The Olympic rings hang from the Eiffel Tower, monuments are emblazed with imagery of the Games and security gates are blocking easy access to some of the top landmarks in the City of Love.
Tightened security ahead of the opening ceremony Friday along the Seine river means both locals and the visitors who have descended on the city must navigate snaking metal barriers requiring a QR code attained in advance to pass through.
It’s challenging the Paris Olympics slogan of “Games wide open.”
While tough security measures have sealed off kilometers (miles) of the Seine for the opening ceremony, it’s not stopping those intent on enjoying some of the iconic sights of the French capital.
Tourists are still snapping photos in front of the Louvre museum’s iconic pyramid, people parade past the hilltop Sacre Coeur basilica and Arc de Triomphe, and there’s even been a proposal or two in front of the Eiffel Tower.
The sun sets against the Hotel des Invalides as a spectator walks on the Alexander III bridge over the Seine River, Friday, July 19, 2024, in Paris, ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics. (AP Photo/David Goldman) Copies of one of the most famous Greek statues, the Venus of Milo, stand on the steps of the French National Assembly ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 19, 2024, in Paris, France. The Venus, by artist Laurent Perbos, has regained her arms and is now equipped with the attributes of six sporting disciplines. (AP Photo/David Goldman) The Eiffel Tower is illuminated as diners sit in a cafe ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 19, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/David Goldman) Alejandro Machuca, left, proposes to his girlfriend, Aura Guizar, both of Guadalajara, Mexico, in front of the Eiffel Tower decorated with the Olympic rings, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, while on vacation in Paris. She said yes. (AP Photo/David Goldman) A woman from Mexico poses in the courtyard of the Louvre museum, which is outside the security perimeter set up for the Olympic Games, Friday, July 19, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/David Goldman) A patron takes a photo while sitting at a cafe along the Seine River, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Paris, France, ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics. (AP Photo/David Goldman) Kids play in Olympic rings set up on Place de la Bastille, Friday, July 19, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/David Goldman) Vivianne Robinson, of Los Angeles, shows the flag pole she carries with all the countries who have hosted an Olympics as she stops to talk to people on the street while walking through Paris ahead at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 20, 2024. This will be Robinson’s seventh Olympics she will have attended in person. (AP Photo/David Goldman) The Olympic torch is seen during a relay in the courtyard of the Louvre Museum Sunday, July 14, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) The Eiffel Tower is seen behind a Paris Olympics canvas, from the Trocadero plaza Thursday, July 18, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/David Goldman) The Sacre Coeur basilica stands in the background, left, as visitors reach the top of the George Pompidou Beaubourg museum ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 21, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/David Goldman) People shop at an open-air market in front of Team USA House, Friday, July 19, 2024, in Paris, France. Team USA House is set up at the former Paris stock exchange and will offer activities and a base to cheer on and celebrate Team USA at the Olympic Games. (AP Photo/David Goldman) The Hotel de Ville, or town hall, is decorated for the 2024 Summer Olympics as children shoot basketballs at a fan zone set on the square, Sunday, July 21, 2024, in Paris. France. (AP Photo/David Goldman) A couple embraces in the street as the flag of France hangs from a restaurant ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 21, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/David Goldman) A child rides a carousel near Sacre Coeur of Montmartre Basilica, ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 22, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) A woman uses water to clean the sidewalk outside a building on a quiet street adjacent to road closures ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 22, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) People walk past souvenir shops and restaurants below Sacre Coeur of Montmartre Basilica, ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 22, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) Members of a firefighter brigade band cross the street to perform at a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 20, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/David Goldman) This photo shows a view from the Eiffel Tower ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 22, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) A full moon rises behind the Olympic rings hanging from the Eiffel Tower, Monday, July 22, 2024, in Paris, France. The opening ceremony for the Olympic Games is Friday. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) A store owner, who didn’t want to give his name, moves a display into his souvenir shop as he closes for the evening near the Eiffel Tower ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 20, 2024, in Paris. He’s said he’s seen his business decline since a security perimeter went into effect limiting the public’s movement near the Seine river. (AP Photo/David Goldman) Stella Andrade, who is pregnant, and her daughter Rafaela, from Brazil, visit the Eiffel Tower ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 22, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) People walk past a restaurant decorated with artwork, ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 22, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) A bicyclist reaches over a security fence set up for the 2024 Summer Olympics to take a picture of the sunset as the Conciergerie building, a former prison, now used partly as a law court, stands in the background at left, Sunday, July 21, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
