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L’arc De Triomphe ticket advice etc.

D

dufferracing

Amateur Rider
Joined
Aug 19, 2025
Messages
4
Location
Huddersfield
Hi,

Two couples are making their first trip to Paris for L’arc de Triomphe and I was wondering if anyone had any advice on which tickets to buy, which area of the course is best, what to wear etc.
Is it good to drink and eat, before and after racing, around the course or better to get back into the centre?
Any advice to these, or any suggestions of your own, would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers, Duffer
 
The area across the bridge from the racecourse is a great area to stay , eat, drink and be merry.
A mere ten minute walk from the track.
Ticket prices are crazy compared to the way they used to be.
Best ask someone who was there over the past few years.
 
Sad to hear about the ticket prices. It was really cheap to get in when we went. We also went the day before the Arc to get a feel for the place and I think if I wore a hat I got in free. Buses to the racetrack were frequent and free. Eateries all seemed to be packed and you had to wait ages for a meal so we learned to love MacDonalds on the Champs Elysee.
 
maureen said:
we learned to love MacDonalds on the Champs Elysee.
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I've only ever been to Paris once (June 1990) and tbh I was gobsmacked to see British people in that McDonalds on the Champs Elysee (they could do that at home any time they like) when there were so many French eateries.

I ate at a steak house just off the Champs Elysee, a Bistro just outside Porte D'Auteuil Metro and a French cafe deep in one of the "Paris Quarter" suburbs where, for a fraction of prices elsewhere in the City, you could have rustic but yummy French staples like Coq Au Vin or Beef Bourgignon, often served with hunks of bread.

But there was no racing on when I was there so it was probably a lot less busy.

I walked to Auteuil and Longchamp racecourse on an afternoon stroll through the Bois De Boulogne and both were immaculately landscaped things of beauty.

I too was told it used to be incredibly cheap to attend (the French pari-mutuel subsidises so much as is the case in the USA) but I've also been told that has all changed and it's a lot pricier nowadays, possibly because increased awareness in the internet era means they know Brits pay more at home so will pay more there, a feature of many Mediterranean holidays nowadays.

I'm also told a lot of Brits attend and on Arc Day you might struggle to hear a French voice among them all.

Probably zero help, but all well meant - I hope you have a great experience there, dufferracing.
 
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British people eat at McDonalds abroad because:

a) they're getting the same shite they eat at McDonalds at home
b) it's cheap
c) they don't trust anything or anyone foreign

Mrs O and I popped into one of our favourite restaurants in Malaga city centre last week. An Italian restaurant in a Spanish city. The food
was to die for and half the price I'd expect to pay in a restaurant at home. A pint of beer was priced at £3.80 (not that I drank beer - a bottle of very nice Sicilian nero was only €15 and was the perfect accompaniment for the meal), about half the price of anywhere in Edinburgh.

I recall being gobsmacked at how cheap and relaxed Arc day at Lonchamp racecourse was but I haven't been there since 1978. A friend goes regularly and insists it's still cheap and relaxed.

I must think about going back but the racing isn't Mrs O's scene and the brother doesn't trust his health enough for that kind of journey.

Paris in general gobsmacked me when I first started visiting. It's a wonderful city. It's just a shame it's full of Parisians. A wee bit like Edinburgh in that respect. (Yes, it's full of Parisians too...)

Up here we say that if the people of Glasgow lived in Edinburgh it would be the best city in the world. If the people of the French villages lived in Paris it would be all the more wonderful.

Hope you have a great weekend, Duffer. Tell us all about it when you get back.

Or even report 'live' as you go!
 
Great post IMO, Maurice, you're a man after my own heart on a lot of levels.

Some Parisians don't half have an attitude - they're even more absurdly arrogant and conceited than ME (which, as we know, is some statement!)
 
I lived in Bordeaux from September 1976 to June 1977 and kept putting off going up to Paris, happy just to have passed through it en route south.

I eventually decided some time in April it was maybe something I'd regret later in life so I decided I had to give it at least one weekend, either to confirm my dislike of big cities or to change my opinion.

Boy, did it change my opinion. I was captivated from the moment I stepped off the train. I'm a fan of architecture and I just found myself wandering around almost in a daze at the feast for the eyes.

I moseyed around the Latin Quarter most of the first day. Food was cheap and drink cheaper. I hadn't anywhere to stay, thinking I'd find a hostel, which I did the first night. It was a dump and full of undesirables so I found a small side-street hotel. If you watch the first Bourne film, the hotel in which Bourne and Marie spend the night is the spitting image of the hotel I stayed in for the then equivalent of £10 for the night. I'd swear to this day it was the same hotel.

I took in the racing on the Saturday and Sunday before heading back to Bordeaux.

It was the start of a torrid affair with the city and I found myself returning time again for the remainder of my time in France just to feast on her delights.

(And I didn't even smoke in those days...)
 
