Here are some tips for attending the French Open.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Getting there<\/p>\n
\u2022 Get tickets, but don\u2019t sweat tickets. The scalpers may have been cleared from the nearby Metro stops, but this event is much closer to the U.S. Open than to Wimbledon. You may have to pay various fees online. You may have to struggle through French-language websites. But few sessions are fully sold out, and you should be okay to get through the gates. I\u2019ve even heard stories of hotel concierges helping, too.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Taking the Metro, which is clean, safe, punctual and generally outstanding, to Porte d\u2019Auteuil is your best bet. Download the \u201cNavigo\u201d app and you can buy Metro tickets with AppplePay.<\/p>\n
\u2022 After the Metro, biking is the best way to get around. There are tons of bike lanes\u2014a great source of local debate; on which the last mayoral election swung. Velib is the Citibike equivalent. And your Uber app works for Lime e-bikes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2022 As for cabs and cars, if you must\u2026.the event borders the P\u00e9riph\u00e9rique (the beltway), but don\u2019t let Google Maps deceive you. It\u2019s tucked into a residential neighborhood, so streets are either closed or snarled with traffic. You\u2019ll pay for trying to get too close. If you\u2019re taking an Uber or a cab, get off at Hotel Molitor and walk the 100 yards or so.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Paris has Uber but it\u2019s unreliable. A lot of two-minute waits turn into 10-minute waits. Order in advance and odds are 50\/50 the driver cancels right before your appointed pick-up. Again, Metro, walk or bike.<\/p>\n
\u2022 For will call especially, bring I.D., preferably a passport. I\u2019ve heard stories of people coming to pick up tickets and\u2014even armed with the same credit card used to make the purchase\u2014having trouble because they cannot identify themselves.<\/p>\n
On the grounds<\/p>\n
\u2022 Note the Rafael Nadal statue. (Hot take: It says as much about Nadal\u2019s character as his tennis that the event felt comfortable immortalizing him with a statue before his retirement.)<\/p>\n
\u2022 There is no finer tennis venue than Court Simonne-Mathieu. Full stop. Trust us. Long story short: The event wanted to expand into the adjacent botanical gardens. Paris said, Are you kidding? We\u2019re not moving our greenhouses. The event said, No worries, we\u2019ll put the third show court IN the greenhouse.<\/p>\n
\u2022 As always, the practice schedule is your friend. (And the event is awfully good about posting times and location.) Stars often favor Courts 5. Fans in the know are there waiting.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Cheer for your favorite players. And for those who could use it or deserve it for reasons beyond their games. The Ukrainians. Stefanos Tsitsipas. Dasha Kasatkina. You will no doubt be reminded, but note this is Ga\u00ebl Monfils\u2019s last go-round. Same for former champ Stan Wawrinka.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Check out the apiary behind Suzanne Lenglen. Yes, you read right. And they use the honey as a condiment in the hospitality tents.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The upper reaches of Court Philippe-Chatrier double as vistas to see much of the Paris skyline, such as it is, including the Eiffel Tower.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The ramasseurs\u2014the ballkids<\/a>\u2014play a starring role. Most mornings an hour before match play, they charge down the concourse<\/a>, singing their theme song.<\/p>\n \u2022 The same holds for Wimbledon, but Americans are often surprised how late the sun goes down. It\u2019s June. Paris is deceptively far north. It\u2019s entirely possible that day matches will go until 9:30 p.m. local time. Consider that when making dinner plans.<\/p>\n \u2022 A related note: The night sessions are controversial for the absence of women. As the only match in the big stadium, they come across more as an awkward tack-on than a legit session. But it\u2019s a way to spend a day in Paris and still get to see tennis.<\/p>\n \u2022 Speaking of money grabs \u2026 the Sunday start used to be a \u201csoft open,\u201d a day when few top players were on the concert bill. More and more, it\u2019s a proper session with stars.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2022 Hydrate. And Perrier > Vittel > Evian.