Last-minute cheap flights to the Paris Olympics and event guide

The French capital hosts the 33rd Olympic Games, but flights which were initially overpriced have been reduced in cost to try and bring more people in, and on Kiwi.com you’ll find great deals from scores of airlines to airports in and around Paris. So if you’re planning a last-minute trip to the games — either to spectate at an event or simply to soak up the atmosphere — we’ve got all the info and flights you’ll need!

Which airports serve Paris? How do you get from the airport to the city center?

Largest: Paris Charles de Gaulle

From Paris Charles de Gaulle airport the options are either train or bus , varying in both time and cost. The RER train is the quickest, calling at both stations at the airport and getting you to the center of Paris in around 40 minutes at a cost of €11.40. The stations are mildly annoying to get to, being around a ten minute walk from the terminal exits.

Buses, meanwhile, are slower but cheaper. Public buses 350 and 351 depart every 15 — 30 minutes between 06.05 and 22.30 and cost just €1.90. The trade-off is that the journey is twice as long (70 — 80 minutes) and, of course, they’re just regular public buses so don’t have much space for luggage.

Budget airline-friendly: Paris Beauvais-Tillé

The airport itself recommends the Aérobus service, taking around an hour and 15 minutes to drop customers at Porte Maillot for €16.90. There are trains, but that involves getting a bus or taxi to Beauvais railway station and paying €16 on the day (cheaper if you buy in advance). The train journey takes the same time as the shuttle bus, plus you have the hassle of getting to the station in the first place.

Most central: Paris Orly

The closest airport to the center of Paris , Orly is accessible on the RER B line (35 minutes, €14.90) or the OrlyBus shuttle service (30 minutes, €11.50). Cheaper options involve taking RER C and changing to bus 183 (50 minutes, €7.50) or tram T9 and bus 183 (one hour, €4.65). As ever, it’s a toss-up between time and cost.

Sports + sightseeing: which Olympic events are being held at which venues?

There are officially 35 venues hosting various sports, mostly in the city of Paris, but with some events being held elsewhere (see below). So when you’re in Paris, how can you combine sports and sightseeing to best effect?

Eiffel Tower

A temporary stadium has been built in the Champ de Mars public park, meaning you can watch beach volleyball beneath one of the most famous structures in the world. It’s also a community space, as the garden is for locals and tourists alike all year round.

The Paris 2024 Olympics will mark the third time the city has hosted the Summer Games © Getty Images

Château de Versailles

The famous palace to the south-west of the city hosts equestrian events and the modern pentathlon on the Etoile Royale, in the heart of its sculpted gardens.

Grand Palais

Built in 1900, this wonderful, glass-roofed structure benefitted from a full restoration before the Games, meaning you’ll see it at its best while watching fencing and taekwondo.

La Concorde

One of the city’s busiest traffic spots gets taken over by urban sports, transforming it into a giant park for some of the Games’ newer sports, including BMX freestyle, breaking, skateboarding and 3x3 basketball.

Esplanade des Invalides

The Esplanade is a huge, green space opposite the Hôtel des Invalides which itself contains the French Military Museum and the tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte. It’s on the Esplanade, along an avenue of trees, that you’ll see archers aiming for gold. 

At the Esplanade des Invalides, you can enjoy leisurely strolls and stunning views of the historic Hôtel des Invalides and Napoleon’s tomb © Pexels

Pont Alexandre III

Connecting the Grand Palais and Invalides, and demonstrating again Paris’ determination to have the Games very much in the city, this stately bridge serves as the finish line for the cycling time trials, swimming marathon, triathlon and Para triathlon.

Are there events being held outside Paris? Where?

Football, canoeing, rowing, sailing, surfing and golf will all be held outside the city, so where should you head if you’d like to catch these events?

Marseille: sailing

Mediterranean port city? Perfect for sailing! With the Roucas-Blanc Marina as its base and views for thousands of spectators along Marseille’s Corniche, even if you don’t know anything about sailing, it’d be a great reason to visit this vibrant city.

Marseille, France’s vibrant port city, is known for its rich maritime history, lively markets, and stunning coastal views © Getty Images

Bordeaux, Saint-Etienne, Nantes, Nice, Marseille, Lyon: football

Along with PSG’s Parc des Princes, some of France’s finest stadiums will be hosting the football, with Bordeaux’s shiny new(ish) arena , Nantes’ swoopy, 1980s effort, Marseille’s atmospheric Vélodrome among them.

Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines: golf

Around 40 kilometers from the Olympic Village, out past Versailles, you’ll find the Le Golf National, a venue for the 2018 Ryder Cup and host of the annual French Open.

Vaires-sur-Marne: canoeing, rowing

Just outside the city limits to the east and covering 4.4 square kilometers, this specially-built venue opened in 2019. It includes a white-water stadium and its two courses over 300 and 150 meters and a 2,200m rowing and sprint canoe-kayak course.

Teahupo’o, Tahiti: surfing

If you’ve got a plan and the money, Tahiti’s the place to escape to. Of all the venues outside Paris, this one is seriously outside Paris. But hey, you need world-famous surfing conditions to test world-renowned surfers and French Polynesia has them.

Head to Paris with Kiwi.com

As mentioned above, a last-minute flight to Paris might not be as expensive as you thought , so if you’ve always wanted to see the Olympics in one of the world’s great cities, now’s the time. Search for flights on Kiwi.com and you can either book directly with the airline or fly with peace of mind and the Kiwi.com Guarantee. Au revoir!