Paris looks a little bit different these days.
The Olympic rings hang from the Eiffel Tower, monuments are emblazed with imagery of the Games and security gates are blocking easy access to some of the top landmarks in the City of Love.
Tightened security ahead of the opening ceremony Friday along the Seine river means both locals and the visitors who have descended on the city must navigate snaking metal barriers requiring a QR code attained in advance to pass through.
A woman from Mexico poses in the courtyard of the Louvre museum, which is outside the security perimeter set up for the Olympic Games, Friday, July 19, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
It’s challenging the Paris Olympics slogan of “Games wide open.”
While tough security measures have sealed off kilometers (miles) of the Seine for the opening ceremony, it’s not stopping those intent on enjoying some of the iconic sights of the French capital.
Tourists are still snapping photos in front of the Louvre museum’s iconic pyramid, people parade past the hilltop Sacre Coeur basilica and Arc de Triomphe, and there’s even been a proposal or two in front of the Eiffel Tower.
The sun sets against the Hotel des Invalides as a spectator walks on the Alexander III bridge over the Seine River, Friday, July 19, 2024, in Paris, ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Kids play in Olympic rings set up on Place de la Bastille, Friday, July 19, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Vivianne Robinson, of Los Angeles, shows the flag pole she carries with all the countries who have hosted an Olympics as she stops to talk to people on the street while walking through Paris ahead at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 20, 2024. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Alejandro Machuca, left, proposes to his girlfriend, Aura Guizar, both of Guadalajara, Mexico, in front of the Eiffel Tower decorated with the Olympic rings, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, while on vacation in Paris. She said yes. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
The Eiffel Tower is illuminated as diners sit in a cafe ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 19, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A child rides a carousel near Sacre Coeur of Montmartre Basilica, ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 22, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
The Eiffel Tower is seen behind a Paris Olympics canvas, from the Trocadero plaza Thursday, July 18, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
The Sacre Coeur basilica stands in the background, left, as visitors reach the top of the George Pompidou Beaubourg museum ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 21, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
This photo shows a view from the Eiffel Tower ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 22, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
A full moon rises behind the Olympic rings hanging from the Eiffel Tower Monday, July 22, 2024, in Paris, France. The opening ceremony for the Olympic Games is Friday. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
A bicyclist reaches over a security fence set up for the 2024 Summer Olympics to take a picture of the sunset as the Conciergerie building, a former prison, now used partly as a law court, stands in the background at left, Sunday, July 21, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
