Impact of Paris Olympics 2024

[dpatterson0516]

I was considering walking the French Camino this fall. Visiting Paris and Juno Beach prior to hitting SJPDP. I am concerned the impact of the Olympics in Paris will increase traffic on the crowded Frances and increase prices. I am now leaning to 2025. Thoughts?

 

[naplesdon]

I doubt it will have much impact on pilgrimage activities. Most Olympic fans will stick to Paris with possible side trips to nearby sites like Normandy but given the short time Americans have for holiday travel, I can't imagine them cramming a Camino into their travels. Europeans on the other hand may choose to avoid the Olympics and try other ventures during the Games. After all it is only for two weeks early in August and it segues with the end of the Tour de France. That being said, the crowds at CDG are probably going to be a bigger nightmare than usual.

 

[Michael-FL]

Hi DPat! I had been mulling over the same issue. My plan has been to walk the combined Via Podiensis & Camino Frances. I plan to visit Paris and attend Mass at Notre Dame following the restoration after the great fire. I was concerned about the impacts of the Paris Summer Olympics, which officially ends 11 August 2024. I decided to push off my start date in Paris until 5 September. From there I plan to train down to Le Puy-en-Velay and start my Camino there. I expect to be on the trail 10 Sep - 22 Nov. Impacts I’ve seen so far are airfares - at least for the route I plan to go, are up hugely. Buen Camino.

 

[jungleboy]

I agree that the impact will be on flight prices/availability to Paris and accommodation/crowds in and around Paris, rather than numbers/prices on the camino itself.

 

[John Gilliland]

Hi DPat! I had been mulling over the same issue. My plan has been to walk the combined Via Podiensis & Camino Frances. I plan to visit Paris and attend Mass at Notre Dame following the restoration after the great fire. I was concerned about the impacts of the Paris Summer Olympics, which officially ends 11 August 2024. I decided to push off my start date in Paris until 5 September. From there I plan to train down to Le Puy-en-Velay and start my Camino there. I expect to be on the trail 10 Sep - 22 Nov. Impacts I’ve seen so far are airfares - at least for the route I plan to go, are up hugely. Buen Camino.

Notre Dame is scheduled to reopen on 08 December 2024.

 

[henrythedog]

I was considering walking the French Camino this fall. Visiting Paris and Juno Beach prior to hitting SJPDP. I am concerned the impact of the Olympics in Paris will increase traffic on the crowded Frances and increase prices. I am now leaning to 2025. Thoughts?

Depends how long you think you’re going to live I suppose. I’m at the stage where I’d prefer to do it yesterday rather than tomorrow.

Just get on with it.

 

[naplesdon]

BTW, the Tour wraps up in Nice this year, the route does not include a stage in Paris

 

[WalkingInGers]

I would stay away from Paris during the Olympics and if you can, use Barcelona and/Madrid to fly to Europe. I will be in Paris next month and will be able to see first hand what Parisians are saying. I do know that prices of hotels, lodging have risen significantly. A new metro will start operations around Paris.

 

[Evan White]

Doing touristy things in Paris will always be crowded especially in the summer, make your sightseeing reservations ahead of time. I don't believe the Olympics will have any impact on Frances traffic. I'm also of the "do it now rather than later" mindset like some of the other replies. If the bulk of your time will be spent on the Camino I'd just suck it up and deal with the crowds in Paris for the short term, but make your plans and reservations well ahead. Concerning lodging in Paris, the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre runs a guesthouse for stays up to 5 days. 15 euro for a bed in the dorm, 35 euro for a shared room, 40 euro for a single room (full or half pension also available), might be an interesting option for you considering you'll be going on pilgrimage afterwards. IMO what you want to do is feasible if you plan ahead.

 

[dpatterson0516]

I was considering walking the French Camino this fall. Visiting Paris and Juno Beach prior to hitting SJPDP. I am concerned the impact of the Olympics in Paris will increase traffic on the crowded Frances and increase prices. I am now leaning to 2025. Thoughts?

As I stated, I was considering doing the French Camino in the fall. To clarify that would be starting late Sept at the earliest. Nor sure how many days yet but I definitely won't be experiencing the last 100 km. I don't need another compestela, find SDC more about $$ than crosses and abhore the last 100 km crowds.

