The best Paris bike tours

On a first trip, this is the ride to book. Blue Bike Tours runs four hours past the three monuments most people came for, on regular (non-electric) bikes, guided in English for up to 12 riders. There are two departures, at 10:30am and 3pm, from 9 Place Saint-Michel, and a helmet is included.

The listing calls it suitable for all fitness levels, and infant seats are available on request. Food and drinks are not included, so bring water.

You see the Louvre and Notre-Dame from outside, not inside. To see the same monuments from the water, our Seine river cruises guide compares the boats.

For a second trip, these two rides swap monuments for neighborhoods. Both cover the Marais and the Latin Quarter, so you only need one.

Local districts, in the morning

Bike About Tours meets at Le Peloton Café on Rue du Pont Louis-Philippe in the 4th and rides the Marais, Bastille, the Seine riversides, the Latin Quarter and a few secret passageways. It lasts three to three and a half hours, for up to 12 riders, and runs in any weather, with ponchos available. Plan on moderate fitness.

Latin Quarter and Marais secrets, with lunch

Blue Bike Tours’ back-streets ride starts at the Fontaine Saint-Michel and lasts four hours, with a lunch break (you pay for your own food). It runs in all weather; no flip-flops. It is the better choice with children: ages 1 to 4 ride in a child seat and ages 5 to 9 ride solo or on a tandem attachment if reserved, and every child needs a paid spot.

Our take: the morning tour for a shorter ride and a free afternoon, the lunch tour for kids or a sit-down break.

The only e-bike tour here is XL Tour’s two-hour ride from 10 Rue de la Paix in the 2nd. The time includes a briefing and a test ride, the bikes assist up to 25 km/h, and the route uses mainly bike lanes. A live guide speaks English, French or Spanish, for up to 15 riders.

Read the rules before you book with kids. Riders need to be at least 1.55 m (5’1”) tall to ride their own bike, because the saddle is fixed. Each booking needs at least two adults, and infant seats are available. A helmet is not listed in what is included, and French law requires one for every child under 12, so bring your own or ask the operator. It may be cancelled for bad weather.

Honestly, it is the shortest ride here and not the cheapest. It is worth it for less confident riders or mixed ages, because the motor removes the hard part. Families with small children may do better on the Latin Quarter tour, with its child seats and tandems.

Versailles is where a bike makes the most sense: the gardens, the Trianons and the Hamlet are a long walk apart.

Boutique Bike Tours’ full day starts and ends at 17 Boulevard de Vaugirard in the 15th. By bike it covers a market, the Royal Gardens, the fountains and the Hamlet, then a guided visit of the Château with a state-licensed guide (guide conférencier) and an earpiece. Versailles access, a wet-weather jacket, and a helmet or child seat on request are included; the picnic lunch is not. Groups are capped at 12, and it runs rain or shine.

The listing does not say how you travel to Versailles or whether the fountains will be running, so ask when you book. The palace is closed on Mondays. The listing does not describe the bikes as e-bikes, and children’s bikes and tandems are available. For every other way to do the day, see our Versailles day trip guide.

None of these tours lists a winter timetable, but the highlights listing mentions gloves and hats in winter, which suggests it runs year-round. December in Paris averages a high of 8°C (46°F) and a low of 4°C (39°F), with rain on about 11 days, so dress for wet cold rather than snow.

Rain policy: the local-districts, Latin Quarter and Versailles tours ride in any weather. The highlights and family e-bike tours may cancel for bad weather. All five offer free cancellation, so book ahead and watch the forecast.

What to wear

• Gloves: your hands take the wind on a bike.
• A waterproof shell over a warm layer, not a long coat that catches in the wheel.
• Closed shoes with grip for wet cobbles.
• A thin hat that fits under a helmet, and something bright.

Our what to wear in Paris guide has the full seasonal list.

Safety and the rules of the road

Helmets are compulsory for cyclists and passengers under 12 in France and strongly recommended for everyone else. Bus lanes in Paris are open to bikes unless a sign says otherwise: keep right, and pull out to the left when a bus is stopped. Front and rear lights are compulsory (riding without them is an €11 fine), which matters in winter, when the sun sets around 5:12pm in mid-November and 4:56pm in mid-December.

Early sunsets make an evening ride easy to fit in. This small-group tour rides past the lit monuments, then boards a Seine boat; for boats alone, see our evening Seine cruises guide.