Rugby World Cup Paris, France 2023
In the heart of Paris, amidst the iconic landmarks and the bustling streets, a wave of anticipation sweeps through the city. It's not just the aroma of freshly baked croissants or the sight of the Eiffel Tower that captures attention—it's the thundering roar of rugby fans from across the globe getting together for the Rugby World Cup 2023. As avid Springbok supporters there were lots of excitement in our household, as this was the year that the Rugby World Cup would be held in France. For us, this was the first time in our life that it became a reality and not just a dream that we could watch South Africa play in the world cup in real life. As we also live in the Netherland we were lucky as Paris is just a short flight or train ride away.
This time around we decided to go with the train from Amsterdam to Paris as this is only a 3 hour ride. We boarded the Thalys train at 7am the Saturday morning together with our group of friends, ready with coffee for the adults and snacks and entertainment for Amber. It was truly a nice train trip and Amber enjoyed it, there is something about a train ride that just excites kids so much. We asked our babysitter to join us on the adventure to look after Amber during the actual game and to be an extra pair of hands during the trip. We also wanted to give some travel back to someone else.
Our weekend trip had a dual purpose, we explored some of the amazing spots that Paris have to offer during the day and went the the Quarter Final match in the evening. When we arrived in Paris, you could feel the sense of excitement in the air. France was playing against South Africa in the quarter finals. We wore our green and gold with pride. We stored our back packs in a locker right across from the Gare du Nord train station and we headed for the touristy sites. We started our trip taking the metro to the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre as this is one place we have not been before. We arrived and it truly lived up to the expectation, including the amount of tourists. After this we headed to the Arc de Triomphe and headed down the Champs Elysees searching for a cafe where we could load up on coffee and croissants. From here we still made our way towards Place de La Concor where a fan park was set up. Realizing the entire city was ready for rugby, some of the normal touristy places were less accessible compared to other times. We walked towards the Seine river and booked a cruise on a boat that went past a couple of great attractions. This was less crowded and an awesome way to see the city with a toddler. From here we made our way to our AirBnB that we booked and settled with some nice pizza and good company.
The Sunday we hopped onto the Hop on Hop off Bus and the route took us alongside all the iconic land marks. We got off at the Eiffel Tower. We avoided the crowded areas and rather walked on the east side of the tower at the Champ de Mars. Here we could take a lot of pictures and admire this wonderful tower without worrying about the traffic and tourists. We would always recommend going up in the tower if you have the time available, we have done this before and would really recommend it at night to see the lights of the city. Just remember in the summer months the sun only sets around 11pm, and therefore not ideal with a toddler to go up this late. From the Eiffel Tower we made our way to Trocadéro and the Hop on Hop off Bus also has a stop here.
From Trocadéro the view of the Eiffel Tower is very iconic and I can promise you it is worth it. This area is also very crowded and I would also advise to keep your belongings close by and be aware of all the people trying to sell things to you, as this can feel a bit uncomfortable at times. Visiting early in the morning is actually much better. By the time we were finished with our Hop on Hop off Bus it was time for us to get ready to go to the rugby, therefore we headed back to our AirBnB and settled our daughter and headed for the rugby stadium.
The atmosphere on our way to the stadium was amazing and we met up with some of our friends and other supporters before the match. The vibe in the stadium itself was incredible! This specific match was between South Africa and France, with the local French supporters showcasing their passion for rugby. We felt like a little fish in a big pond with all the French surrounding us. The game was nerve-racking and South Africa managed to win the game by the slightest of margins. From here we celebrated this victory till late in the evening with our friends and had to be ready early the next morning as our train left at 7am on the way back to Amsterdam.
This was truly a great experience for us and we were very grateful that we could tick two items from our list, one to have Amber experience Paris and two watch South Africa play and win in a rugby world cup match.