The Steelers! The Saints! Are coming to Paris!
Huge news if you love one of these teams, or the NFL, or Paris, or a combination of the three. The Saints were a natural choice for the NFL’s first game in Paris, as Louisiana is home to a sizable francophone community. And the Steelers were an inspired match, a legendary NFL franchise with a worldwide audience.
Now: Are either of these teams the Philadelphia Eagles, whose 2018 Super Bowl victory was one of the happiest days of my life, alongside noted fellow francophone/Eagles fan Bradley Cooper? No. They are not. But as someone in the very narrow Venn diagram overlap of “people who live in Paris at least part time” and “people who love American football despite its many flaws, I say: This is AWESOME. Here’s what you need to know — and if you’re a Steelers or Saints fan with questions about Paris, email me, I would be happy to address them, as a professional travel writer, part-time Parisian, and football fan.
On to the game!
When is the Saints-Steelers game in Paris?
October 25th, 2026. (It’s a Sunday.)
When will tickets go on sale?
June 2, for the Amex presale for General Admission and Hospitality Packages, 10am CEST — note that is 4 a.m. Pittsburgh time and 3 a.m. New Orleans time. You’ll need to pay with an American Express card and can purchase up to 6 tickets. See more details here.
Non-presale on-sale date to come.
How do you get tickets for the Steelers-Saints game in Paris?
No one knows re: single tickets lol, except for whomever’s tasked with figuring it out at NFL HQ. Sign up here: nfl.com/paris for details and ticket updates.
That said: Steelers fans can now purchase packages through On Location ranging from $1295 (basically ticket only with some events) to $7495 (ticket + air + hotel). (A third package includes hotel but not air travel.
Curiously, the Saints are offering three similar packages, but none include airfare. These range from $1295 to $4945.
Single tickets are rumored to cost around $200-$250. Will update this as soon as news is available.
France has a very different (read: less expensive) event ticket culture — witness my $140 ticket to see Taylor Swift in Lyon — but the NFL sets the prices across the international games (nine this season), so there you go.
Where should Steelers fans stay in Paris?
Come for the whole week! Not just the four nights offered by the package! Paris is the best and October is perfect — usually not that expensive, usually not that cold, and usually not that crowded. It’s ideal.
Steelers fans who want to maintain a certain level of daily experience with bridges over rivers should stay on the Ile St Louis — my first real home in Paris — and cross onto the Left or Right Bank every morning. Or maybe you can’t live without bravely marching up and down many hills! For you, consider Montmartre (the “mont” gives it away) or — less crowded, but also less iconic, the Butte-aux-Cailles, one of the most village-y feeling neighborhoods in the whole city.
If however you are looking to ease your journey to the Stade de France, you could stay within walking distance of the RER B stations (including the Gare du Nord, Les Halles, St-Michel) — but honestly it’s so easy to get there that I wouldn’t make that too big a factor.
Maybe you’re looking for a Steelers bar in Paris?
Tragically there is not one per se (yet anyway, Instagram is awash with pitches for “Le Jagoff” (what??)), and hopefully if you’re a Steelers fan in Paris, you’re actually going to the game. But for televised NFL games in Paris in general, everybody’s at The Moose on the Left Bank. It’s Canadian (read: moose) but they play most of the NFL games that air during opening hours. For more details, see their website — the TV schedule is shown at the bottom of the homepage.
What about the stadium?
The Stade de France is the largest stadium in France, with more than 80,000 seats. They are well accustomed to big crowds and high-security events (as this will surely be). It is easily accessible by RER, which is Paris’s suburban commuter line.
Is Paris safe?
Paris is very safe. You need to take the same precautions as in any big city. I would perhaps not walk to the Stade de France — or at least I would not walk back after the game. And Paris does have a (deserved) reputation as a hotbed for pickpockets and the like, as well as snatch-and-grab apartment break-ins, especially during the vacation season in August. But people coming to the Steelers-Saints game in Paris in October will have, I would guess, very few problems. Be smart, zip up your bags on the metro, don’t leave things behind. But also don’t worry.
What should I do to blend in?
An important topic, especially for us Americans. For sure wear your jerseys — Parisians love sports, and I bet the vibe will be very cool on the street. But fanny packs: non! Athleisure everywhere: non! (I do this lol, literally all the time — but it will get you looks.) It’s a dressier, more stylish and more conservative (mind you a very specific definition of “conservative”) culture than ours, and you will receive better service and less judgment if you dress the part a little.
Most of all: Anywhere but the stadium, we need to use our indoor voices. Indoor voices!!
