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Paris Cycling Holiday Itinerary
Art, cuisine, revolution, royal excess, history. That's it, in a nutshell. You might not ordinarily think 'bike tour' when you think of Paris, but you should, it's a perfect marriage.
Paris is surprisingly small, bounded by the 'Boulevard Péripherique' it's only about 6 miles across. At its heart is the Ile de la Cité, the original settlement of Paris and home to the Parisii tribe that gave Paris its name. All of Paris grew outwards from the Ile de la Citéé, along the Left and Right banks, and any exploration of Paris should start here on this famous, fabulous island.
By the end of our week we'll have explored the legacy of both Napoleons; witnessed the obscene excess of Versailles; admired the stunning, unbelievable collections at the Louvre, the Musée D'Orsay and the Rodin Museum. But I hope we'll also have shown you some 'secret' Paris. We'll see the Roman ampitheatre, explore the extraordinary cemetery of Père Lachaise, cycle along the 'Promenade Planté', up the 'Cité des Fleurs' and spend some time at the memorial to the horrific events at the 'Vel'd'Hiv' in 1942.
Cycling in Paris is fantastic fun. Mostly there are bike lanes, or shared bus lanes. But Parisian roads are wide, and their drivers are respectful to cyclists. It might sound a strange idea, but you will never see Paris like this, you will never be able to follow the history of Paris like this, unless you're on a bike.
There isn't room on this website to do justice to the Ile de la Cité, nor the monuments to Napoleon I, nor the rebuilding of Paris by Napoleon III, nor the treasures of Versailles. If this website isn't enough to tell you about Paris, a week isn't enough to show you. But we will try, and I think you'll love it
Our Hotel
I've chosen the Hotel Saint-André-Des-Arts in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés quarter. This 3*** hotel features in Alistair Sawday's 'Special Places To Stay In France', and you won't find more helpful, friendlier hosts than Marc and Fred – certainly not in Paris you won't.
Its position couldn't be finer, just minutes walk from the Ile de la Cité and the Louvre, in the heart of St Germain-des-Prés, close to dozens of bistros, restaurants and cafés including the famous Deux Magots who's patrons included Picasso, Hemingway, Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. And best of all, there's a Vélib station just round the back!
The Vélib
Vélib is a derivation of 'Vélo Liberté', or Freedom Bike, and during our tour of Paris you'll find out why. There are about 25,000 Vélibs at stations all over Paris. You just take one, cycle where you're going, replace it, and forget about it. We'll all have our own Vélib swipe cards, you just touch your card to the docking point and away. I can't tell you how much fun they are.
When we go to Versailles or St Denis we'll take Chain Gang bikes. When we're going half a mile to Nôtre Dame we'll take a Vélib from outside our hotel. They weigh a ton (well, about 22.5 Kg), but apart from Montmartre and Belville Paris is a pancake, so who cares? Monday, Tuesday and Friday should be enough to fall in love with this fantastic way of getting around Paris. The rest of the time we'll be on Chain Gang bikes.
Day 1 - Sunday
We begin with a taster. On Sundays many of the city roads, are closed to traffic and Parisiennes take to the streets on roller blades and bikes. Today we'll find out where everything is, and you'll see why a bike is the perfect way to get around Paris and appreciate how the Ile de la Cité fits in.
We'll also visit the Arena de Lutece, the Roman ampitheatre in the 5th arrondissement, climb one of the few hills in Paris to the top of Montmartre and see how far the mob had to walk to the Bastille after they'd stolen 26,000 rifles from the Hotel des Invalides – some hotel eh? 22 miles.
23 miles / 34 Km. Click this link for detailed route map.
Day 2 - Monday
The Ile de la Cité - a 5-minute Vélib ride. With the Ile Saint-Louis, these two islands form the heart of Paris. We'll start with a tour of both islands then visit Nôtre Dame, the Conciergerie and Saint Chapelle.
In the afternoon, another Vélib hop along the Left Bank to the stunning Musée D'Orsay. Surely the best use of a railway station in the world, it's packed with Impressionists: galleries of Monet, Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec, Gaugin, Matisse. 6 miles
6 miles / 9 Km. Click this link for detailed route map.
Day 3 - Tuesday
We spend the morning at the Louvre (another five minutes away on our Vélibs) jumping straight to the front of the queue with our special Museum Pass. After lunch we'll visit the Hotel des Invalides (more queue jumping, vive le Museum Pass!) with its huge, gorgeous golden dome and Napoleon's tomb (also pretty huge and gorgeous). Then next door to the Rodin Museum, and grab another Vélib to the Panthéon, resting place of most of the French people you've ever heard of, and a beautiful church to boot.
One more Vélib - home, past the Sorbonne to Saint-André..7 miles
7 miles / 12 Km. Click this link for detailed route map.
Day 4 - Wednesday
Today we head out of Paris via a special route through the Bois de Boulogne, the 'lungs' of Paris, all the way to the Palace of Versailles, a 'must-see'.
We'll need our Chain Gang bikes for this trip, it's a proper bike ride.
In France Versailles is synonymous not only with the royal residence but with the whole concept of absolute monarchy. Imagine you were given all the money in the world and challenged to spend every penny of it on a single house – that's Versailles. Michelin gives it a maximum 3*** stars, 'Worth a journey in itself', but that's only because their scale doesn't go beyond 3.
On the way home, the Arc de Triomphe, the ultimate symbol of the mob that overthrew the masters of Versailles. 30 miles.
30 miles / 48 Km. Click this link for detailed route map.
Day 5 - Thursday
Today we use cycle lanes on our Chain Gang bikes to join the Canal St Martin at the Place de Stalingrad, and follow the canal out of Paris, beyond the Péripherique to Saint-Denis where we'll visit the beautiful Basilica, resting place of almost all the French Kings and Queens.
On our return we detour into the park at Buttes de Chaumont, thence to the cemetery at Père Lachaise. It's packed with famous tombs: Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, Maria Callas, Proust, Chopin, Jim Morrison, Laurent Fignon … and was the scene the last stand of the Paris Communards killed by firing squad and buried where they fell in a communal plot against the 'Federalists' Wall'. Statues described by Michelin as 'heartachingly grim', commemorating Paris' contribution to the Nazi concentration camps, line the 'Avenue Circulaire'.
Back to our hotel via the 'Promenade Planté' an old elevated railway line now a garden walkway for walkers and cyclists that takes us all the way into the Place de la Bastille. 23 miles
23 miles / 37 Km. Click this link for detailed route map.
Day 6 - Friday
We're back on our Vélib for a bracing ride up into Montmartre, the prettiest district in Paris. We'll have a walk, perhaps stop at a café, and visit the Sacre Couer, a beautiful Byzantine basilica built on the Buttes de Montmartre, the highest point in Paris.
Beneath the Sacre Couer in disused gypsum mines are the graves of many of the Paris Communards from a bloody ?period in 1870? The Sacre Coeur sits on a colossal blood bath, and that's why they built it here.
After lunch, we'll grab another Vélib and cycle to the Eiffel Tower and look at all the landmarks we've visited, before a final Vélib trip back to our friends at Saint-André.
14 miles / 22 Km. Click this link for detailed route map.
