French Open?
 

Wondering if any Fodorites have ever been to the French Open. I just noticed that in late May when I will be in Paris, it happens to be the first few days of the tournament. The website describes an elaborate process for getting tickets in advance, which I don't think I'll do, but it also mentions that you can show up at the box office for same-day tickets and some may be available. It does not list any prices though. Has anyone out there ever done this? Just curious as to how easy/hard it would be (how early I'd have to get there) and whether it would be worth doing. I'm a casual tennis fan & think this might be kind of fun just for one day. (P.S. This will be my third trip to Paris, so I've already hit most of the high points & wouldn't mind sacrificing one day of sightseeing.)

Topping.

Lisa, <BR>I went to the Women's Semi-Finals in 1994. I was studying abroad in Paris that year and bought the tickets a week or so before game by going to the box office - the men's were sold out, but for the women there were some nosebleed seats available. From what I remember, it is not hard to get same-day seats for early rounds, especially for lesser-known players. If you want to see finals or semi-finals then you have to purchase in advance. <BR> <BR>I will never forget going to the '94 French Open because there was a METRO STRIKE on that day. Fortunately, the buses were running!

Hi! I went to the French Open about 10 (!) years ago when I was in college. We just went to the box office in the morning (around 10 ) and bought tickets for that same day. I think it was for the first day of the tournament. It was a lot of fun - I would recommend going. <BR> <BR>I don't remember how much it cost - I don't think it was more than $25 (back then at least) . I know that US Open tickets for the first three days are about $20. <BR> <BR>As it turns out I am going to be in Paris at the end of May and am thinking about spending a day at the Open since, like you, I have seen many of the sights. <BR> <BR>Oh, it is very easy to get to the Open. I think the Metro stop is Bois de Boulogne. <BR> <BR>Let me know if you find any info - I'll keep checking over here.

Lisa, <BR>My husband and I went to the French Open 2 years ago. Like you, we just happened to be in Paris in May when it was taking place. We took a taxi to the grounds and bought tickets from a man on the street (there are tons of them selling - I am not sure if it is legal). It was a great day! My only advise is that if you care about getting ticket to center court (there are 3 different courts) make sure you figure out if the seller has center court tickets. We ended up in the second best court because the seller didn't speak english. This court was great (Serena Williams, Jim Courier, etc.) but we would have liked to see the players (Agassi, Hingis, etc.) on center court even more.

Thanks! A few more questions because I'm a newbie at this... <BR> <BR>Can I assume that tickets are for the entire day rather than one match? <BR> <BR>Do you have any recollection of how much you paid? <BR> <BR>Also, do you remember what time you got there?

My recollection of the details is not great, but here goes: <BR> <BR>We didn't arrive too early. As a matter of fact, I recall getting there around the same time others (with tickets) did. If I remember right, we paid just over 100 Dollars for 2 tickets (I may be wrong on this one). The tickets are for the whole day. You get to go to the court listed on your ticket (there are 3 different main courts) and then all the little courts as well (these courts host the lesser ranked players). <BR> <BR>I have absolutely no idea if we paid too much or not. There was a flurry of activity with the sellers and we were very confused. It was well worth it however. We didn't negotiate, mostly out of fear of not getting tickets. As we later saw, there were tons of people selling so negotiating would probably have worked. <BR> <BR>Have fun!

Topping for Lisa