Handpicked experience · Paris
Paris, FranceInstant Confirmation
The protected lanes this ride depends on exist because a bike-share scheme launched in 2007 made cycling ordinary in a city built around the car.
A group made up only of the people you arrived with
A start point in the middle of the city rather than a suburb
River, island, left bank and tower on one loop
Traffic-separated riding for most of the route
A guide who talks about the city as a resident
Provision for the very youngest riders
A private guided bike ride through central Paris for a group of one to ten, starting beside the Louvre and running along the river, through the Latin Quarter and out to the Eiffel Tower, mostly on protected lanes.
The lanes you will use are recent. For most of the twentieth century Paris was built around the car, and cycling through it was something only the determined did.
The turn came in July 2007, when the city put a public bike-share scheme on the street: thousands of machines at hundreds of docking points, available to anyone with a card. It was among the largest schemes anywhere at the time, and it worked. Within a couple of years cycling had stopped being eccentric, and the political case for building lanes had made itself.
It has not been a smooth story. When the scheme changed operator in 2018 the handover went badly wrong — stations that did not work, a fleet that took most of a year to get back to strength, and a lot of people who went back to the metro. The system recovered, but slowly, and Parisians will still tell you about that winter.
A protected lane changes what a guided ride can be. The group can hold a line, the guide can talk over a shoulder, and nobody spends the hour watching wing mirrors.
It also opens up the riverside. The quays that used to be an expressway are closed to cars now, which is why a route from the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower along the water is possible at all.
The group is yours. One to ten participants, and the pace, the stops and the length of each pause are settled between you and the guide rather than by whoever else booked that morning.
The guide's commentary tends towards the anecdotal — where scenes were filmed, where they eat — rather than a recital of dates.
This is a ride, not a museum day. Entry to the monuments and museums you pass is not included and the route does not go inside them.
Anything you eat or drink along the way is your own, including tastings.
A baby seat for a child aged one to four is provided if you say you need one at booking.
Open it to pick a date and work out the price.
What the fare covers, and what to budget for separately.
The practical detail, and the answers people actually ask for.
July 2007, with thousands of machines spread across hundreds of docking points around the city.
It was among the biggest anywhere, which is part of why other cities copied the model so quickly.
A change of operator was badly handled: stations sat dead and the fleet needed most of a year to recover.
The quays were an expressway until they were closed to cars, and the surface is now given over to walkers and riders.
Considerably — the group holds a line and the guide can speak over a shoulder instead of shouting.
Anecdotal. Film locations and where people actually eat, rather than a recital of dates.
Pace, stops and the length of each pause are agreed with you rather than set by other bookings.
A seat for ages one to four is available if you flag the need when booking.