Please sign in to post.

Bike tour of Paris?

Celebrating my son's high school graduation with a three-week trip in Europe focused on WWII History (his passion). Starting in London, then moving through Rotterdam and Belgium, ending up in Normandy. We have a few days in Paris, with the goal of seeing Notre Dame, perhaps a French resistance walking tour, and eating chocolate and pastries (my passion!). Because it is a short period of time, I've been looking into bike tours to see all the main tourist sites. Are they worth doing from a "see the main things to get a good overview" sort of way? I'll admit, biking in a big city sounds stressful to me, but a hop on/hop off bus is not very appealing either. Appreciate the counsel.

Posted by
4055 posts

I think it sounds stressful as well but I am not a great cyclist and I think I am still traumatized from being hit by a taxi while on my bike in New York City over twenty years ago. I have some relatives (my children and nieces and nephews) who have done the bike tours in Paris and Versailles and enjoyed them. They especially liked the bespoke Paris tours offered by French Mystique Bike Tours and the Fat Tire Versailles bike tour. My children hated Versailles during their first visit but tried again a couple of years later with Fat Tire tours and loved it.

Posted by
1262 posts

I watched a bike tour cycle on Rue de Grenelle near Le musée de l'Armée a few months ago. There was enough traffic, construction, and confusion in the area that I was quite glad I was not on a bike, simply walking. Folks on the tour got separated from the main group by traffic lights. I wondered at the time how anyone could see anything except the bike in front of them. But, that's me.

What I saw was my definition of "stressful", but may not be problematic for others. Hopefully, you can get feedback from some who have actually partaken!

Posted by
1262 posts

Not related to your bike question, but I can't help suggesting a couple stops a WWII history buff might enjoy. You my already be aware of these, but if not:

The Museum of the Liberation of Paris is very good. Directly across the street from the Catacombs if anyone in your party is interested in that. (I have never visited.)
https://www.museeliberation-leclerc-moulin.paris.fr/en/le-musee

In the Musée de l'Armée, there are several ares that might be of interest. The Charles deGaulle rooms (I recently spent 2 hours there and it wasn't my first visit. Very interactive, English options.); Museum of the Order of the Liberation (a wing of the bigger complex) has the stories of many of the resistance fighters among other moving exhibits. Much is in French, but I once took my then college-age, non-French speaker "child" - we spent over an hour; World War exhibits - WWI and WWII. Additionally, Napoleon's Tomb on the same ticket - to me, that was worth the cost! Other excellent military history exhibits as well.

https://www.musee-armee.fr/en/home.html

Posted by
8698 posts

Biking on the streets of a big foreign city. What could go wrong? Unless I were a very experienced biker I would not even think of doing this. There are places like along the Seine with dedicated non car bike spaces. But you cannot bike in parks; I have seen tourists ticketed for trying to do this.

Versailles is another thing. Biking on the grounds of the Chateau is a great way to get around as is biking from Vernon to Giverny.

Posted by
414 posts

We did a bike tour in Paris a few years ago. Our route was mostly on streets that had less traffic and we stopped often to hear information/commentary provided by our leader. It was not at all stressful and we learned a lot. We had fewer than 10 in our group as I recall. It was a lot of fun.

Posted by
17 posts

My first ever bike tour was in Paris in March 2017 with Fat Tire Tours. We loved it--the guide kept us mostly out of traffic using green spaces and bike lanes. When we were on a street, they were quiet ones, and the guides have always been meticulous about gathering people together and waiting before crossing a busy intersection. My sister and her husband did a tour the next year with Paris Charms and Secrets (which was the company I really wanted but their schedule didn't fit with ours) and she GUSHED about it. STILL gushes about it. I should add that she and I are both very leery about riding in traffic. Now, we try to book a bike tour for our first day in any city (London, Edinburgh, San Sebastian, Oaxaca, Dublin) because it's a great way to see a lot of territory and get the lay of the land, the guides have been consistently delightful, and we have always felt safe. Of course, I also check the reviews closely before booking to make sure I'm with a reputable company.

Worth noting: most bike tours don't take time for you to go inside and visit the major sites. Usually you stop at them and the guide will tell you interesting things. Instead the tour helps you get your bearings and gives you an overview of the biggies. Often I learn about something that I didn't know I wanted to see, and sometimes I feel like I got enough from the tour to satisfy my curiosity about that particular site.

Posted by
10758 posts

One of my sons and his daughter, then age 9, did a Fat Tire Bike Tour of Paris on a tandem bike and loved it. It was among their favorite activities while in Paris. He described the route to me the same as suzannewilmoth does here: bike lanes and green spaces.