Stretching Your Muscles, and Your Horizons, at the Paris Olympics

An opening ceremony on boats floating down the Seine, with athletes dressed by Dior.

Beach volleyball medal matches at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.

A competitive skateboard rink on the Place de la Concorde.

The organizers of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games are, in their own words, “thinking outside the box.” They are using every centimeter of the City of Light to host the world’s top athletic talent and showcase the best that Paris, and France, have to offer.

These Olympics are also a golden opportunity for visitors to Paris to think outside the box – to see the city in a different light, from all its angles.

“This is the perfect moment to stretch your muscles, and your horizons,” says Philippe Hertzberg, the founder of Secret Journeys.

“By having Olympic events all over Paris, visitors to the Games will never be more than a few steps away from a world-famous sight, a newly renovated museum, or a neighborhood that is a hotbed of culture and lifestyle,” he says.

Just to take a few examples, 

- The finish line of the Olympic cycle races will be at the top of the Butte Montmartre – a stone’s throw from Sacré Coeur, the Lapin Agile cabaret, the Clos Montmartre winery, and other landmarks from Montmartre’s colorful history.

- The Stade de France, a headquarters venue for the Games, is just a few minutes from the Cathédrale St-Denis, one of the holiest sites in France, where all the French kings are buried.

- Roland Garros, where the Olympic tennis matches will be held, is a handful of blocks away from the Serres d’Auteuil, built by Louis XV as a magnificent answer to the glasshouses at Kew Gardens. 

With its deep knowledge of Paris and its knack for finding and presenting the city in new ways, Secret Journeys is the ideal partner for an Olympic odyssey, with a portfolio of experiences tailored to suit the most discriminating and adventurous travelers.

“With all eyes on the Olympics, these and other ‘hidden Paris’ sites will be up for grabs,” Philippe Hertzberg says. “You can have a once-in-a-lifetime experience all to yourself.” 

Even if you do not have tickets to the Olympic matches, you can still experience the vicarious thrill of Olympic-level competition through two of our latest journeys: a behind-the-scenes visit to Stade de France, and an in-depth tour of Roland Garros.

And since the French art de vivre, from fashion to fragrance to fine dining, is practiced in Paris at an Olympic level all year long, Secret Journeys is also ready with experiences that take guests inside these quintessentially Parisian pursuits.  

“The Olympics have long been a way to discover new sports and see them in a new way,” Philippe Hertzberg says. “The Paris Games will provide a way to discover new parts of Paris, and see the city in a new way, too.”

Let the Games begin.