 

[WalkingInGers]

As I stated, I was considering doing the French Camino in the fall. To clarify that would be starting late Sept at the earliest. Nor sure how many days yet but I definitely won't be experiencing the last 100 km. I don't need another compestela, find SDC more about $$ than crosses and abhore the last 100 km crowds.

The crowds are that bad on the last 100 km?

 

[Evan White]

The crowds are that bad on the last 100 km?

In 2023 there were almost 220,000 compostelas issued for the Frances and 62.5% of those started in Sarria. So more than that when you consider those who don't collect a compostela and aren't counted.

 

[Evan White]

As I stated, I was considering doing the French Camino in the fall. To clarify that would be starting late Sept at the earliest. Nor sure how many days yet but I definitely won't be experiencing the last 100 km. I don't need another compestela, find SDC more about $$ than crosses and abhore the last 100 km crowds.

Why not switch to the Invierno at Ponferrada, it won't be crowded. Or why not another something other than the Frances if you prefer more solitude?
Hope whatever you decide it's enjoyable.

 

[David Tallan]

In 2023 there were almost 220,000 compostelas issued for the Frances and 62.5% of those started in Sarria. So more than that when you consider those who don't collect a compostela and aren't counted.

in response to:

The crowds are that bad on the last 100 km?

To put this in context, I walked the last 50 km from Melide in late July 2023. So that is the busiest part of the busiest section (after the pilgrims from Sarria and further away on the Frances are joined by the pilgrims from the Primitivo) during the busiest time of year. Was it crowded? There was plenty of time when I was walking with no other pilgrims in sight. Most of the time there were only one or two pilgrims in sight. I can count the number of times I saw "crowds" on the fingers of one hand, mostly around bars. For me they were not that bad.

How did I manage this miracle? It wasn't that difficult. Instead of sleeping in Arzua and O Pedrouzo, I slept in Salceda and Lavacolla. I left the albergue at my usual time and was ahead of or behind the crowds that everyone warns you about. And that's just one strategy. There are others.

I can also say that accommodations were much easier to find when 220,000 compostelas were issued for the Frances than when less than 5,000 compostelas were issued.

Don't let the fearmongers scare you.

 

[trecile]

The crowds are that bad on the last 100 km?

My experience at the end of June was similar to @David Tallan's. I also joined the Francés from the Primitivo at Melide. I spent the two nights on the Francés at Boente (5.6 km after Melide) and at Albergue Astrar (700 m off the Camino at Santa Irene). Other than the group that I was walking with I only saw two other pilgrims (also from the Primitivo) in the first hour. We got a "late" start at 7 am. All the other boots and shoes were gone from the albergue racks by the time we woke up. At Albergue Astrar our group were the only pilgrims at the albergue.

Yes, there were more pilgrims than we had seen during two weeks on the Primitivo at every bar that we passed, but there were also empty tables, and everyone seemed to be served in a timely manner. Most of the "new" pilgrims were walking with such joy and excitement that it was contagious if you were open to it. I remember one older woman in particular who was so thrilled to be there. Although she walked slower than anyone else - she was doing it!

 

[Bradypus]

I can also say that accommodations were much easier to find when 220,000 compostelas were issued for the Frances than when less than 5,000 compostelas were issued.

I have just been typing out my handwritten diary from my first Camino in 1990 which I rediscovered not long ago when putting almost all my belongings into storage . Thought I had lost it years back. Reminded myself of some very long obligatory stages back then when accommodation was very thin on the ground indeed.

 

[dreaming]

The crowds were not bad at all in the last 100k of CF in October last year. Plenty of albergue beds without booking.

 

[Henriettagal]

I was considering walking the French Camino this fall. Visiting Paris and Juno Beach prior to hitting SJPDP. I am concerned the impact of the Olympics in Paris will increase traffic on the crowded Frances and increase prices. I am now leaning to 2025. Thoughts?

I've been looking at airfare USA to Europe for this summer. The costs have doubled since our Del Norte trip Oct. 2023. We are not going to Europe this summer. Hopefully 2025 will be different. Buen Camino

 

[dick bird]

I was considering walking the French Camino this fall. Visiting Paris and Juno Beach prior to hitting SJPDP. I am concerned the impact of the Olympics in Paris will increase traffic on the crowded Frances and increase prices. I am now leaning to 2025. Thoughts?

If Sydney 2000 is anything to go by, The Olympics won´t affect prices and availability unless you are in Paris while the games are actually in progress. I very much doubt if the Olympics will have any impact at all on the camino.