Paris Digest
Paris city guide since 1997
10 matches of the Rugby World Cup 2023, including the semi-finals and the final, will be played in Stade de France, the official sport arena of France since 1998. Most international soccer and rugby games involving the national teams are played there. Located north of Paris, it is reachable by metro from downtown. Tickets, seating plan, metro, hotels. Sports in Paris.
The Rugby World Cup France 2023 will be officially launched on September 8 2023, with France’s opening match against New Zealand in Stade de France. It will end on October 28.
20 nations, including South Africa, England, Wales, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, Japan, France, Scotland, Italy, Argentina and Fiji will participate to the World Cup. 49 matches will be played in 9 stadiums during 51 days.
10 matches including 2 quarter finals, the semi-finals and the final will take place in Stade de France. Match schedule and locations. Rugby World Cup 2023 web site
Stade de France can be visited. Follow the official tour guide and discover the behind-the-scenes of France's biggest sportive and music venue. During a one-hour tour, follow the route taken by the the athletes, wander through the changing rooms. Stroll alongside the pitch. Tour information.
Event tickets can be bought through the web site.
Stade de France seating plan helps you understand the seating categories and determine which tickets you will buy.
Seating 80 000 people, Stade de France is Paris' main stadium and a top venue for sports and concerts. Stade de France is four kilometers north of Paris in Saint-Denis. Locate Stade de France on Paris map.
Paris metro: RER B La Plaine Stade de France metro station, RER D Stade de France Saint Denis station.
Stade de France parking: due to heavy traffic jams, it is discouraged to come by car to Stade de France. In case you do, book your Stade de France parking in advance.
You plan to attend a Stade de France event. Stay at a hotel in Paris. The metro connects Gare du Nord, Chatelet Les Halles and Luxembourg Gardens to Stade de France in a few minutes. You will be close to most sights.
If you just come to the city for Stade de France, stay at Novotel, across the street from the stadium. The Novotel Suites offers free access to the fitness room, open 24 hours. Suites measure 30 m² and are designed with attention to comfort and well-being. Each comes with air-conditioning, a private bathroom and a Nespresso coffee machine. High-speed fibre internet access is provided in each suite.
Most rugby fans won't have tickets to attend all Rugby World Cup games in France. Fortunately, staying in Paris, they will be able to watch the games in lively bars.
Most brasseries and cafés in Paris don’t show live televised sport, however there are many sports bars and pubs that do.
During the Rugby World Cup, many bars that don’t normally televise sport will. See a full breakdown of pubs to watch the Rugby World Cup on Paris Expat Guide.
There is also the official Rugby World Cup village located in place de la concorde which will be showing the matches on big screens with fans.
For the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Stade de France will transform into the Olympic Stadium after three decades of hosting France’s biggest sports events.
Capacity: 77,083 spectators. Athletics: 100m (women’s / men’s), 200m (women’s / men’s), 400m (women’s / men’s), 800m (women’s / men’s), 1,500m (women’s / men’s), 5,000m (women’s / men’s), 10,000m (women’s / men’s), 400m Hurdles (women’s / men’s), 3,000m Steeplechase (women’s / men’s), 4x100m Relay (women’s / men’s), 4x400m Relay (women’s / men’s / mixed), High Jump (women’s / men’s), Pole Vault (women’s / men’s), Long Jump (women’s / men’s) , Triple Jump (women’s / men’s), Shot Put (women’s / men’s), Discus Throw (women’s / men’s), Hammer Throw (women’s / men’s), Javelin Throw (women’s / men’s), Decathlon (men’s) Heptathlon (women’s), 110m Hurdles (men’s), 100m Hurdles (women’s), Rugby Sevens (women’s / men’s), Para athletics (track events)
As the organizor of 1998 Soccer World Cup, Paris needed a world class stadium in addition to Parc des Princes, the home stadium of Paris Saint Germain soccer club.
The spectacular Stade de France was inaugurated in January 1988 with a France/Spain soccer game. Stade de France was the venue of France 98 World Soccer Cup final (France Brazil), 2007 Rugby World final (South Africa England) and many other famous games.
More top Paris monuments.
The Stade de France is the largest French stadium with 80,698 seats in a football / rugby configuration. It is located in the Plaine Saint-Denis district in Saint-Denis, in the northern suburbs of Paris. It is the work of four architects: Michel Macary, Aymeric Zublena, Michel Regembal and Claude Costantini. The architecture of this stadium is inspired by the Worldport of the American airline Pan Am which was located at the John-F.-Kennedy International Airport in New York4.
It was inaugurated on January 28, 1998 by Jacques Chirac, President of the Republic, during the France - Spain football match. Built for the needs of the 1998 Football World Cup in France to replace the Parc des Princes considered too small, it was also designed to host various sporting events: football, rugby, athletics, motor racing. It can also host concerts, major shows and entertainment (snow dream and the beach at the stadium). Its capacity varies between 75,000 (athletics) and 80,698 seats (football, rugby) and concerts can bring together up to 96,000 spectators thanks to retractable low stands.
It is the first stadium to have hosted a FIFA World Cup final (in 1998) and a Rugby Union World Cup final (in 2007). In 2019, he was joined by the Nissan Stadium in Yokohama, which hosted the final of the Rugby Union World Cup after hosting the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
It was also the scene on July 10, 2016 of the final of the European Football Championship. It also hosted the final of the 2000 Champions League and that of 2006. It will become an Olympic stadium for the athletics and rugby sevens events of the 2024 Paris Games, and will have hosted a second final a year earlier. the Rugby World Cup on the occasion of the 2023 edition.
