Fat Tire Bike Tours--Paris

Katie, Without knowing the specifics of your group, it's difficult to make suggestions. If you have a "generous" travel budget, you might also consider a Segway Tour of Paris. They have several to choose from. They only take a couple of hours and are a LOT of fun! Happy travels!

Ken's right. I did the evening Segway tour and it was great. The guide was patient (takes time for some folks to get the hang of the segways), he was very knowledgeable and personable, native English-speaker, and his anecdotes were entertaining. I learned a lot, even having been to Paris several times before. It was definitely worth the money. Either that or the bike tour will give you a good overview of Paris, so better to do that early in your trip. I looked at the Champagne Seine cruise, but chose the (much cheaper) Bateaux des Vedettes du Pont Neuf - and saved more money by printing out an online voucher. I think the best time is to start right around sunset, then watch as the lights go on. One can drink wine anywhere in Paris, after all. Versailles - I prefer going at my own pace, but there is a lot to say for going with a guide in a small group. The description says 8 hours, but it takes time to get to and from Versailles, so I'm guessing that you'll have more like 6 hours at Versailles, including the lunch break and the market. I would want more time there. I believe you can rent bikes there to tour the grounds, there is a mini-train from one end to the other, so you don't have to walk as much.

You said "the size of the tours is a bit of a turn-off" - what is the maximum size? The segway tours are pretty limited, for logistic reasons. I thought the bike tours were too.

I have done all the FT tours( over 5 or 6 trips to Paris, not all at once). I totally reccommend doing the day tour first,, and at the beginning of your visit. The guides point out all sorts of things ,, things you will likely choose to go back to on your own and see more of,, plus its a good orientation to Paris, they give little tips on metro use, buses, how to avoid lines at sights etc. My next fave ( actually tied with the one to Monets Gardens) is the Night Bike tour, which is the one I took first. It includes a night boat ride,, and its tons of fun. The size of the group is an advantage to some degree,, trust me, you will feel safer on a bike on the Paris streets if you are inside the pack of 20 or so ,, its pretty hard for a car to say "they didn't see you" if you are in a group. The tour to Monets garden was so relaxing, nice to get out in the country a bit,, and I am not even a Monet fan,, but have to say this was my fave. You don't ride in Paris at all, you meet at train station, go to Vernon with group, then pick up bikes there and bike mostly along a nice bike/pedestrian path in the country. You stop for goodies and have a picnic on side of river , very scenic. Once in garden you go at your own pace,, you are not herded about,, and are allowed more then enough time .
I liked the one to Versailles, but, I had already been there about 5 or 6 times so I knew we were missing some things,, but,, my friend who I was with had never been to Versailles and she felt she saw everything she wanted to see,. Once again, once at Versailles you go at your own pace, so you can divided your time as you please, Benefit of tour is skipping long line to enter.

Hi Katie, we had an absolutely fabulous time on the Fat Bike tour to Versailles!! The size of the group was just right - the day we went there were 30 people signed up so they divided us into 2 groups of 15. It was so much fun to ride all over the beautiful gardens, the guide was fun and informative, and we are still talking about the incredible outdoor market in Versailles where we bought food for our picnic lunch on the Grand Canal. After lunch we had plenty of time to tour the chateau on our own before heading back to Paris. It stands out in my mind as one of the most memorable things we did on our 3 week trip. Enjoy!!

Hi Katie, We will be in Paris in September and we just booked the Night Tour. We are looking forward to a ride around the city and a Seine cruise (free wine!). We are both 25 and first timers to Paris. We will be going on this tour our first day in the city for a casual orientation of the city. All their tours sound great but we want to see Versailles on our own and are not interested in Monet's gardens in Giverny...so the night tour works best for us. You can also check out their Facebook page for even more reviews: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fat-Tire-Bike-Tours-Paris-and-London/112071408857336