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City of lights, city of love, city of luxury – Paris reclaimed the gold medal for the most popular tourist destination in the world last year, welcoming an astounding 37 million visitors. Now the city is in training for its next big title as it plans to host the greenest Olympic Games in history. Instead of new construction in the densely built-up historic center, the city‘s famous monuments will be temporarily converted into sports venues, such as the Field of Mars near the Eiffel Tower, the Alexandre III Bridge, Les Invalides and the Place de la Concorde. The taekwondo and fencing competitions will be held under the gigantic glass roof of the partially renovated Grand Palais. The cleaned-up Seine, the setting for the opening ceremony, will be open to the public for swimming from 2025. Tourists in Paris are unlikely to notice the only two major construction projects, as they're located outside the city ring road. The Olympic Village for 10,500 athletes and the new North Paris Arena are being built in so-called “disadvantaged areas”, which will make them much more attractive to visit.
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