to cope with the increased demand, 10,000 temporary bike parking spots will be installed around the venues, and 3,000 new Vélib bikes will be added to the current fleet. You can read more in our guide here

Paris Metro station closures during the Olympics

There are various routes and stations which will be closed for the opening ceremony, and throughout the entirety of the Olympic and Paralympic games. Read our guide for a full list of the impacted stations – metro and tram routes included.

Attraction closures across Paris during the Olympic Games

Though the city is going to be really busy over the next few weeks, Paris’s attractions should largely be operating as normal. Popular sites like museums and monuments will be open and accessible as usual. It’s worth checking with the attraction’s website directly though, in case of any exceptions. For example, the Louvre will be closed on July 25 and 26. 

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