A first for France
On Sunday 25 October 2026, the Pittsburgh Steelers face the New Orleans Saints at the Stade de France. It is the first NFL regular-season game ever held in France, and it counts: Week 7 of the season, with the Saints as the designated home team.
Kickoff is at 14:30 Paris time (9:30 in Pittsburgh, 8:30 in New Orleans). The game is broadcast on NFL Network in the United States.
Expect a crowd that is part travelling American, part European fan base that has waited years for a game on this side of the Channel. Both teams bring large followings, and the week around the game will be busy in central Paris as well as in Saint-Denis.
Getting to Saint-Denis
The Stade de France sits just north of the périphérique in Saint-Denis, roughly twenty minutes from the 8th arrondissement on a clear Sunday. On match day it is not a clear Sunday: the approach roads close progressively from late morning, and the A1 and A86 slow well before the stadium comes into view.
Public transport works, at a price in patience. Three lines serve the stadium: RER B (La Plaine–Stade de France), RER D (Stade de France–Saint-Denis) and metro line 13 (Saint-Denis–Porte de Paris). All three are packed for the two hours before kickoff.
By car, the realistic plan is to leave central Paris around 11:30 for a 14:30 kickoff. That leaves time for security checks, which at an NFL game are thorough, and for the pre-game atmosphere that many fans come for in the first place.
The real problem: leaving
Arrivals spread over three hours. Departures happen in twenty minutes. When nearly 80,000 people leave at the final whistle, the RER platforms are closed in waves, taxis are nowhere near the stadium, and ride-hailing prices climb sharply while the cars sit in the same traffic as everyone else.
A chauffeur solves this in a simple way: we agree a pick-up point away from the closed perimeter before the game, and the car is waiting there when you walk out. A short walk replaces an hour on a platform. With a car held by the hour, there is no rush either: stay for the last play, then go straight on to dinner.
For a group of friends or a corporate party, a Mercedes V-Class or a coordinated set of vehicles keeps everyone together, with jerseys, flags and bags left safely in the car during the game.
Flying in for the game
Most fans from the United States land at Charles de Gaulle, which has one real advantage this weekend: it lies on the same side of Paris as the stadium, around twenty-five minutes away by car outside peak traffic.
If you arrive on Friday or Saturday, a meet and greet inside the terminal takes you straight to your hotel. Arriving on the Sunday morning itself is possible, but tight: we can take you from the plane directly to Saint-Denis, with your luggage kept in the car during the game.
Flying out on Sunday evening? Plan for a departure after 21:00 from CDG. The game ends around 17:30, and the drive from the stadium to the airport is short once the post-game traffic has cleared.
Practical notes
Tickets. Buy only through official channels: the NFL, the Stade de France and the teams’ own travel packages. Resale prices for this first game are high, and fake tickets circulate.
Bags. Stadium security at NFL games is strict on bag size. Anything you do not need in your seat can stay in the car.
Book early. Chauffeurs are in short supply on major match days at the Stade de France. For this one, the earlier the better.
