What the transformation of Europe's most cherished city means for travelers

Soon, visitors to Paris will have the chance to swim in the Seine and enjoy a meal in a repurposed, underground metro station.

Iconic sites like the Eiffel Tower and Montparnasse Tower will undergo significant renovations, while a Paris rooftop will become home to the world's largest urban farm.

These groundbreaking revitalization efforts are set to redefine one of the world’s most famous and enchanting tourist destinations ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

In the next four years, forgotten and outdated spaces will be transformed into vibrant dining spots, themed hotels, museums, and entertainment hubs.

Revitalizing the cityscape

Many of these projects were selected as part of the city's 'Reinventing Paris' campaign, launched in 2014 by Anne Hidalgo, Paris' environmentally-conscious mayor, and her deputy Jean-Louis Missika, who manages urban planning and economic development. (Hidalgo is seeking re-election this spring.)

One guiding principle of the initiative? Rather than auctioning off public assets, the city opted for a more thoughtful approach, emphasizing quality over quantity, says Missika.

Rather than rewarding the highest bidder, we made the competition about finding the most innovative and impactful proposals—projects that prioritize sustainability and serve the public good,” he explains to Dinogo Travel.

Proposals featuring interdisciplinary teams—comprising architects, economists, landscape designers, sociologists, researchers, and urban agriculture experts—were given special consideration, as were initiatives in underdeveloped areas that incorporated mixed-use spaces like co-working offices, hotels, residences, daycare facilities, sports complexes, and swimming pools.

The goal was to encourage projects that combat gentrification and promote inclusivity, says Missika. “A city that becomes a playground for the rich is a city on the decline,” he adds.

Although some projects were awarded before Paris secured the 2024 Olympic bid, Missika takes particular pride in La Cité Universelle in the 19th arrondissement—a mixed-use development that will also serve as a venue for the Paralympic Games.

Designed to be fully accessible to wheelchair users, this building will offer a range of amenities including hotel rooms, office spaces, a rooftop restaurant, a gym, fitness centers, and retail outlets.

From cleaning up the Seine to greening the Eiffel Tower, here’s a preview of some of the most ambitious and innovative revitalization projects set to ‘reinvent Paris’ ahead of its role as host for the 2024 Olympic Games.

Swimming in the Seine

One of the boldest objectives of Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s eco-driven agenda is to clean up the Seine in time for the 2024 Olympic Games, allowing it to host the triathlon swimming events.

By 2024, the Seine will have undergone a massive, billion-euro clean-up project aimed at reducing E. coli, fecal matter, and other pollutants.

Beyond serving as a stunning backdrop for the Olympic Games, the cleanup will also create an urban beach for locals to enjoy right in the heart of Paris.

The city tested the concept in 2017 in the 19th arrondissement, transforming parts of the Bassin de la Villette canal into a public swimming area. In 2018, over 110,000 people swam there. By 2025, the goal is to establish 23 swimming spots along the Seine, with five of them in Paris.

In preparation for the 2024 Olympic Games, the Eiffel Tower is set to become the 'lungs' of Paris, receiving a major makeover to enhance its visual appeal and address issues like overcrowding and accessibility.

The aim is to reimagine one of the world’s most popular attractions—drawing 7 million visitors to the tower and 30 million to the site annually—into a welcoming urban park for both tourists and local residents.

One of the most ambitious changes will be the greening and pedestrianization of the Pont d'Iéna bridge, which connects the tower to the Trocadéro Gardens on the opposite bank of the Seine. Currently, the bridge is a busy thoroughfare for cars and scooters.

In a few years, it will be transformed into a pedestrian-friendly promenade lined with trees and lush grass.

These plans come from the landscape architects at Gustafson Porter + Bowman, a London-based firm leading the project. Additionally, the bustling roundabout at Place de Trocadéro will be revamped to include more green space and amphitheater-style seating for the best views of the Eiffel Tower.

In springtime, Trocadéro Gardens will come alive with newly planted cherry trees that will line the fountains, offering a romantic and picturesque stroll toward the Eiffel Tower.

Le Terminus: Dining underground at the end of the line

Once a bustling metro station at Métro Croix Rouge in the 6th arrondissement, this abandoned station will be revitalized in 2022 as an unexpected new dining hotspot in Paris.

