Paris Olympics 2024.

Not knowing what game we’d see or even if our itinerary would work out for it, we snagged tickets to a men’s Olympic basketball game a full 12 months before we left.

Even then, many of the Airbnbs were booked, and the hotel prices were bonkers. The basketball stadium is in Lille, France, but we booked a place in Ypres, Belgium, a 90-minute train journey away.

And it worked perfectly.

However, traveling in and out of Paris from Ypres just wasn’t doable. But how could we skip Paris?? So, we decided to bite the bullet and way overpay for a little hotel room for two nights.

Being in Paris and feeling the Olympics fever was exciting. Beyond the Olympic basketball game, we visited the Louvre, walked along the Champs-Élysées, and saw loads of famous sights during an evening, open-top bus tour. It was hot, expensive, and short, but: we’ll always have Paris!