<\/p>\n \u2022 The food on site is \u2026 fine. Not embarrassing, not extortionately priced. And the croque monsieur draws rave reviews. (It ain\u2019t cheap but the lobster roll\u2014garnsihed with apple?\u2014is a five-star offering.) But you might want to bring your own baguettes, pastries and sandwiches. Room for improvement here, especially for a city known to have a decent restaurant. Or 10,000.<\/p>\n \u2022 Just stroll the grounds and note the small (and again, quirky) touches. Surely this is the only major sporting event that offers complementary Haribo gummy bears in some of the restrooms. There is an orange tree. There is a back path between the two show courts on which you might cross wild birds. The botanical gardens that abut Court Simonne-Mathieu are lovely.<\/p>\n \u2022 Actually, better than lovely. At least in past years, the event has been good about re-entry. If you need a break or a nap, buy a baguette and spend 45 minutes or so in the botanical gardens or the Bois de Boulogne before heading back to the tennis.<\/p>\n \u2022 If a French player is in action, stop by. Note the rabid fans \u2026 and how quickly they can turn on their players when they start losing.<\/p>\n \u2022 \u00a0Insider tip: A number of players (including Roger Federer in his day) would practice on their off days at the courts across the road in the Bois de Boulogne. Before you enter the stadium, it might be worth poking around.<\/p>\n Nearby<\/p>\n \u2022 The Bois de Boulogne is one of Paris\u2019s secrets hiding in plain sight. Detour through it on the way to Roland Garros. It\u2019s on the other end from Roland Garros, but get really ambitious and make a reservation at the Fondation Louis Vuitton<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2022 Again, because we cannot stress this enough, to the dismay of drivers, especially cabbies (and to the joy of many of us), Paris has become a wonderful bike town. There are bike lanes everywhere and paths along the Seine.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2022 Want a parlor game? The residents allegedly pay to remove it from Google Maps, but walk by Villa Montmorency\u2014not far from the complex in the 16th arrondissement\u2014is a gated community, where celebrities like Celine Dion and Nicolas Sarkozy keep homes.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2022 Again, the Metro is terrific. Reliable. Clean. Frequent. The stops are (too) close together. Don\u2019t worry when you see your hotel is a dozen stops from Porte d\u2019Auteuil. It won\u2019t take that long.<\/p>\n \u2022 Because you needed another reason to like France \u2026 showing a media card or a student ID gets you into most museums and galleries for free.<\/p>\n Misc.<\/p>\n \u2022 There\u2019s a joke that Parisians like the Eiffel Tower for one reason only: If they climb the steps they finally get a panoramic view of Paris unimpeded by the Eiffel Tower. This is the encapsulation of jaded. The Eiffel Tower is awesome. It\u2019s centrally located. It\u2019s a few bucks to ascend. Be a tourist and do it.<\/p>\n \u2022 Everyone has a favorite restaurant and recommendation but here\u2019s the truth: You can\u2019t go wrong. The neighborhood bistro near your Airbnb or hotel (remember hotels?) is just as good as the Michelin joint your lawyer\u2019s sister\u2019s dentist recommends so lustily. (But if you really want a rec, shout-out to this unassuming, authentic joint <\/a>in my neighborhood.)<\/p>\n \u2022 Le Relais de l’Entrec\u00f4te is terrible and touristy, and has bad quality beef and must be avoided at all costs. (Unless you\u2019re online, in which case please hold my spot.) Seriously, it\u2019s mediocre, sometimes leathery steak in divine sauce. Like put-it-in-our-veins divine. And it\u2019s fun and reasonably-priced. Tip: The Montparnasse location is farthest from the tennis but tends to have shortest lines.<\/p>\n \u2022 Contrary to reports, the French are, collectively, awesome. And they don\u2019t regard the English language as a sound the devil makes. Most of the country speaks it; and speaks it well. Which helps those of us who are not conversant in French. Acknowledging that any linguistic shortcoming is our fault, not theirs? It goes a long way. Starting by saying, Ex-Koos Em-Wa. Parlay-Vu Ong-Glay? goes a long way toward eroding any language barrier.<\/p>\n \u2022 Seriously, hydrate.<\/p>\n
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