The City of Light will be heavy with traffic and Olympic medal expectations this summer. As the host of the XXXIII Games, Paris will welcome hundreds of thousands of people to its avenues and arrondissements — or neighborhoods — starting July 26 through Aug. 11.

“Many monuments are being renovated, and there is a lot of construction going on,” says Sophie Lesage ‘17. “Even if most people are excited about the Olympics, a part of the population is very worried about the impact the event is going to have on traffic and how crowded Paris is going to be. The Olympics are also having a huge impact on the price of housing and hotels.” 

The former TU tennis player has plans to attend the Games…as a spectator. 

“I bought about 20 tickets,” she says. “I am planning on going to the track and field, equestrian, tennis, skateboarding, table tennis, boxing and golf competitions. I also got a couple of tickets for the Paralympic Games.”

It is very chic and has a very rich history. I love the Saint-Germain-de-Pres area as well as walking around the Jardin du Luxembourg.

Sophie Lesage

The Paris native came to the United States to attend TU on an athletic scholarship and earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing. She discovered sports marketing at TU and still uses the skills she learned then in her job as sponsorship sales manager with Paris-Saint Germain. The club, which fields professional men’s and women’s soccer teams as well as a handball team, will likely have players representing France, and the soccer stadium, Parc des Princes, will host several games.

Lesage says most everything is still open, despite the construction.

She likes to spend time in the 6th arrondissement, an area special to her as the location of her graduate studies.

“It is very chic and has a very rich history,” Lesage says. “I love the Saint-Germain-de-Prés area as well as walking around the Jardin du Luxembourg.”

paris map

When Lesage hosts visitors, she hits Paris’ highlights.

“I try to take them to all the famous monuments like the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe,” she says. “Versailles Palace, which is outside Paris, is also a very cool experience. And a great way to see Paris from a different angle is to take a boat ride on the Seine.”

For a night out, Lesage recommends the Moulin Rouge, in the Montmartre neighborhood and the nearby Italian restaurant Pink Mamma in the Pigalle quarter. Paris has a wide variety of family-friendly activities too.

“The Jardin d’Acclimation is a very cool place for children but also for the adults who are with them,” Lesage says. “It’s a cute theme park, next to the Bois de Boulogne. We also have Disneyland in Paris, and many museums such as the Musée d’Orsay organize activities for kids.” 

Because why should the adults have all the fun and Games?