Sports mania: Totally sport-focused
Paris has plenty of places where sport is king. With cultural venues devoted to sport, backstage tours of legendary stadiums, restaurants at sporting venues and sports bars, you can indulge your passion for sport to the full!
A culture of sport
Sport has its place at museums too. If you’re a tennis fan, you’ll enjoy a visit to the French tennis federation’s museum, the Tenniseum at Roland-Garros, which houses a permanent exhibition as well as a number of temporary tennis-related exhibitions. Note, however, that the museum will be closed from 1 April 2016 for the duration of the renovation work currently underway to extend the stadium. See the website for further information.
For fans of combat sports, the Musée de la Boxe in the town of Sannois (95), with its extensive collection of 8,000 objects, offers a comprehensive overview of boxing.
Many general-interest museums also display sport-themed works of art, such as Picasso’sThe Bathers at the Musée national Picasso and Raoul Dufy’s sketches of boxers at The Pompidou Centre. Keep an eye out for such works at venues such as the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay and the Musée Carnavalet.
Behind the scenes
In Paris, you can go backstage at most major sporting venues!
The backstage areas at huge stadiums such as the Parc des Princes and the Stade de France are just as impressive as the big-league matches they host. During a tour, you can put yourself in the shoes of the players as they stand on the pitch, and contemplate an imaginary crowd. This is also an opportunity to explore the changing rooms and various adjoining spaces where all the backstage action takes place in the thick of a match. Other legendary venues too offer the public a chance to take a backstage tour, like the Vincennes racecourse and Roland-Garros. Just follow your guide!
Eating out
If you’ve always wanted to combine a day out at a sporting venue and a good meal, you can do it in Paris. Watch the action unfolding before your eyes as you savour exquisitely prepared dishes. Often chic and resolutely atypical, restaurants at sporting venues offer very good meals in a setting that is well worth the detour. Undoubtedly, the most impressive are those with a panoramic view of the race tracks, or other competition venues. Here clients can enjoy being at the heart of the action while at the same time relaxing over an excellent meal.
| 2bis avenue Gordon Bennett, Paris 16e. Métro Porte d'Auteuil. Tél. +33 (0) 1 47 43 49 56 | 1 rue du Camp Canadien, 92210 Saint-Cloud. Tel +33 (0) 1 47 77 64 59 | |
| 2, route de la Ferme, Paris 12e. Métro Château de Vincennes. Tel +33 (0) 1 49 77 17 17 |
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| Parc des Princes - 24 rue du Commandant Guilbaud, Paris 16e. Métro Porte de Saint-Cloud. Tél +33 (0) 1 45 27 05 70 | Hippodrome de Longchamp , bois de Boulogne, route des Tribunes, Paris 16e. Métro Porte d'Auteuil. www.laffiche.fr |
Sports bars
Paris will be living and breathing football during the Euro 2016! To experience all the excitement as if you were right there in the stadium, head to one of the French capital’s numerous sports bars to enjoy the electric atmosphere with all the other supporters. Bars in Paris show a number of sporting events: not just the Euro, but also the UEFA Champions League, NBA matches, Premier League fixtures, etc.
A watering hole of choice for sports fans, Le Players in the heart of Paris has no fewer than 30 HD screens, and can accommodate up to 650 spectators. Other bars that are very popular with football fans include the Ballon FC in the 10th, the Park’s Boulevard in the 16th and the Losserand Café in the 14th.
