Best Places to Watch the Olympics: Travel Guide

Inside the Picks: Why Each Spot Earns the Trip

Not every Olympic city watches the same. Here’s the honest breakdown of where to actually plant yourself, what it costs, and when to go.

• Los Angeles (LA 2028, July 14–30, 2028) — The marquee pick for the next cycle. Why go: 351 medal events across 49 venues, with track and field in the first week at the 1923 LA Memorial Coliseum (the only stadium to host three Games) and swimming in week two at SoFi Stadium, the largest pool venue in Olympic history. Cost: LA28 is releasing over a million tickets starting at $28, with about a third priced under $100; at the top end, swimming finals run $186–$1,860 a session. Insider tip: buy a morning prelim session instead of a final — same venue, same stars, a fraction of the finals price.
• Long Beach & Inglewood (LA cluster satellites) — Why go: Long Beach hosts more Olympic events than any city outside LA, including water polo at a temporary venue by the Convention Center, and Belmont Shore sailing is free to watch from the sand. Best season: July evenings on the coast stay in the 70s°F while inland LA bakes past 90°F. Tip: base yourself in Long Beach, not downtown — cooler, cheaper hotels, and on the Metro A Line.

Mountain Games vs. City Games: Match the Venue to Your Trip

Winter and Summer Games reward completely different travelers, and the Milano Cortina 2026 blueprint shows why.

• Choose a mountain Winter cluster if you ski. Milano Cortina 2026 spread across eight towns over 22,000 km² — Cortina d’Ampezzo for women’s alpine on the Tofane, Bormio and Livigno for the daredevil downhill and freestyle, Antholz for biathlon. Why it works: you watch a morning race, then ski the same Dolomites resort that afternoon. Trade-off: venues are 1–3 hours apart by alpine road, so pick one cluster and stay put rather than chasing events.
• Choose a city Summer host if you want variety. LA 2028 packs basketball at the Intuit Dome, baseball at Dodger Stadium, and golf at Riviera into a single transit map — you can stack three sports in a day. Trade-off: summer heat and traffic.

Budget honesty: a Winter mountain trip costs more in lodging (alpine towns have few beds) but less in event tickets; a Summer city trip flips that. Decide which line item you’d rather absorb before you book.

Getting There Without a Car: The Real Logistics

LA 2028 is being run as a deliberate “no-car Games” — there will be no public parking at or near venues. Plan around transit from the moment you land, not as an afterthought.

• From the airport: the new LAX/Metro Transit Center (opened June 2025) links the airport to the Metro C and K Lines, and the LAX Automated People Mover is slated to connect terminals directly by 2026 — so you can reach the rail network without a rental car.
• Free rides with your ticket: under California legislation, an Olympic event ticket entitles you to ride Metro bus and rail free that same day, and dedicated Olympic shuttle access from Metro stations to venues is included with your ticket. Keep the ticket on your phone — it’s also your transit pass.
• Don’t assume “LA” means LA. This is a national Games: softball and canoe slalom run in Oklahoma City, and soccer is spread across New York, Nashville, Columbus, St. Louis, San Jose, and San Diego. Check your event’s actual city before booking flights.

Insider tip: stay within a 10-minute walk of a Metro rail station and skip ride-share entirely — surge pricing and venue road closures will make cars the slowest option of all.

Frequently Asked Questions