I attended 5 Olympic events as a regular fan. Here's what surprised me the most.

If you’re on social media or follow the latest travel trends, it’s likely you’ve seen or heard about an increasingly popular trend of travelers visiting grocery stores during their trip as a way to immerse themselves in local culture, especially in international destinations. 

I’m cheering from the banks of the Seine in a plastic rain poncho, my dress soaked and loafers sloshing. The rain has not let up once during the four-hour Opening Ceremony, but as we watch boatloads of beaming athletes float past us one by one waving their national flags, my smile could not be wider. By the time the evening comes to an end, Celine Dion is belting Hymne a l'amour from a glittering Eiffel Tower—some in the crowd cry, others dance, or FaceTime family—and a contagious sense of universal joy ripples across Paris.

Paris est une fête! Especially during the Olympics. The French title of Hemingway’s legendary memoir A Moveable Feast is an apt encapsulation of what can only be called a dramatic vibe shift in the French capital in the last few weeks. Indeed, Paris is a party. The opening ceremony elated even the most hardened of local skeptics of the Olympic Games—locally: les Jeux Olympiques, the JO. Since then, the city has been suspended in a Disney-esque euphoria; the JO is now a multi-week carnival of good cheer.

Beyond Simone Biles going for gold and the opening ceremony, one of the most talked about aspects of the Summer Olympics in Paris is the athletes village — and one of the biggest hotel companies in the world is in charge of maintaining it all.

While most American cities aren’t considered easy to navigate by foot, a recent study by travel insurance experts AllClear ranked one popular Southern city as the most walkable in the country. AllClear examined topographical information for more than 240 cities around the world, taking into account average elevation and range, and assigned each city a score — and ultimately, it was New Orleans that was named the most walkable city in the U.S. and the fourth most walkable city globally.

Paris is hosting this year's Summer Olympics — but that's not where we kicked off the Games.

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, departed the island for Paris, France yesterday (August 7) to attend the Olympic Games. While in Paris Minister Bartlett will be instrumental in promoting Jamaica as a premier tourist destination through the Jamaica Tourist Board’s (JTB) Jamaica House initiative.

Rarely on the podium and banned from the Olympic opening ceremony, fifteen Russian athletes competing at this year’s Games have an uneasy status as “Individual Neutral Athletes” following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

A test run meant to allow athletes to familiarise themselves with the marathon swimming course in the Seine River was cancelled on Tuesday due to concerns about the quality of the Paris waterway.

When Léon Marchand dives in, France holds its breath.

Singapore has been recrowned as the country with the world’s most powerful passport in 2024.

France knocked out world and pan-American football champions Argentina after winning 1-0 in Bordeaux on Friday, in a heated game that ended with a massive brawl that followed more than ten minutes of stoppage time.