The are upon us, and the entire city is buzzing with delight...
and so many questions. Can I still ? as a commentator? And what is the Olympic Village actually like ? The first is unfortunately no, the second has a more in-depth explanation , and the last we investigated ourselves. You’ve heard about all the at previous Olympic Games, and with this year’s intimacy ban lift and choice by the IOC to to the athletes (available in the resident centers and med clinics at the Village, for any 2024 Olympians taking notes!), it seems the City of Love is grounds for the most epic Olympic Village experience ever.
“They are competing so hard, so at the end of it all, they have the right to enjoy themselves and enjoy Paris,” empathized Laurent Michaud, director of the Olympic Village, to . As 's Olympics correspondent, I recently toured the Olympic Village to check out its really cool sustainability features and also ask all hard-hitting questions like “are they ?” and “can I jump on one to test it out?” Here's what I learned. The Village had sort of a sleepy business district vibe pre-Games—which is actually a big deal since the area used to be a —but things livened up quickly once the athletes started arriving in mid-July.
The Village is equipped with enough rooms to house more than 15,000 athletes during the Games, a childcare facility, and all the International Olympic Committee requirements to make it an Olympic Village (i.e., a barbershop, nail salon, sports lounge, café, bank, food hall, etc.
). After the athletes leave town, the area is expected to become one of the most sought-after addresses outside the city. The Olympic Village was part of the Paris 2024 plan to be the “greenest ever Games,” and so much of the project includes clever ways to create a mini town that won't drain the grid (while also helping improve it).
In many ways, the Village is acting as a test lab for building eco-friendlier cities, like how they’re testing out that filter out dangerous particles to clean the air. They even invented a new sustainable system for cooling or heating the rooms and laid the Village out in a way so the air hits the river before flowing through the streets, naturally cooling them. There are roughly 3,000 apartments and most come with a typical dorm-room style setup with shared bedrooms surrounding a common area and a shared bathroom.
Each room has a nightstand, fan, and two single beds made from recyclable cardboard, which are super sturdy...
believe me, I bounced on one to test it out. These cardboard-style beds got a bad rep in Tokyo 2020 for being , but this year, the beds are 100 percent made in France and have been tested to hold up to 12 “average men” at one time, which seems sturdy enough for at least a few Olympians. [Vive la France!] Unsurprisingly, Team USA took advantage of the BYO A/C policy since the rooms won’t have traditional air-con (hey, the Canadians brought their own, too, and the Australians even brought their own baristas!).
Packing in a few comforts of home is normal in the Olympic Village, but unlike the last Olympics in Tokyo, no one needed to bring their own condoms, since Paris 2024 supplied 300,000 (mainly Manix and Jacket brands). May we all get so lucky as to enjoy Paris the way an Olympic athletes have this summer! is a lifestyle editor at , covering travel, health, food, home, and more. She has visited all seven continents—paid rent on three—and takes far too much pride in her spice cabinet, which includes juniper berries from Norway, cardamom from Nepal, and a prized ras el hanout from Morocco.
Before joining , she was a freelance travel writer for , , , Fodor’s Travel, , and more. She is also a certified yoga instructor and rookie surfer. Follow her on.
