Yes, we were at the French Open a few years ago. While it is all relative, the food is less expensive and better than at the U.S. Open. Not as much variety but who cares. We were told explicitly that outside food and drink were not allowed. You can always try bringing it in but it may be confiscated at security. It’s up to you.
Picking a tennis court — there is no right or wrong answer. You will have no idea which matches are scheduled where so it is a flip of a coin. I will tell you that at Chatrier, there was no bathroom at the stadium when we were there in 2014 so it meant we had to leave the stadium, wait on long lines, and then wait on line to get back in the stadium. You could easily miss half of a set. Find out if Chatrier actually updated the Bathroom situation. It is doubtful as they are working quite slowly on putting a roof on at least one of the stadium courts. There are not as many bathrooms as there are at the U.S. Open so there are lines. They really need to fix that problem. Watch your intake of liquids! 😉
Set your alarm at the end of March to wake up and buy tickets.
Also, have your passport accessible because when you leave the stadium and then return, they will ask to see your passport to make sure you are the person whose name is on the ticket. Yes, The name of each person who is going with you will be printed on the tickets when they get mailed to you.
The grounds are intimate and even in Chatrier, you are close to the tennis which makes it a wonderful experience. Keep in mind, at the French Open, there are one or two grounds courts that are ticketed so you won’t have access to them so those who have grounds passes will have fewer options making the lines at outer courts extremely long so you may be spending the day at your ticketed court. I don’t think you have to worry about shade because it’s rarely hot. It also can be very cloudy. The weather is fantastic because of that.
Taking public transport to ROLAND-GARROS is easy.
