Paris Olympics 2024

By gnegelfamilyJune 6, 2025

Our journey to the Olympics was years in the making, not unlike the athletes competing there. LOL While on our “Big Trip” from 2020-2021, we started talking about the Tokyo Olympics because the media was covering the Olympic Committee’s debate about delaying the games. That led to the question of if it would ever be possible for us to go see the Olympic Games. When we found out that the next summer games (2024) would be in Paris, the wheels started turning. If it was ever going to be financially possible, it would have to be when the games were within driving distance so we could camp with our camper, and Paris fit the bill! So we looked into what we would need to do to get tickets and found that we needed to enter a lottery in the end of 2022. Steffen and I both entered the lottery and crossed our fingers.

After several weeks, we both received emails about a month before our slot with a few days time period where the slot could fall. Then we received our 48 hour time period in which we could buy tickets! We had to buy tickets to three different events at a time and could not buy more than 18 tickets total per account. So we spent a lot of time looking at schedules and ranking events, and we had a spreadsheet with our ideal ticket configuration. And then, as fate would have it, our actual time slot began just as I was going through customs and immigration in New Zealand, so Steffen called me as he sat in front of the computer. All of the reasonably-priced tickets for the events we wanted to see (gymnastics, swimming, diving, athletics) were already sold out. So on the fly we got whatever we could afford and hoped for the best. It was all very complicated and stressful!

Fast forward 18 months and it was time to go! At some point as we booked campgrounds, we realised that not all the events were in Paris but rather spread across the country. At first we were a bit concerned because it meant a lot more driving, but I’m actually glad it was that way. First of all, we saw more of France and second of all, Paris was so hot and crowded, I think a month there would have been way too much.

We started our trip with a few days just south of Granville at Camping Château de Lez-Eaux which was a wonderful place to relax and go on a few day trips. The people at the reception were very helpful. The first day we relaxed at the pool.

In the evening we drove into Saint-Pair-sur-Mer and got caught in a huge rainstorm just as we wanted to leave the ice cream shop. The owner was so kind and told us to wait inside (even though they wanted to close shop). The town was so cute and we drove back to the campground along the coast.

The second day we spent the day at Mont-Saint-Michel, a stunning Gothic-style Benedictine abbey surrounded by medieval streets. It was so beautiful! We ignored all the advice and visited on a Sunday in mid-July so crowds were at their peak but we still enjoyed it. We ate lunch, walked through the abbey and enjoyed the narrow streets. The views were fantastic and the ornate details beautiful. I had been wanting to visit for some time, so was glad it worked out.

The next day was Monday so Steffen stayed home to work (and Hannah had been feeling sick for a few days), so the rest of us took a boat over to the Chausey archipelago and it was breathtaking. It was so calm and relaxing. We walked around the whole island, taking breaks to play, read, do some gymnastics and have some lunch. The weather was perfect and the photos do not do it justice. I highly recommend a trip!

The following day it was time to continue on to our next stop, Nantes where we stayed at Nantes Camping, right in the middle of the city. We spent some time relaxing at the campground the first day and then it was time for our first event: first round of men’s soccer, Egypt vs Dominican Republic that ended in a draw at the Stade de la Beaujoire. It was very interesting to be at a sporting event where the spectators weren’t rooting for a particular team but rather just happy to be there. The next day we ended up going back because we grabbed some last minute tickets to the women’s first round: Japan vs Spain with a Spain victory!

It wasn’t only about soccer in Nantes, though. We did get a chance to explore the city with a walk through Château des Ducs de Bretagne, a little train tour, and a walk along the green line that lead to lot of cool street art that the city is famous for.

Nantes does hold a special place in our family history because it was under this large tree looking out into the castle grounds that we made two big decisions about our future: to take a year-long trip around the world for the 2025-2026 school year and then to move back to the United States afterwards.

After Nantes we drove north, almost all the way back to Germany, to Lille where we had tickets to the first round of men’s basketball. As luck would have it, we got to see Team USA vs Serbia!! When we bought the tickets 18 months prior, we had no idea who would be playing, so we were thrilled to find out that we got to see some legends play! The atmosphere around the stadium was much more lively than around the soccer stadium in Nantes. There was face painting and music and a general feel of excitement.

The next day some of us headed into town to do some sightseeing. While looking over the tourist map, Luisa spotted the tiny words “Westfield” and excitedly asked, “isn’t that a mall??” So after obligingly walking the streets of Lille, we headed to the mall. When traveling, it is important that everyone gets to do what they want some of the time.