Designed by SAME Architecte and developed by Novaxia, Le Terminus (French for ‘the final stop’) will transform 246 feet of subway platform into an innovative subterranean dining space, featuring food courts, restaurants, and wine and cocktail bars—a first for Paris.

The two platforms will house around a dozen bars, cafes, bistros, and gourmet food shops, all focused on showcasing locally sourced ingredients.

World's largest rooftop urban farm

Paris is set to host the world's largest urban farm, occupying 150,700 square feet of rooftop space atop the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles convention and exhibition center in the city's southwest.

Opening in April 2020, the farm is expected to produce 1,000 fruits and vegetables daily and cultivate 30 different plant varieties.

The urban farm will also offer public workshops and feature garden plots that locals can rent to grow their own fruits, vegetables, and herbs. A rooftop restaurant and bar from Le Perchoir, the group behind a popular series of Parisian rooftop venues, will serve a menu featuring produce harvested from the farm.

The project is being managed by Viparis, which operates the convention center, along with Agripolis and Cultures en Ville, experts in urban agriculture, and Le Perchoir.

New sports-themed hotel

In another first for Paris, a new hotel will open specifically designed for professional and amateur athletes.

Located in Paris' 19th arrondissement in the city's northeast, this project will transform a former electrical substation and historic building into a hybrid hotel, studio, and training center where visiting athletes can both prepare for and recover from their events.

Running the Paris Marathon this spring? Guests can mentally and physically prepare for the race with yoga and Pilates sessions at the on-site studio, plus access to a dedicated 'mental training area' with meditation cubicles for visualizing success and focusing on goals.

After the marathon, guests can recover with cold and hot baths in the sports spa, book massages, and schedule treatments with physiotherapists and other healthcare experts.

This sports-themed hotel is designed to fill a niche in the local market by offering specialized accommodations for fitness-minded travelers, from marathon runners to athletes competing in martial arts, rugby, or rowing tournaments held regularly in Paris.

The still-unnamed hotel will offer more than 60 rooms and is set to open in 2021.

Aerog'Art: A fresh destination for art and culture

For years, a massive Air France sign has dominated the facade of Esplanade des Invalides in the 7th arrondissement, marking the location with its museum and airline terminal.

However, under the direction of Dominique Perrault Architecture, who is also overseeing the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Village, this iconic landmark will be reborn as Aerog'Art. The new hub for art and culture will feature a children’s museum, food hall, restaurant, outdoor terrace, and courtyard, as well as spaces for art exhibitions and a creative art lab. The project is slated for completion in 2025.

The once-maligned Montparnasse Tower is getting a bold makeover.

The Montparnasse Tower, a solitary skyscraper despised by Parisians, is visible from the distant Sacré-Coeur Basilica across the city. For years, locals have criticized its modern, utilitarian design, calling it an eyesore that clashes with the city's historic and romantic architecture.

To change this perception, architects from the Nouvelle AOM group are completely reimagining the tower, replacing its dull, opaque exterior with a bright, transparent facade designed to create a 'breathable' effect on Paris’s skyline.

Plans for the renovation include thousands of square feet of lush gardens and plants, featuring the tallest rooftop garden in the city and a greenhouse that will provide fresh produce for the tower’s restaurants and cafes.

In addition, the tower will be designed for maximum energy efficiency, with solar panels and rainwater collection systems to meet 70% of its energy needs during working hours. When finished in 2024, the building will also host a hotel on the 42nd to 45th floors.

Gare Masséna: Revolutionizing the food model

The project, Réalimenter Masséna (roughly translated as 'Re-feeding Masséna'), can be described as a vertical, experimental micro-village.

Scheduled for completion in 2022, the former Gare Masséna train station will be transformed into a dynamic, mixed-use development centered around urban farming and sustainable food systems, bringing a fresh, eco-conscious lifestyle to the 13th arrondissement.

The building will feature vertical farms and lush gardens, while its striking wooden facade will house farmer’s markets, a research lab, a community hub, as well as residential, retail, and office spaces.

Architect Lina Ghotmeh envisions a revolutionary food system that prioritizes sustainability, local farming, the reduction of food waste, and public education.