A lot of people from all over the world choose to visit Paris. And who can blame them? There’s so much to see and do, which includes visiting the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and Notre Dame. However, does there come a point when other things and locations should be considered official travel attractions? And, should Parc des Princes be up for consideration?

What Is The Parc Des Princes?

Parc des Princes is the home of the Paris-based football team Paris Saint-Germain. While the club has always been successful, since the takeover that has seen them become super rich, they have become an even more prominent force, as shown by the odds when reviewing any one of the most prominent online bookmakers covering French football. Naturally, as we’ve seen with so many successful teams over the years, with success comes football tourism, and stadiums and everything attached to them become travel attractions.

So, you can see why there are calls for the Parc des Princes to be made an official travel attraction in Paris and France as a whole. And these claims have been strengthened by PSG being named French champions on multiple occasions in recent times, as well as winning the French Cup, French League Cup, and the French Supercup. They have also started making progress in Europe and are now one of the Champions League’s most feared teams, and it feels like it’s only a matter of time before they become kings of the continent.

How Other Football Stadiums Have Become Tourist Attractions 

Using Manchester United as an example, people travel from all four corners of the map to visit Old Trafford. A lot of this is because of how successful the club has been over the years, the things they’ve won, the massive profile of the club, and one other thing, and that’s the stellar names that have pulled on the famous red shirt and played for United. And now, you can start to see how there are similarities on this front with PSG too.

Real Madrid, or Los Blancos, as they’re commonly known, are another great example of a historic football team whose stadium, The Bernabeu, has become one of the most popular tourist attractions, not only in Madrid, but in Spain, and potentially Europe. Like Manchester United, Real Madrid has enjoyed success on the domestic front and has been a dominant force. But this also applies in European football too, such as the Champions League.

Real Madrid has also, for as long as anyone cares to remember, been a club capable of signing the best players in the world, usually regardless of who they play for. Legends of the game have turned out for the club, from Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo to Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema. It again fits with the remit of what’s needed for a football stadium to get to a level where it can be considered an official travel or tourist attraction.

Paris Saint-Germain Staking A Claim With Parc des Princes

As mentioned above, the takeover of PSG by Qatar Sports Investments was significant as it meant that, even though Ligue 1 isn’t seen as competitive as other leagues, such as the Premier League and La Liga, they could attract the best talent the footballing world has to offer. PSG’s current front three consists of Kylian Mbappe, who they recently convinced to stay with a mega-money new deal, Neymar, who signed from Barcelona, and Lionel Messi, who also joined from Barcelona. It’s arguably the best-attacking trio around.

These three players are global stars in their own right, especially after starring at the recent World Cup in Qatar, where Messi won the tournament as captain of Argentina. People will flock to Paris and the Parc des Princes just to catch a glimpse of these players alone, with Messi very much a footballing great and Mbappe well on his way to being so. Combine this with the likelihood of PSG going on to dominate French football and Europe in the future, and you can see why the Parc des Princes is being muted as a potential travel attraction by some people.

The one thing you could say it’s currently lacking is the prestigious history on the biggest stages that stadiums such as Old Trafford and The Bernebeu have. PSG is yet to taste success in the Champions League. While people will still visit the stadium in their droves, especially to see the likes of Messi et al., they won’t be around forever. In contrast, history never leaves, as is probably the most significant reason why so many, even in barren spells at Manchester United, continued to visit Old Trafford as tourists.

Should Parc des Princes Become An Official Travel Attraction? – Conclusion

There are no issues with Parc des Princes becoming an official travel or tourist attraction, but you’d say it’s still very early days, and it’d be recognized as the beginning and something to build on. While Paris Saint-Germain is a historic team in France, they’re only recently beginning to find their feet at the highest level in European football. Ideally, they will keep adding to their history and prestige domestically and on bigger stages, such as in the Champions League.

It’s also important for a stadium to offer what’s required to be an attraction for tourists too. As seen with the Stade de France, a popular tourist attraction in France, it’s a place geared up to cater to those who see it as an attraction and aren’t there necessarily to take in a game. There are guided stadium tours that detail useful and fun information about the venue and much more. Again, there is the history to talk about and show where the Stade de France is concerned too, such as the football World Cup final and multiple Champions League finals.

Parc des Princes is certainly on the right track, and the club and its owners are doing everything right in terms of making it an iconic place that, in time, people will see as a destination to travel to, and not just because of the players who are currently turning out for PSG. It’s already a tourist attraction in its own right, but it will go global the more successful the club is on the world stage.