A year ago, I told travelers who were set on flying to Paris for the highly anticipated 2024 Olympic Games that they should book as early as possible, pray for a shot at a good deal anywhere in Europe, and expect some painful lodging prices, too.
I was wrong…and I couldn't be happier about it.
Somehow, some way, with the opening ceremony just nine days away, you can still cheaply and easily pull off a trip to the 2024 Paris Games. I know, I can't believe it, either.
But it's true! The travel industry as a whole completely whiffed on the anticipated travel demand to Paris for the Olympics. While Europe is always a popular summer travel destination – and this year is no different – it appears many travelers wrote off seeing the world's best athletes compete in France thinking it would be too expensive and insanely busy. That's left many airplane seats unfilled, hotel beds unoccupied, and even empty stadium seats at the Games themselves.
Delta President Glen Hauenstein even called out this stunning development on the airline's quarterly earning call last week: “We are seeing about a $100 million impact on travel to Paris for the Olympics from June to August. Outside of this temporary event, summer travel demand to Europe is strong and consistent with our expectations.”
Plus, for travelers who booked super-expensive travel a few months ago, it's a perfect chance to cancel and rebook for a better rate while you still can.
The Olympics run from July 26 all the way to Aug. 11, so even if you miss the first few days of the Games, you can book cheap travel to spend more than a week in Paris watching the Games! Plus, the Paralympic Games begin right after the Olympics, so you can take advantage of even cheaper and better flight, hotel, and ticketing options to see those athletes, too. And if you haven't seen, the setting for this year's Olympics looks amazing.
If you were already experiencing FOMO, it's high time you get booking and see the Paris Olympics (which literally start next week!) for prices you can't imagine are still possible.
Let me prove it to you.
Flights are Somehow Still Cheap (Using Points & Miles or Cash)
I can't believe this is happening, but it is. You can fly to the Paris Olympics for cheaper now than you could have booked months ago from some cities.
Airfare to Paris is upside down, and that's a good thing for you.
Just a fair warning: The cheapest fares and best availability definitely favor the major airports on the East Coast. It's going to be easier for travelers based there to find outsized value this close to the Games. But if you live there, or can take a cheap positioning flight, you can save big on a last-minute trip to France.
Let's start with points and miles, because that's clearly where the best deals still are for flights to and from the Olympics this year. Say you have some Air France/KLM Flying Blue miles (or American Express, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Citi, or Wells Fargo points you can transfer to FlyingBlue) and want to fly into Paris (CDG) for the Games. You've got options from airports like Boston (BOS) and Washington, D.C. (IAD) for instance.
While 20,000 miles each way – 40,000 roundtrip – isn't the lowest rate you'll see to Europe, for a flight that leaves in two weeks, to the epicenter of the sports universe, and flying nonstop, it's an insane deal. But you can do even better. How about the comfort of premium economy?
Same thing: Air France's incredible 35,000-mile premium economy rate is still bookable for the same flights as above. Do you think you can pull off the same availability in the lie-flat business class cabin, too? You sure can!
In any of these three cabins, you can take this Saturday flight to the Olympics, and there are at least 10 other dates during the Olympic Games where you can book a version of these flights using your points. Plus, we found similar availability from Washington, D.C. (IAD) on the same dates, too.
Read more: You Can Still Fly Business Class to Europe This Summer for Cheap (Yes, Really)
You can also pull off similar redemptions using other programs. Take Qatar Avios, for example. You can transfer Amex or Citi points to Qatar, as well as British Airways Avios to Qatar. (And you can transfer from Chase, Amex, Capital One, Bilt, and Wells Fargo to British Airways, too.)
And with those Qatar Avios, you can snag JetBlue Mint Suites flying from New York (JFK) to Paris (CDG) during the Games, too!
You don't have to have boatloads of points and miles to get over to France this summer, though. While cash airfare isn't the cheapest we've ever seen to Paris, it is still incredibly cheap compared to what peak summer rates during a major international event should be (think $1,200 or more on all of these!).
Check out these two outbound flights that would take you to the games in the first week of August. You can even take that coveted daytime flight (no redeye, here!) nonstop from New York (JFK) for just $713 roundtrip.
As you can see, the other fares during the games aren't terribly expensive, either, depending on the day you snag.
With the Games ending Aug. 11, you can arrive anytime in that first week of August and still see multiple days of the Olympics!
Just for fun, let's look at business class cash prices. They can't be cheap right?
Unbelievable! The all-business class airline La Compagnie can get you to and from the games, Saturday to Saturday, for just $1,998 roundtrip. (The price listed above is bookable through an online travel agency. It's better to just book direct with La Compagnie.)
Lie-flat both ways, plus a chance to see the Paris Olympics. It doesn't get better than that!
And while the other airlines don't have quite as good prices as La Compagnie does from Newark (EWR) to Paris-Orly (ORY), you can still find fares that are way cheaper than we'd expect from Paris Olympics business class prices (i.e. $4,000+ roundtrip).
I cannot stress enough how rare these last-minute, cheap cash prices and points and miles rates are for a trip to the Paris Olympics. All year we were bracing for the worst, and instead delivered insane value just a week before the games.
