Paris Shines on a Night Bike Tour
The Best Way to See the City of Light is on Two Wheels
You've done the foodie tours, the historical tours, the chocolate tours...but you haven't seen Paris until you've seen it from a bikeseat - by night!
The City of Lights is crowded with tours that try to cater to every interest and every market. But all the historic, gourmet and artistic tours in the world would be hard pressed to beat the feeling of free-wheeling through the Latin Quarter, or pedalling past the Conciergerie at night on a Fat Tire Night Bike Tour of Paris.
Fat Tire Tours is one company brave enough to take fifteen or so patrons, put them on bikes and unleash them on the streets of Paris. Surprisingly, the experience isn’t as hair-raising as one would expect: the city abounds in quiet back streets and bus lanes, and the three-geared bikes make easy work of the few slight inclines that present themselves (central Paris being mostly as flat as a crepe).
A Ride Past All the Highlights
Taking off in the early evening from the Fat Tire offices near the Champs de Mars, the tour winds past the spectacular Hotel des Invalides, then through the bohemian streets of the Latin Quarter. The first real highlight comes with a twilight stop on the Pont St Louis to admire the effect of the creamy evening light on nearby Notre Dame (and the equally creamy delights of the famous Berthillon Ice-creamery).
Guides are predominantly American, young and full of tasty bits of information, which they dispense at strategic spots along the way. Saint Chapelle and its holy relics, Marie Antoinette in the Conciergerie, the Place de la Concorde and its bloody history as the site of the guillotine... the history and anecdotes give riders something to digest as they trundle their way from one spectacular destination to the next.
Once night falls, the lights of the city become the star of the tour, closely followed by a breathtaking entry into a courtyard of the Louvre to cycle around its fountain, bathed in light spilling from the windows. Paris always hints at magic, and this one moment is all it takes to fulfill that promise.
Cruise the Magical Seine
That would almost seem to be enough for the most ardent lover of the city, but the tour is far from over. Down by the Seine, bikes are abandoned in favour of water transport. Cruising along the river by night can be a chilly prospect (bring a jacket) but the red wine keeps the blood flowing, and it’s the perfect opportunity to mingle with your fellow riders. The tour takes in spotlit bridges, famous buildings and riverside salsa dancers, all glowing in the radiance of their glittering city.
Back on land, and bikes, the tour winds down with an easy glide past the Eiffel Tower. Catch it on the hour, and it sparkles like diamonds, a reminder of what has been a gem of a tour.
Details
Fat Tire runs its Night Bike Tours of Paris from February 15 to November 30. Tours are of 4-5 hours duration, and run most nights (every night in summer). $38 students $41 adults (USD). For more information, see the Fat Tire website.
