Le Monde's Paris Olympics guide. Day 15: Food, glorious food (2024)

The Olympics is a bit like a marathon spread out over 17 days. Now, the end is near and we are approaching the final Olympic furlong. This is not the time to start flagging, you need to keep your engine revved up and your spirits high. Food is fuel and if there were a food Olympics – and let's take a moment to savor such a tantalizing prospect – it would be a safe bet that France would win a place on the podium.

The French tip

Manger, manger.

Sometimes the French don't just want to eat escargots or frog legs, moules marinière or coq au vin, they don't even want to eat French fries. They want Peruvian ceviche, Pad Thai, chicken tikka masala and pizzas that would make a Neapolitan blush with pride. They are spoiled for choice in the global restaurant that is Paris. Le Monde has prepared a very special guide to 110 of our top restaurants in the Paris region, just decide what kind of food you fancy and have your pick in our interactive map.

One of my own personal favorites is a Moroccan restaurant where you will find quite possibly the best couscous in Paris in a special location: le Marché des Enfants Rouge in the 3^rd arrondissem*nt. Dating back to 1615, this is the oldest covered food market in Paris. It is also one of the most vibrant, with a mix of elegant oyster bars, Italian pasta joints, vegetable and cheese stalls and, yes, my Moroccan tip: Le Traiteur Marocain. This corner of the market feels like you are in a souk in Marrakech, with traditional tiled tables, mint tea and sticky sweet cakes. But the gold medal goes to their couscous. Miam, miam (yum, yum).

The sports tip

It's the final countdown and today's hot ticket finals include the women's shot put and the men's triple jump in the athletics stadium. There are also many wrestling, boxing and taekwondo finals. The day will be rounded off with the women's 400 m final, featuring Irish runner Rhasidat Adeleke. Like France, Ireland is having a very special Olympics, with a record medal haul. But the big news for this race is that Adeleke is the first Irish female sprinter to ever reach an Olympic final. From an Irish journalist to a mighty Irish hero, go Rhasidat!

The Olympics tip

Léon Marchand was unquestionably the dream-maker of the Games' first week. The 22-year-old French swimmer who took home four gold medals had the whole country holding its breath every time he dived into the pool. If you are inspired to jump into your Speedos to attempt his impressive breaststroke style, Paris has no shortage of piscines (swimming pools), some of them very beautiful – Molitor in the 16^th arrondissem*nt, Piscine de la Butte Aux Cailles in the 13^th and Piscine Les Amiraux in the 18^th, for example. But there is one very special pool where you can swim in the Seine without actually swimming in the Seine: Piscine Josephine Baker. This pool is floating on the river, but the water, thankfully, is not from the river. If you're lucky, you might even have an open-air experience thanks to its retractable roof.

The practical tip

Before you head to the pool, it is important to know France has strict rules about what you can wear in the water – particularly if you are a man. Swimming caps are obligatory for everyone, the only exception is if you are bald. Women can wear a normal bathing suit, but men, forget about your baggy surfer shorts. You must wear something very tight, either the aforementioned Speedos or shorts that leave nothing to the imagination. You will be turned away from the pool if you don't have the right attire.

The secret tip

If it's all getting too hot, too loud, too much, head to… a cemetery. Cemeteries are extraordinarily calm and soothing escapes from the hustle and bustle. And you are spoiled for choice in Paris. Yes, there are all the big hitters: Père Lachaise with Edith Piaf, Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde; Montmartre with Alexandre Dumas, François Truffaut and the inventor of the French Cancan, La Goulue; Montparnasse with Samuel Beckett, Serge Gainsborough and Agnès Varda (where you will often find heart-shaped potatoes in unique tribute). But, in a surprisingly tight race, my favorite Paris cemetery is the more discreet Saint Vincent in the 18^tharrondissem*nt.It is certainly more overgrown and less star-studded, but you will likely see a cat and there are some distinguished residents including Michou, who owned a legendary Montmartre cabaret of the same name and famously always wore blue.

The extra tip

The one cemetery I still have on my list is both the smallest and oldest in Paris,Le Petit Cimetière du Calvaire in Montmartre. Created in 1688 and just 600m², it is part of the Sacré-Cœur, but it is only open one day of the year, November 1, All Saint's Day. See you there this year?