Paris 2024: Get to know the Paralympic venues

Paris will host its first Paralympic Games. Up to 4,400 Para athletes from across the globe will take centre stage during Paris 2024 at some of the most iconic landmarks in the city.

The Opening Ceremony on 28 August will take place outside of a stadium for the first time, with the Athletes’ Parade winding its way through the heart of the French capital to the iconic Place de la Concorde. The quest for medals will be played out across this beautiful city; blind football matches at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, Para equestrian events in the gardens of the Chateau de Versailles, with both wheelchair fencing and Para taekwondo staged at the Grand Palais.

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Here is what you should know about each of the stunning Paralympic venues. 

 

Stade de France

Paralympic sport: Para athletics

Remember the glorious spectacle at last year’s Para Athletics World Championships in Paris? The world’s best runners, throwers and jumpers will return to the city and the spotlight in the Stade de France, the country’s largest stadium.

Fans will witness sporting history made on a purple athletic track, instead of the traditional red-brick clay colour tracks. The venue, located in Saint-Denis, was originally built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, and since then, has staged some of the world’s biggest sporting moments. At the Rugby World Cup last year, 10 matches, including the tournament opener and the final, took place here.

 

Roland-Garros Stadium 

Paralympic sport: wheelchair tennis

One of the most iconic tennis venues in the world will open a new chapter when wheelchair tennis stages its Paralympic competition here. Named after French aviator Roland Garros, the famous clay courts host the French Open, one of the four Grand Slam tournaments, every year. There will be up to 96 wheelchair tennis players competing in six medal events - men's singles, men's doubles, women's singles, women's doubles, quad singles, and quad doubles.

 

Chateau de Versailles 

Paralympic sport: Para equestrian

An historic symbol of French royalty, the Chateau de Versailles was home to the court of Louis XIV in 1682. It opened to the public as a national museum in 1883 and became the first French site to be listed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1979. A temporary outdoor arena with stands will be set up for fans to witness Paralympic royalty crowned.

 

Paris La Defense Arena

Paralympic sport: Para swimming

The arena in Nanterre has transformed into a pool for the first time for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The huge venue, with 13km of stands and 5,500 tonnes of framework, is home to rugby union side Racing 92. It also serves as a concert venue, where huge names like The Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney have performed. In 2024, Taylor Swift brought her Eras Tour to the venue, less than four months before Para swimmers take the stage in ‘Style’.

 

Eiffel Tower Stadium 

Paralympic sport: blind football

What better location for watching blind football history unfold than at this iconic symbol of Paris? A public park located at the foot of the Eiffel Tower will host a temporary arena that can welcome up to 12,860 spectators. 

 

Invalides

Paralympic sport: Para archery

The world’s best Para archers will shoot for the podium at the famous Esplanade des Invalides, a huge garden in the heart of Paris. The Esplanade is located next to the Hôtel des Invalides, a historical building complex constructed during the reign of Louis XIV in 1687 and is the site of Napoleon Bonaparte’s tomb.

 

Pont Alexandre III 

Paralympic sport: Para triathlon

Pont Alexandre III is a bridge between the Seine’s two banks in central Paris, connecting the neighbourhoods of the Champs-Elysees and the Invalides. The bridge, which is 45m wide and 107m long, is a piece of art in itself. It features four 17-metre-high columns that support bronze statues at each bank. During the Paralympics, Para triathletes will start the swimming leg at the base of the bridge.

 

Grand Palais

Paralympic sports: wheelchair fencing, Para taekwondo

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Located in the heart of Paris, the Grand Palais has a long history of hosting art and sport events. Originally built for the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1900, the Palais is known for its magnificent nave and glass roof. It underwent restoration ahead of its spectacular re-opening for the Paris 2024 Games.

 

Champ de Mars Arena 

Paralympic sports: Para judo, wheelchair rugby

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The Champ de Mars Arena is a 10,000 sqm building in the centre of Paris currently known as the Grand Palais Overlay. Designed by French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, this beautiful venue, built with sustainable materials, was created to host art, fashion and sports events. 

 

Porte de la Chapelle Arena 

Paralympic sports: Para badminton, Para powerlifting

Porte de la Chapelle Arena is one of the new venues at Paris 2024. The eco-design venue will stage Para badminton and Para powerlifting competitions during the Paralympics and will be transformed into a cultural and sport hub for people in northern Paris after the Games. Eighty per cent of the building’s surface will be covered with greenery, while recyclable aluminium and bio-based wood are also used to construct the complex.

 

South Paris Arena 

Paralympic sports: boccia, Para table tennis, goalball

Boccia and goalball are the only two sports at the Paralympic Games that do not have Olympic counterparts. At Paris 2024, they’ll be staged at the same venue, alongside Para table tennis. The South Paris Arena is located within Paris Expo, an exhibition and convention centre that welcomes 7.5 million visitors a year.

 

Chateauroux Shooting Centre

Paralympic sport: shooting Para sport

The Chateauroux Shooting Centre will welcome about 160 athletes when shooting Para sport events take place. Located in Chateauroux in central France, it opened in 2018 as one of the largest shooting venues in Europe and will continue to be used as a venue for international events after the Paralympic Games. It is equipped with several shooting ranges, making it a perfect venue to host all 13 Paralympic events.

 

North Paris Arena

Paralympic sport: sitting volleyball

If sitting volleyball is your preferred event, the North Paris Arena in Seine-Saint-Denis is your destination. The Villepinte exhibition centre is the largest venue of its kind in France, with nine halls and space for 6,000 spectators. It will turn into a huge sports arena during the Paralympic Games.

 

Bercy Arena 

Paralympic sport: wheelchair basketball

The venue has served as the centre of culture and sport in the French capital since it was built in 1984. It has welcomed more than 30 million spectators across hundreds of events, ranging from athletics to basketball, ice hockey and motocross. Now the indoor arena with its iconic pyramid design will welcome Paralympians and fans from around the world for the wheelchair basketball competition.

 

Saint-Quentin-En-Yvelines Velodrome 

Paralympic sport: Para cycling – track

This ultra-modern venue is perfect to showcase the talent and technique of Para cyclists from around the world. Since it opened in 2014, it has hosted a number of international events, including the 2015 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, and is also the home of the French Cycling Federation.

 

Vaires-Sur-Marne Nautical Stadium 

Paralympic sport: Para canoe, Para rowing

Located near the Disneyland Paris theme park, Vaires-Sur-Marne Nautical Stadium is a new complex built in 2019 ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. During the Games, athletes will compete in front of 12,000 spectators in Para canoe and 14,000 in Para rowing. After the Games, people can visit the site to relax and enjoy the scenery, with 450 trees planted to offer people “somewhere to breathe” in the city.

 

Clichy-Sous-Bois

Paralympic sport: Para cycling – road

Clichy-sous-Bois is a commune in the Paris suburbs where the Paralympic road cycling events will start and finish. Events including men’s and women’s road races, time trials and a mixed team relay will be contested on the streets. 

 

Paralympic marathon route

Four gold medals will be up for grabs on a challenging course through Seine-Saint-Denis and Paris on the final day of the Paralympic Games. Starting in Saint-Denis and finishing at the Esplanades des Invalides in the heart of the capital, the course will take athletes near some of the most beautiful sights and monuments, including the Arc de Triomphe.

 

 

Book your tickets for the Paralympic Games by visiting the Paris 2024 ticketing website