Paris Marathon 2017; your experience

I was in Paris this past April coincidentally during the weekend of the Marathon. If I had not had an appointment over near the Arc d'Triomphe on April 3 (the day of the race), I would not have noticed anything. I was staying in the 6th near the Sevres-Babylone metro station. The only things that I noticed was (i) that on Marathon Day, certain roads were closed, (ii) after the Marathon there were still some signs of of the barriers that had been placed on the roads, and (iii) people walking around still in their running gear when I went over to the area near the Arc that afternoon for my appointment.

Thank you JHK for responding and letting me know your experience. I just don't want to deal with tremendous crowds and also have difficulty finding accommodations.

You can avoid the crowds - which are not tremendous, except near the start and finish lines - by having a look at the marathon's route. Many people opt to stay in hotels at the start or finish lines, for convenience's sake, so you could avoid them, too. A lot of people stay in campgrounds outside of the city.

Some Metro stations might be closed during the marathon, and bus routes will be diverted or cancelled during the race.

Here's the link for the 2016 route, which stays the same each year.
http://www.evous.fr/Marathon-de-Paris-Le-parcours-officiel,1188991.html

I have been to Paris during the finish of the Tour de France and did not have any problems getting around Paris except for the area around the Champs Elysees and the Tuileries. I wouldn't expect that you will have any problems.

Linda,

I ran the Paris Marathon a few years ago and I think that it should pose no problems to you. The start/finish line is at the Arc de Triomphe, so I would avoid this area on race day and hotels near to the arc would be prime locations for marathoners. If I remember correctly, the race starts at approximately 9 am on Sunday, I would avoid the metro lines that lead to the Arc from 7:30 am to 9 am, better yet, just avoid the metro altogether between these times. Much of the race is in the Bois de Vincennes. I do not remember any portion of the race going into the left bank, so you would not even know there is a marathon going on. I would avoid the Louvre as the race makes multiple passes at the beginning and end of the race. I do want to state the obvious and mention that the evening before the race should not be the one night to be looking for Italian food, because marathoners will be carbo loading. However, you will be in Paris, and I doubt that you will be looking for Italian restaurants. Expect a lot of fit looking people who will be moving slowly on Sunday evening and Monday especially get off buses and down stairs.

But as a marathoner, I would embrace the opportunity to watch part of the race. It is one of the largest in Europe and I always find it inspiring.