Ian, despite his second generation middle class upbringing and university route into adulthood, ain't no culture vulture.

While Maurice was admiring the architecture, Ian would be stuffing his face down some cheap French eaterie before making his way to the track. 😂
 
I've been the last two years - tickets are buy one get one free up until May I believe. Looking now, they're €65 a pop in the Winning Post Enclosure which gets you access to the grandstand and the parade ring.

Frankly, we probably watched the majority of the races in the 'Arc Gardens' which is more than half the price and is well served by good food and drink options. If going again and the BOGOF offer wasn't available, I'd have no issues with that.

We stayed in Puteaux in 2024 and had privilege of having breakfast in the Best Western nest to Silvestre de Sousa. From there, an easy and enjoyable walk down to the course (with a detour into Suresnes a few drinks beforehand. Plenty of good dinner options on the Saturday, much more difficult on the Sunday (as you'd expect).
 
an capall said:
Maurice, can you name the impressive restaurant in Malaga, please and any others that you would recommend?

Muchos Gracias

El Caballo
Click to expand...

That one is called Da Nonna Pepa (I think) and it's pretty much next door to the Carmen Thyssen museum.

There's another I haven't tried yet (because Mrs O couldn't find it despite trudging around the area for half an hour) but Mrs O and Orchidette ate there a couple of years ago and thought it was brilliant too. I'll check with Mrs O when I get the chance to take the muzzle off her. Something like 'Cosmopolita' and, according to Google Maps, a 5 min walk from DNP.

I googled DNP and got these photos so that's not Mrs O in the photie:

1755858205884.png
 
Desert Orchid said:
There's another I haven't tried yet (because Mrs O couldn't find it despite trudging around the area for half an hour) but Mrs O and Orchidette ate there a couple of years ago and thought it was brilliant too. I'll check with Mrs O when I get the chance to take the muzzle off her. Something like 'Cosmopolita' and, according to Google Maps, a 5 min walk from DNP.
Click to expand...

www.lacosmopolita.es

La Cosmopolita | Málaga

En pleno centro de Málaga, la Cosmopolita es el 'guiso bar' de Dani Carnero, un lugar donde probar platos típicos de Andalucía con un toque innovador.
www.lacosmopolita.es www.lacosmopolita.es
 
We learned to love MacDonalds when we took the kids on the grand tour one summer. Partly Eurocamp and partly using our own little tents we drove round Europe at a time when summers had only just started to become unbearably hot. We quickly learned things like always walking on the shaded half of the street etc. And we would make a bee line for MacDonalds because we knew they would have everything we needed,especially air conditioning. My daughter said afterwards it was either the best holiday anyone ever had, or the worst, and she couldn’t decide which. When we went to Longchamp I think Godolphin must have been sponsoring it in some way as I we were given free Godolphin hats and a free race card. I totally changed my mind about Aidan O’Brien because he and Joseph spend ages chatting to people prior to racing. My biggest regret is not going back the following year when Sea the Stars won it. I wrote an article for our racing club magazine which was quite critical of how overpriced English race meetings were and how badly racegoers were treated in comparison.
 
On the odd occasion I went on holiday on my own (I was on holiday, Mrs O working, since were with different authorities) I wasn't averse to popping into McDonalds because you could get a massive Diet Cola (no ice) for a fraction of what a normal bottle cost in a cafe or bar. As you say, air-con pretty much guaranteed too.
 
edgt said:
You can beer with your burger also in McDonalds Paris.
Well worth the bother.
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Probably pretty much anywhere on the continent. And yes, I have had a perfectly nice 'large' San Miguel in McDonalds in Benidorm.

Or two or three.

Or five or six...
 
Eating was never part of my travelling experience in the days when I did venture abroad. It was always a case of grabbing something to eat quickly to give me the energy to carry on exploring. When we travelled round Europe in a Morris 1000 Traveller in the seventies we lived on packet soup and Tudor Queen ( which is a cheaper version of Spam).
 
First time attending the Arc on the weekend.

We are staying more towards the city centre and plan on getting the shuttle bus from Porte Maillot. Has anyone had any experience of this?

My second question is if there is anywhere open for breakfast and grab a pint before the racing in and around Porte Maillot at 11am?
 
The bus from Port Maillot is seamless and swift. Coming back it might be a little 'queueier', but you'll be grand. Loads of places of a pint and brekkie, you'll see them. Not sure if there are any McDonalds close by though.
 
an capall said:
The bus from Port Maillot is seamless and swift. Coming back it might be a little 'queueier', but you'll be grand. Loads of places of a pint and brekkie, you'll see them. Not sure if there are any McDonalds close by though.
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Thanks for the response.

Are you better getting the shuttle bus from Porte Maillot or Porte D'Auteuill?

I am now leaning towards Auteuill as it is more walkable if the bus is unreliable.
 
I’d be inclined to do your breakfast, liquid or otherwise, before getting to Pte d’Auteuil. There are some venues there but not many.
 
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