If we rented bikes, would Parc Montsouris be a good place to ride them (ie. is it allowed/done)? Same question for Jardin de Luxembourg...Looking for places to ride on our own that won't scare the daylights out of me. We'll be staying in the 14th next time - supposedly there is a bike rental on rue Daguerre.
Thank you for any advice.

Both these parks are a poor cycling venue. Montsouris is very hilly if i remember right and Luxembourg very small and congested. A favorite Paris cycling venue is the Couloir Verte (spelling ?) that runs from the Bastille to the Parc Vincennes in eastern Paris. The "green corridor" begins at the Bastille as a path running on arches, so it soars above Paris - being built on the course of the old railway line that once terminated at the now demolished Gare de Bastille (where the Bastille Opera is now located). You can ride this path several miles and then be in the huge green oasis of the Vincennes Park, local of the Paris Zoo. Several RER stations rent bikes and these are close to areas offering good biking - the Bois de Boulogne and the park at St Germaine-en-Laye. Get info on these at RER/metro ticket windows. But I'd forget the two small parks you mentioned.

If I were going to bike in Paris, I'd head for the Bois de Boulogne and not one of the small parks that are often filled with strollers, kids, and joggers.

Travelnut

Don't know about the Parc Montsouris, but biking is definitely NOT allowed in the Luxembourg.

PalenqueBob is referring to the "Coulée Verte", a good idea, but far from the 14th.

Hope this helps,
Andre

Yeah, maybe it would be better to rent from an agency close to Vincennes - we wanted to see the old chateau anyway, so we could combine that.

I haven't heard of the coulee verte - is that the top of the Viaduc des Artes?

Perhaps I'm wrong, but I don't think biking is allowed in any park like that in the city. I don't remember seeing anyone on a bike in Parc Montsouris, although it is slightly more bucolic than Luxembourg in that regard. I don't even think rollerblades are allowed.

I think biking is only allowd in Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes. I thought they had some bike rental over near the Eiffel Tower, but that would be for the streets.

Here is the Parisian plan showing bike routes. They have a special section on the above two major parks, it appears
http://www.paris.fr/FR/Sport/pistes_cyclables

Great online map, Christina! thanks so much.