Two wheels could be a bicycle, a motor scooter or even a Segway. I think it is fair to say, most visitors don’t think of two wheels when they sightsee in Paris. They most often tour in buses or vans, hop on, hop off. What a mistake. You can’t really enjoy the spirit or the vitality of the City. Admittedly, two wheels is not necessarily the best way for everyone.
As with most of our city ventures we rent an apartment centrally located. On our last visit to Paris we rented an apartment near the Louvre on Rue Jean Jacques Rousseau. In the neighborhood were small restaurants and cafes frequented by locals. A couple of boulangeries and epiceries were also nearby for apartment provisions, morning coffee and pastries. The Tuileries were nearby as well. Public transit augmented the two wheeled travel for longer distances. It was clean and dependable.
Through www.Getyourguide.com we scheduled a City Highlights Segway Tour. Our two wheeled tour lasted 2.5 hours. Shorter duration tours are available too. What a fun way to see the City even if it’s not your first time visiting the City. It was not rushed and you had the opportunity to take pictures when ever you wanted. The guide spoke perfect English, was very knowledgeable and very patient with those initially not comfortable on the Segways.
Another great two wheel tour was a bicycle tour of Versailles through Fat Tire Tours (www.fattiretours.com). Including the train ride to Versailles, the tour lasted 8 hours. We shopped for picnic items in an open air market in Versailles and lunched along side the canals on the grounds of the palace. Then on to a the bike ride through the surrounding gardens and woods before an audio guided tour of the chateau. The train back to Paris was for snoozing. Fortunately the weather was clear and sunny, temperatures in the low to mid 70’s.
When the weather cooperates, two wheels and two feet are the best ways to see Paris.
