Paris 2024: An Olympic Experience

It’s hard to know where to start in describing our time at the 2024 Summer Olympics. It was an incredible experience! Our time in Paris at the 2024 Olympics was the last stop on our 10-night trip through France.

Back in 2022, our son Jack floated the idea of traveling to Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Our family has a tradition of watching and celebrating the Olympic games on our summer vacations, and with Jack’s high school graduation on the horizon, we agreed that this would be a once-in-a-lifetime celebratory trip opportunity. When the Olympic event tickets went on sale in early 2023, we chose three events based on dates that were within a few days of each other, as well as price and availability. Then we worked together as a family to create an itinerary for a multi-destination tour through France that would hit items on everyone’s “Wanderlist.” We started our itinerary along the Cote d’Azur, then stayed in the Loire Valley for several days before heading to Paris.

Once we arrived in Paris, we attended four events of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games:

• Women’s Soccer — We saw Team USA take on Japan in a quarterfinal match. We had no idea when we purchased the tickets which teams would be playing at our session, so we lucked out. This was a great first spectator experience. We had great seats, right near the Team USA goalie warm-up area, and there was lots of energy in the stands – music, cheering, and dancing. And it was so much fun to cheer on Team USA to their quarterfinal win! On the way back from the game, we noticed another spectator walking along the street with a Maryland flag. It turned out to be a classmate of Jack’s from Quince Orchard HS! We decided this crazy chance meeting was fate, and our families wound up having dinner together.

• Dressage — Sarah and I went out to the Equestrian venue at Versailles to see the Individual Freestyle Finals. This was a later (and very expensive) addition to our Paris 2024 events. I was determined to go to an Equestrian event because of the venue (Versailles!) and also because our niece Laura would be there in her capacity as a manager on Team USA Dressage. Although there weren’t any Team USA riders competing in the event we attended, we did get to see the medal ceremony and caught up with Laura for a quick debrief before she headed back to the States.

• Women’s Volleyball — China v. Serbia. We were disappointed that we missed the USA v. France match by one session, but this event turned out to be a favorite in terms of spectator experience. The hosts got everyone involved with play responses (“Monster Block!”), and dancing and singing along to the music was highly encouraged. We also loved that the South Paris Arena was a 15-minute walk from the apartment where we were staying, so getting there and back was easy.

• Athletics (Track & Field) – On our last day in Paris, we saw qualification rounds of several track events as well as Women’s pole vault and Men’s discus. Our seats were very close to the track, so we had a great view of the athletes zooming by us and catapulting into the air! We also were very into the spectator spirit by this time, fully decked out in our Team USA gear and participating in all the songs and cheers.

Although our trip was focused on the Olympics, we also squeezed in a bit of sightseeing. As we did earlier in the trip, we divided our group a couple of times to accommodate everyone’s interests. On our first evening, the kids went to the top of the Eiffel Tower (complete with an aerial view of a beach volleyball match!), then we all met up later for dinner and a boat ride on the River Seine. One morning the kids went on a bike tour (and had a chance viewing of the Olympic road cycling race!), while John and I visited the Musée d’Orsay. On the morning when Sarah and I had our mother-daughter outing to Versailles, the “boys” explored the Military Museum and Napoleon’s Tomb. We all went together to Montmartre and Sacré-Cœur, and we had meals at a few lovely restaurants. We so enjoyed the dynamic of traveling with our children now that they all are adults, because everyone could have the independence they needed while at the same time sharing a priceless experience.

While we all were very excited for our Olympics trip, we did have a bit of trepidation about security and mobility. There’s no denying that it was crowded at the event venues, but we were quite impressed by the organization apparent at every turn. Everyone we interacted with was friendly and eager to help, and we always felt safe. As a matter of fact, I was so inspired that I’m planning to apply to be a volunteer for the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics!

All in all, this trip was not easy to put together, but it was totally worth it. It was a unique experience to share as a family, and we collected countless memories that will stay with us for a lifetime.