That evening we headed back to the stadium to see USA play again–this time the women’s team vs Japan. At first, the atmosphere was much more subdued and the stadium was pretty empty but it filled up and by game time, everyone was excited. They played well and USA was victorious!

The next day we drove south to our final destination: Paris! We spent 10 days at the Caravaning 4 Vents campground, about an hour train ride outside of the city. It was a large campground with a restaurant, little shop and pool to cool off in. The first event we saw there was table tennis. We saw three matches and were very impressed with how fun the atmosphere was!

I then convinced the girls to hop on a bus and then a walk to Foundation Louis Vuitton for some fine art. It was a small and very manageable museum with some beautiful artwork and cool architecture. It was hot and had been a long day, but we managed to have some fun.

Day two found us at two field hockey games which were not our favorite. It was super hot and we were sitting right in the direct sun plus no one had any idea what was going on! We did watch the women’s Germany vs China match (Germany won!) and then (part of) the Netherlands vs France match but lost interest and such away before it finished…. Luisa was gifted a foam finger by one of the volunteers so that was a highlight!

The following day we didn’t have tickets to any events so planned on doing some sightseeing and just soaking in the chaos that is Paris, in the summer, during the Olympics. We started at the Place de la Bastille then, armed with fresh crepes, wind our way through the streets, pausing for a break in the quaint Place des Vosges, ending at King Falafel for lunch. From there we continued walking until we got to Montmartre where we watched the men’s cycling road race complete two laps. It was chaos! There was a huge difference between the ticketed and non-ticketed events in terms of organisation, and it felt a bit dangerous, to be honest. It was so crowded that there was very little chance of moving from one spot to another and we saw (much to the children’s delight) a pickpocket in action! The police were quick to catch the thief. From there we fought our way through the crowds to a little movie theatre where we watched “Inside Out”. We always go to the movies when we are in France because they have them in “Original Version”.

We then had a couple of more days with no events planned, so we took some time to check out a few museums, with the girls and Steffen opting to hang out at the campground one day while I explored the city. We saw some of our favorite spots, went to some new places and enjoyed a few really wonderful meals.

Les Invalidades, home of the Military Museum and Napoleon’s tomb

Musée Rodin

Lunch at Le Petit Cler (highly recommend!)

Enjoying the sights on our way to the Iron Lady

We had a chance to glimpse the women’s cycling road race right before they crossed the bridge to the finish line. It was crowded and super quick but fun to be part of the atmosphere and we got some great shots near the Eiffel Tower. Such a pretty area!

The next day we had tickets to the Louvre so we made our way into the city and braved the crowds. We did have a reservation and things were pretty well organised, so we didn’t have to wait too long in line. But once we were inside, it was pretty clear that the kids had no interest whatsoever. We shuttled them to a few of the more famous works and I tried to entice Hannah with some Rembrandt since we had *just* been at his house in Amsterdam, but there was little enthusiasm. Towards the end of our visit we found the “Studio” that had some hands-on activities for the kids and a special exhibit about the Olympics, both of which were fantastic. I just wish we had known about them from the beginning.

Then we walked over to the Jardin des Tuileries, where the cauldron, which held the flame, was located. Tickets (which were impossible to get!) were required to get close but we could glimpse it. We then walked along the Seine, eventually finding ourselves at the Arc de Triomphe for some fabulous views. Then it was time to call it a day!

The following day was a rest day. The girls and Steffen stayed at the campground, and I got a chance to explore Paris at my leisure. I mostly walked the streets, taking in the atmosphere and beautiful architecture. I brought my book and sat in a cafe, did some window shopping and visited the fabulous Musée Picasso Paris. Then it was time to head back to the campground with a treat for the girls, Ben’s Cookies!

The next day we had tickets to women’s golf at Le Golf National in Guyancourt, that required any early wake up and a bit of a convoluted journey involving our car, the train, a bus and a walk but we made it! First we staked out a spot and watched a few groups go through and then we started following one group from hole to hole. After a few hours, 4/6 of us had seen enough so we headed into the city. Olivia and Steffen stayed until the end, snagging a spot in the grandstands to see the final hole.

The rest of us explored more of Paris. This time we saw the Notre-Dame (only from the outside; it had not yet reopened), the gorgeous stained glass of Sainte-Chapelle and the very fun and interesting La Galerie Dior. Another fun day experiencing the wide variety of culture that Paris has to offer, including at stop at the delicious Creperie des Artes!

Our final day was actually not in Paris, but at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium, about 30km east of the city center. It was there that we watched a variety of events, including the finals of Women’s Kayak Four where Germany won silver and the Men’s Kayak Four where Germany won gold! We even got to see the medal ceremony which was really cool. What a great way to end our Olympic Games adventure.