Paris has much to offer its residents and any visitor.
And with the Olympics as their canvas, there are personal portraits being painted all around the City of Light. They have powered through the weather — rain didn't dampen their spirts and surging temperatures couldn't cool their heels. They gathered at watch parties to see Simone Biles at her best. Some watched the games in person others just relaxed in front of iconic sights in Paris. There were a few who got to both.
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An Olympic flag hangs outside a bar during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A crowd takes photos at the gates to the Tuileries Garden as the cauldron rises at sunset during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Julie Derron, of Switzerland celebrates winning the silver medal at the end of the women's individual triathlon competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
in a beach volleyball match at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Technicians remove the pontoon for the start of the triathlon events after the event was postponed over concerns about water quality in Paris' Seine River, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, at the Pont Alexandre III bridge in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Tourists take a picture near the Louvre Museum at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Tourists take pictures near the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Jenna Baltes, 8, of St. Paul, Minn., holds balloons while walking along the Seine river in front of the Eiffel Tower with her family during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
People watch a TV showing the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in a bar in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Vera Looser, of Namibia, carries her bike down into a metro station while surveying the course through Paris streets during a training session ahead of her road race event at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Pedestrians make their way across a sidewalk opened to foot traffic on the Pont Royal, or Royal Bridge, along grandstands used in the opening ceremonies, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Canada's Naïma Moreira-Laliberté, riding Statesman, during the Equestrian Dressage competition, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Versailles, France. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Germany's Svenja Mueller warms up before a beach volleyball practice in Eiffel Tower Stadium at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
A man wipes his face as he walks past reproductions of artworks decorating the banks of the River Seine at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
A woman sits at the Tuileries Garden, during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Italy's Filippo Macchi, left, competes with United State's Nick Itkin in the men's individual Foil semifinal match during the 2024 Summer Olympics at the Grand Palais, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Juliette Labous, of France, is seen through a spectator's umbrella while competing in the women's cycling time trial event, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A spectator walks through a water mist sprayers on her way to Eiffel Tower Stadium to watch a beach volleyball at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Harry Wilcznski poses for a picture in front of the cauldron with the Olympic flame in the Tuileries Gardens during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Athletes dive into the water for the start of the women's individual triathlon competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Spectators watch from a fan zone set up at the Hotel de Ville, the city hall, as Simone Biles, of the United States, performs on the vault during a women's artistic gymnastics qualification round at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Hu Xiao, from China, poses as her friends take her photograph near the Eiffel Tower at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Yasin Dar)
Athletes are chasing dreams of gold medals under the Eiffel Towel, Champions Park, the historic Grand Palais or the sumptuous-looking Versailles Palace gardens and all can be seen embracing the moment.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
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An Olympic flag hangs outside a bar during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A crowd takes photos at the gates to the Tuileries Garden as the cauldron rises at sunset during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Julie Derron, of Switzerland celebrates winning the silver medal at the end of the women's individual triathlon competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
in a beach volleyball match at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Technicians remove the pontoon for the start of the triathlon events after the event was postponed over concerns about water quality in Paris' Seine River, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, at the Pont Alexandre III bridge in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Tourists take a picture near the Louvre Museum at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Tourists take pictures near the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Jenna Baltes, 8, of St. Paul, Minn., holds balloons while walking along the Seine river in front of the Eiffel Tower with her family during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
People watch a TV showing the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in a bar in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Vera Looser, of Namibia, carries her bike down into a metro station while surveying the course through Paris streets during a training session ahead of her road race event at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Pedestrians make their way across a sidewalk opened to foot traffic on the Pont Royal, or Royal Bridge, along grandstands used in the opening ceremonies, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Canada's Naïma Moreira-Laliberté, riding Statesman, during the Equestrian Dressage competition, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Versailles, France. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Germany's Svenja Mueller warms up before a beach volleyball practice in Eiffel Tower Stadium at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
A man wipes his face as he walks past reproductions of artworks decorating the banks of the River Seine at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
A woman sits at the Tuileries Garden, during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Italy's Filippo Macchi, left, competes with United State's Nick Itkin in the men's individual Foil semifinal match during the 2024 Summer Olympics at the Grand Palais, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Juliette Labous, of France, is seen through a spectator's umbrella while competing in the women's cycling time trial event, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A spectator walks through a water mist sprayers on her way to Eiffel Tower Stadium to watch a beach volleyball at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Harry Wilcznski poses for a picture in front of the cauldron with the Olympic flame in the Tuileries Gardens during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Athletes dive into the water for the start of the women's individual triathlon competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Spectators watch from a fan zone set up at the Hotel de Ville, the city hall, as Simone Biles, of the United States, performs on the vault during a women's artistic gymnastics qualification round at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Hu Xiao, from China, poses as her friends take her photograph near the Eiffel Tower at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Yasin Dar)
Lewis Hamilton greeted a crowd of waiting fans on Wednesday as he drove a Ferrari Formula 1 car for the first time since joining the Italian team for the 2025 season.
