We are planning to take 2 R/S French trips back to back in 2024, The Loire Valley to the South and the 14 Day East France.
We originally wanted to do this the entire month of September , with some self guided time in Paris on the front end and also in between tours in Provence. Now comes the Olympics. We are not interested in being involved with that. The Dates of the Olympic Games are July 26 thru August 11, 2024. Of course there will be heightened travel/crowds pre and post games dates. Does anyone from this group have any insight about IF we can reasonably expect to travel in September? Or should we move to April? Or will France be out of the question for the entire April thru Sept, time frame? Also, does anyone know approximately when the Rick Steves Tours Lineup for 2024 will be available to reserve? Thanks in advance!
Posted by
Queens, NYC
555 posts
FYI -- the Paralympics follow the Olympics and will be 28 Aug-8 Sep 2024.
I would personally be fine traveling in Paris is September if it did not overlap at all with the Paralympics (and the Olympics will be long over), but I'm curious what others think!
Posted by
771 posts
I definitely would NOT move the trip before the Olympics. By April it will be a mad dash to try and finish construction. As I've noted elsewhere, do keep in mind that several popular tourist attractions are becoming Olympic venues including: Grand Palais (fencing); Place de Concorde (skateboarding); Champ de Mars (beach volleyball); and Esplanade des Invalides (archery). I assume that's true for the Paralympics as well.
Posted by
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
4117 posts
We were also thinking of Spring 2024 but had the same concerns with venues closed and heavy construction. We've decided to skip Paris next year. Here's a link to a map of Venues. It looks like even the banks of the Seine will be busy. https://architectureofthegames.net/2024_venues/#section1
Posted by
Phoenix, Arizona
27 posts
When we booked our December trip to Paris we didn’t even consider any impact due to the Olympics. Normally I don’t go too far into speculation but we are bringing our son and his girlfriend this trip.
Any opinion, or stronger, thoughts about Paris this coming December and how much above normal construction we might see?
Thanks!