It is that special, magical time again when we cheer on athletic excellence, celebrate big victories, and care about sports that we’ve only just heard of—trampoline, race-walking, even breaking (breakdancing). In a splintered global media landscape, these thrilling moments provide rare collective experiences.
In short, the Olympics are a lot of fun.
And beyond Paris, there are a number of cities around the world where you can still feel and experience the Summer and Winter Games. From touring through the remaining facilities to visiting museums—and even trying out the sports for real—here are five places to visit and truly enjoy the Olympic spirit.
Lake Placid, New York
The Olympic ski jumping structures in Lake Placid, NY. (Courtesy of Roost)
A tiny town nestled into upstate New York’s super-scenic Adirondack Mountains, Lake Placid hosted the Games in two dramatically different eras. In 1932, athletes competed in just a handful of sports, including bobsleigh and Nordic skiing. Using renovated versions of some of the same facilities, the 1980s XIII Olympic Winter Games were a much larger affair, with more than 1,000 athletes competing. Memorably, the United States won ice hockey gold over the Soviet Union in a game that’s become universally known as the Miracle on Ice.
Whether you visit in the summer or winter, you’ll have plenty to keep you busy. Learn the history at the Olympic Museum. Strap on skates (in-line in the summer, ice skates in the winter) and glide around the outdoor James C. Sheffield Speed Skating Oval. Try hockey and curling at the Olympic Center. And make sure to ride the gondola to the top of Whiteface Mountain, which has the greatest vertical drop of any peak east of the Rockies and hosted the alpine ski events in 1980.
Athens, Greece
An athlete lights the Olympic torch during the Olympic flame handover ceremony for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, in the Panathenaic Stadium, Athens, Greece, on March 19, 2020. (Aris Messinis/Pool via Reuters)
Is there a more Olympic place than Athens? Greece, of course, gave birth to the ancient Olympics, which date back some 3,000 years. The first modern Games were held in the Greek capital in 1896 and, of course, they came home here to Athens, again, in 2004. Today, you can enjoy all three generations.
Head out to the beautiful, mountainous Peloponnese Peninsula to visit the original Olympia. Here, you can run in the footsteps of the ancients and see where the torch is lit every two years before its round-the-world journey. In the shadow of the Parthenon, the Panathenaic Stadium was constructed in 330 B.C. and was used for centuries before falling into ruin. Resurrected for the 1896 Games of the I Olympiad, 50,000 people assembled here for opening and closing ceremonies, plus a number of events, including weight lifting and gymnastics. (It’s open daily for visits and tours.) And head to the Athens Olympics Complex to visit the pool, cycling track, gymnasium, and stadium from the 2004 Games.
Innsbruck, Austria
The Bergisel Ski Jump has become a symbol of Innsbruck and Austrian winter sports, attracting tourists and ski enthusiasts from around the world. (Fabio Lotti/Shutterstock)
You won’t find many places more beautiful than Innsbruck. Cradled in a long, broad, postcard-perfect Alpine valley surrounded by craggy peaks, this city of about 310,000 hosted the Winter Games twice within a span of 12 years— first in 1964, then again in 1976. In the latter year, the IOC had awarded to Games to Denver, but voters said no, leaving them without a host. Innsbruck stepped up and, by all accounts, did as a fabulous job the second time around as they did on the first.
Today, it’s a lovely place to visit, both winter and summer. Walk the river banks of the cold, clean, glacier-fed Inn. Explore the cobblestones of Old Town, from the 15th-century Hofburg, once one of the primary palaces of the Habsburgs, to the shining 500-year-old Golden Roof, the most recognizable icon of Innsbruck. And make the trip up the side of the valley to the Bergisel Ski Jump. Casual visitors aren’t permitted to take the leap, but you can enjoy sweeping views from the top—and if you’re lucky, some potential Olympians will be there training, soaring impossibly through the air.
Sydney, Australia
Since the 2000 Games, Sydney Olympic Park has continued to be a hub for sports, entertainment, and community events. (ArliftAtoz2205/Shutterstock)
Of course, you really don’t need any excuses to visit Sydney. It is one of the most beautiful cities on Earth. From a massive harbor lined with cozy coves and hidden beaches, to the soaring Harbour Bridge and its iconic opera house, Australia’s largest city offers those who make the long trip Down Under a deep and profound loveliness.
And in 2000, Sydney hosted Australasia’s second Summer Games. At Sydney Olympic Park, you can swim a few lengths in the same pool where hometown legend Ian Thorpe brought home five gold medals. Or attend a concert in the Olympic Stadium. And there’s plenty more fun, too—take a ride on the giant water slide (not an official event, yet) as well as the rapid river ride, or head outside to cycle more than 20 miles of trails at the surrounding Bicentennial Park.
Los Angeles, California
Cars race during the qualifying portion of the Busch Light Clash NASCAR exhibition auto race at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles on Feb. 5, 2023. (Mark J. Terrill/AP Photo)
Famously, this sunny, sprawling Pacific coast city hosted the Summer Olympics in 1984 (a Games that were boycotted by the Soviet Union). Far fewer people know that the Games of the X Olympiad were held here in 1932. And four years from now, Los Angeles will become only the third city to host three Olympics (the other two are London and Paris).
The most enduring symbol here is the LA Memorial Coliseum. Built in 1923, it will be a centerpiece for all three, and it has hosted all sorts of other huge sporting events, as well as being the temporary home to both professional football and baseball teams. The 2028 Games will mostly use existing facilities, so you can come to town and do your own self-guided tour today, from the Swim Stadium (built for the 1932 Games) to the Rose Bowl and SoFi Stadium.
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Attending the Games
So, how do you get tickets for the Olympics, anyway? Beginning with these 2024 Games in Paris, an arm of the IOC called the Organising Committees for the Olympic Games will manage all sales through a single platform. And you still need a bit of luck, too—everyone must enter a lottery system to purchase.
Toronto-based writer Tim Johnson is always traveling in search of the next great story. Having visited 140 countries across all seven continents, he’s tracked lions on foot in Botswana, dug for dinosaur bones in Mongolia, and walked among a half-million penguins on South Georgia Island. He contributes to some of North America’s largest publications, including CNN Travel, Bloomberg, and The Globe and Mail.