Hamilton was behind the wheel of a 2023-specification Ferrari SF-23 bearing his racing number, 44, at the team's Fiorano test track, and wore a new helmet design in yellow with a prominent Prancing Horse logo.
The 40-year-old British driver set out for his first lap at 9:16 a.m. local time in light fog and twice waved to a crowd of around 1,000 spectators, who had gathered on a nearby bridge despite the cold and wet weather.
Part-way through the day, Hamilton headed over to fans who had waited for hours in the wet conditions since early morning for a glimpse of him behind the wheel. Wearing a jacket in Ferrari red, he waved, gave a thumbs-up gesture and put a hand to his heart.
Hamilton has shaken up F1 with his move to Ferrari after 12 years with Mercedes, where he won six of his seven world titles. He has said he's fulfilling a childhood dream.
“I’ve been lucky enough to have achieved things in my career I never thought possible, but part of me has always held on to that dream of racing in red. I couldn’t be happier to realize that dream today," he said Monday after arriving at Ferrari's Maranello headquarters for his first day at work with the new team.
F1 tightly restricts teams from testing current-specification cars but the rules are more loose for older cars like the SF-23 that Hamilton drove Wednesday. The F1 regulations for 2025 allow Hamilton to drive up to 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) over four days in older F1 cars under the “testing of previous cars” rule. The SF-23 is the most recent Ferrari that's eligible.
Pre-season testing for the new season's cars is from Feb. 26 through 28 in Bahrain.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
British driver Lewis Hamilton cheers Ferrari fans gathered outside the track, after testing a Ferrari Formula One SF-23, in Fiorano Modenese, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.22, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
British driver Lewis Hamilton thumbs up to Ferrari fans gathered outside the track, after testing a Ferrari Formula One SF-23, in Fiorano Modenese, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.22, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
British driver Lewis Hamilton cheers Ferrari fans gathered outside the track, after testing a Ferrari Formula One SF-23, in Fiorano Modenese, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.22, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
British driver Lewis Hamilton cheers Ferrari fans gathered outside the track, after testing a Ferrari Formula One SF-23, in Fiorano Modenese, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.22, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
British driver Lewis Hamilton steers a Ferrari Formula One SF-23 at the Ferrari private test track, in Fiorano Modenese, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.22, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
British driver Lewis Hamilton steers a Ferrari Formula One SF-23 at the Ferrari private test track, in Fiorano Modenese, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.22, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
British driver Lewis Hamilton steers a Ferrari Formula One SF-23 at the Ferrari private test track, in Fiorano Modenese, Italy, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
A truck runs displaying a paint of Lewis outside the Ferrari private test track, in Fiorano Modenese, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.22, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
British driver Lewis Hamilton waves to fans as he steers a Ferrari Formula One SF-23 at the Ferrari private test track, in Fiorano Modenese, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.22, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
British driver Lewis Hamilton waves to fans as he steers a Ferrari Formula One SF-23 at the Ferrari private test track, in Fiorano Modenese, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.22, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
People gather outside the Ferrari track as British driver Lewis Hamilton tests a Ferrari Formula One SF-23, in Fiorano Modenese, Italy, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
British driver Lewis Hamilton steers a Ferrari Formula One SF-23 at the Ferrari private test track, in Fiorano Modenese, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.22, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
British driver Lewis Hamilton steers a Ferrari Formula One SF-23 at the Ferrari private test track, in Fiorano Modenese, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.22, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
British driver Lewis Hamilton waves to fans during the first lap with a Ferrari Formula One SF-23 at the Ferrari private test track, in Fiorano Modenese, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.22, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)