With just over 100 days to go before the opening of the Olympic Games in Paris, the city is readying itself to receive millions of extra people. For anyone wondering about best way to get around Paris, here's a handy guide.
The Paris Olympic events are not just taking place inside sporting complexes but throughout the city—at Place de la Concorde, the Champ de Mars and the Trocadéro (in front of the Eiffel Tower), as well as the Grand Palais and Les Invalides.
The triathlon and the marathon will be held throughout the city center. This week, President Macron cut the ribbon at the opening of a new Olympic swimming center built in Saint-Denis, but in a bid to be the most sustainable games ever, no new sports stadiums have been built. Many events will take place at the Parc des Princes (the home of Paris-Saint-Germain football club) and Roland Garros' tennis courts (home to the French Open).
For the open water swimming events, organizers are desperately working to make the Seine safe to swim in again, but there is little that can be done if rain arrives before the Games and sends the bacteria count sky high—Macron himself, though, has promised to go in regardless.
An expected 500,000 people will be added to Paris' daily 4 million travelers on public transport, and extra staff are already in place to help shepherd people across the capital to numerous events in many places.
Terrorism is a constant threat and security is proving a nightmare, particularly for the Opening Ceremony—which, for the first time in Olympics history, will not take place in an arena but instead along the river Seine. For this reason, access is now only possible through a ticketed event.
All venues are well served by metro stations as well as the longer distance inner city train called the RER (the Regional Express Network), which heads into the Parisian suburbs where some events are being held in an effort to regenerate less well known areas. From the city center, it will take about one and a half hours to travel to the canoe and kayaking venues at the Vaires-sur-Marnes water park and the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines BMX track.
The best bet for visitors looking to easily navigate Paris is to download one of several apps to help you orientate yourselves around the capital, notably CityMapper, Google maps or Île-de-France Mobilitiés.
Citymapper offers real-time information on routes, combining a mixture of transport methods, and also has handy tips on how to reach your destination faster, like which train carriage to board, or which exit door to use.
Another good option would be to use the city's Vélib' cycling network of hire bikes, and there are bike stations outside all the venues for the Olympic Games. You can also download the apps
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