At Thrifty Traveler, we always tell travelers to book their flights first, and these flight prices alone should make you consider a last-minute trip to the Olympics.
But that's not all…
Good Lodging is Cheap and Still Available
When we were sending cheap flights and award alerts for the Paris Olympics this winter and spring, we heard a chorus of travelers who booked, but were bracing for insane lodging prices. Airbnbs were all gobbled up and the hotels were charging an arm and a leg for a night at the inn.
Not anymore.
Hotel prices have been slashed all over Paris as the hotels look to fill up their open rooms during the Games. We don't know if people were scared away by the high sticker shock of a few months ago, or if fewer people wanted to go to the Games than hotels anticipated, but there are some fantastic values out there.
Look at this Google Hotels map of hotel nights available for three nights in the first week of August for less than $250 a night. We filtered for only four-and-five star hotels (by hotel rating, not user rating.)
When I did an Airbnb search, I found some good apartments you could rent in Paris at similar prices, too.
This is just as unexpected as the cheap flights. Lodging is not going to crush you when you're in Paris for the games, even if you book right now.
Olympics Tickets are Still Out There, Too
Men's soccer, team handball, badminton, basketball, rowing, and more: There are tons of tickets out there, and they're really cheap in some cases.
According to an email alert from the Paris Olympics, a new batch of tickets will be released for the opening ceremony, closing ceremony, track & field, swimming, basketball, and handball events on Thursday morning at 10 a.m. Paris time (4 a.m. Eastern time in the U.S.).
If you want to go see some men's soccer, for instance, many tickets are only going to cost you 24 euro, or $26.
To get into the opening ceremony (which will be a floating parade down the Seine River that should be spectacular) you're looking at 500 euro instead, however.
But tickets are out there for even the most coveted events of the Olympic Games if you're willing to shell out a few more dollars. Look at these prices for the gymnastics events.
Same for the track and field events, which are significantly cheaper thanks to them being played in a much larger stadium.
Overall, you might be surprised at how available Olympics tickets are.
How to Book Paris Olympics Tickets
If you're looking to attend the games, you have to secure tickets and this won't be as simple as a search through Stubhub or Ticketmaster.
First, you have to make an account with the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Once you've gone through the process to create an account, you'll be asked for some email, phone number, and other contact information. You'll also be asked questions like your favorite Olympic events and your favorite country.
From there, you can look into tickets for both the Paralympics and Olympic Games.
From there, you can set a bunch of filters to figure out the tickets you want. You can do it by location, event, venue, or the dates you're expecting to be there. Those searches will yield results like I showed you above. Happy hunting!
The Dollar is Still Strong
It's never been a better time for Americans to travel abroad thanks to the outsized strength of the U.S. dollar. Almost everywhere you can imagine, the U.S. dollar is reaching new heights when compared to local currencies.
That's definitely the case for the Euro, too, which is why many places in Europe made our list of the places where your dollar goes furthest in 2024.
So despite slightly higher-than-normal rates around Paris during the games, the surge pricing of common goods and services isn't going to sting quite as much. In fact, many of your meals, glasses of wine, or croissants or crepes are going to be hilariously cheap when compared to what we face at restaurants here in the U.S. And don't forget, the tipping culture in Europe isn't as aggressive as it is here, meaning you're saving on every service transaction as well.
It's a great time to be an American with U.S. dollars almost anywhere in the world right now, Paris included.
Rebook Your Trip to Save
For once, the travel booking procrastinators are getting the upper hand. For my fellow advance planners out there, I know this is really annoying. But you're still in a great position to save big bucks on your Paris Olympics trip if you booked many months ago.
Rebooking travel is the easiest and simplest way to save on flying and lodging. I do it all the time. It's the number one piece of advice I give to travelers: Never stop booking and rebooking your trip.
We're in a good rebooking window right now for your Paris trip. If you booked flights in the Main Cabin or higher, go check the prices again to see if they've dropped. If they have, you can often rebook the same exact flights for the new price and get an credit or a voucher for the difference in fares.
If you can't simply rebook for a voucher (like if prices on another airline, for instance) go ahead and book the cheaper flights and cancel your original ones. So long as you booked the right fare initially, you should get a credit for the original flights you put towards future travel.
Finally, go check in on points and miles rates, too. If you booked something expensive a long time ago, similar or the same flights might be available for you to book using your points and miles – including comfier seats in premium economy or lie-flat business class.
You're not done booking a trip until you get home – at least that's my strategy. You can always make things a little cheaper and/or a little better. Your trip to the Paris Olympics is a prime candidate for that.
Bottom Line
The first events of the 2024 Paris Olympics are a week away and the opening ceremony are just nine days away from this writing, but somehow, cheap flights, lodging, and event tickets are still out there for the 2024 Paris Games.
Whether you want to fly lie-flat and stay in a five-star hotel or you want the cheapest possible trip to go see the highly anticipated Olympics, there's still incredible value out there for travelers looking to see the world come together in Paris this month and next.