The Games are making Paris quieter than usual, ideal for a late-hour trip to the Olympics or enjoying a lazy afternoon at a Parisian café
“Less busy than usual.” That’s what pops up on Google Maps when this intrepid reporter is looking to book a table in the elegant Paris neighborhood of Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
In fact, no reservations are needed across Paris as the mix of negative headlines and pre-Games hype is keeping away the hordes during these Paris Olympic Games.
Hard-core sports fans are piling and there are big crowds for major events, including this weekend’s road race time trial and mountain bike races, but several venues are seeing empty seats.
Paris is devoid of the masses of summer tourists who typically clog the City of Light every July and August.
That’s not to say there are no tourists, but there are certainly a lot less than normal.
There are no long ticket lines at Musée d’Orsay, and no waiting list for a lunchtime table at Les Deux Magots. The metro and RER lines are quiet and it’s easy to zip around the city by bike.
“Très dommage!” said a taxi driver Sunday morning. “Normally in summer we are booked one day in advance, now we are all waiting 30 minutes for a fare.”
That lament echoes across Paris’ typically tourist-swamped Left Bank.
Tables on the terraces of the Rue de Buci were sitting empty on a Saturday night, and museums and top tourist sites have plenty of same-day tickets.
The normally busy streets from Le Marais to the Arc de Triomphe are eerily quiet.
“Everyone left the city if they could and the tourists are scared to come,” said one hotel receptionist. “We are normally booked solid all summer, now we have free rooms during the Olympics.”
Empty streets, empty seats
It’s the same in nearly every Olympic Games.
Pre-Games hype sends a bolt of fear among the locals and scares away tourists who expect lockdowns, security checks, road closures, and traffic jams.
And a lot of that is true.
The Eiffel Tower is closed off to tourists, and many of Paris’ top attractions have been converted into sports venues, including the Place de la Concorde, Gran Palais, Les Invalides, and the area around the Trocadéro and the Eiffel Tower.
Some of the famed bridges over the River Seine are also closed, including the gold-fringed Pont Alexandre III and others, but most have re-opened after the opening ceremony Friday night.
The entire city center of Paris along both sides of the Seine, roughly from the Eiffel Tower to Notre Dame, was on a multi-down restricted zone that was open only to residents or hotel guests.
That’s since been lifted, but a strong police presence remains high across the city as officials are clamping down to try to avoid any risk of a terrorist attack or political disturbances.
So far, things have been very quiet.
What’s keeping fans away?
In the run-up to the Paris Games, hotel prices were marked up dramatically, with rooms going for $900 a night and more during the key Olympic dates between July 26 and August 11.
Business travelers as well as tourists are staying away, either rescheduling meetings or going to nearby Spain or Italy instead.
One report in Euronews said hotels were sitting on 25 to 40 percent unbooked inventory, and prices have been slashed to try to fill rooms.
This reporter booked a room for the Olympic Games barely a week before the opening ceremony, and found dozens of reasonably priced rooms in the city center, with double rooms with breakfast starting at $175 per night, prices not seen since before COVID-19.
Airlines have also reported under-sold flights, with Delta and Air France both expecting to lose $100 million during the Games, according to media reports.
There are plenty of tickets available for most Olympic events across all sports, and things typically pick up during the second week.
Paris looks gorgeous for Olympic Games
There’s still plenty of Olympic buzz around Paris, and the city is absolutely gorgeous as it’s dressed up and well-lit for its closeup for the worldwide TV audience.
Sport fans pour out of the venues and into bars and cafés, often watching more Olympic events live on TV and cheering on their home nations.
National and sponsors “houses” — a longtime Olympic tradition — keep the vibe and booze flowing at different spots across Paris.
For Parisians who’ve stayed home, a few hassles here and there with road closures, construction sites, and detours is a small price to pay for a few weeks of relative calm.
“It’s like we have our city back,” one Parisien said as they sat idly on a shady terrace. “Paris has not been this quiet in decades.”
Paris right now might not be ideal for that once in a lifetime trip, but it’s perfect for anyone who wants to watch the Olympic Games in person or just loll away an afternoon at a Parisien café.
The elite men’s and women’s road races are this weekend. It’s still not too late.
