Cycling with kids in Paris
 

Hi,

We are planning a holiday in Paris with two children whose appetite for museums is strictly limited so we thought getting out on bikes would be good fun.

Can anyone advise us where we can hire bikes and cycle largely off road. Both kids are competent on bikes but my 9 year old daughter is not used to riding in traffic. And I'm not especially fit!

I have read about cycle hire places (e.g. RATP, FatTire) but have also heard that bikes are not allowed on the metro. How difficult would it be to get to places like Promenade Plantee (av Daumesnil) or Buttes Chaumont park, and are they suitable for cycling?

I have also seen a number of companies who offer cycle tours in Paris. Does anyone have any first hand experience of what they are like for children?

many thanks!

The Butte Chaumont park is created out of an old quarry, and is unsuited for bike riding. The Bois de Boulogne and the Bois de Vincennes might be the best places for bike riding.

I don't think i would be comfortable with a child that age bicycling in Paris streets. However now you might be able to get the free bikes that are around the city and do a little riding in a park, as you describe. I can't recall the name of the bike thing.

I have taken many bike tours with my children. We did the Fat Tire tour in Paris, but both my children were older. At the time my son was 11 and my daughter 15. We enjoy riding bikes and although it was pretty crazy at times going across the streets I never felt unsafe. But, we have riden in many long distance bike rides here in Texas and we have taken Bike Safety classes. I would recommend renting bikes at Versailles. It is so pretty riding around the area and in the back. That would make the biking safer for younger age children.

We are going to try this on our next trip.
Take the metro Line 1 to les Sablons. Walk into the Bois de Boulogne, to the entrance of the Jardin d'Acclimatation. There is a bicycle rental stand there. Then ride around the routes within the Bois. I noted that weekends are not a good time b/c a lot of serious cyclists do their routine at that time. A cycling map can be found here:
http://www.paris.fr/portail/viewmult...ument-id=18249
http://www.jardindacclimatation.fr/

I don't think any of the internal parks or gardens in Paris are good for cycling - a lot of pedestrians there. I think Paris still shuts off traffic along the Seine on Sundays for skating and cycling, though.
"..The following tracks have been reserved for pedestrians, cyclists and roller-blades on Sundays and public holidays :
all year round, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. : the river bank traffic lanes:
- right bank, from Quai des Tuileries(Paris 1) to Charles de Gaulle bridge (Paris 12)
- left bank from Quai Anatole France (Paris 7) to Quai Branly (Paris 7)"

http://en.parisinfo.com/shows-exhibi...aris-breathes1

Thanks so much for the information.

I think that perhaps we will try to combine cycling with a trip to Versailles.

Can't wait for the holiday to start!

I would second the recommendations to bike at Versailles or the Bois de Boulogne. Cycling in Paris itself will be a nightmare.

And I trust you know that there is plenty to do in Paris besides museums and biking.

Just to answer a specific question the OP raised - the Promenade Plantée is a narrow railway line on a viaduct, with lots of seating. Even if you could manhandle bikes up the steps, cyclists would be very unwelcome (it may well be illegal, for all I know).

There are bike lanes marked on some streets, but I don't think you are allowed to ride bikes in the public parks, except for the two big ones (Vincennes and Boulogne). The Paris Tourist Office website www.parisinfo.com has a complete section on bicycling, routes, tours, hiring, etc., and even has a map with cyclable routes. None are in the central parks nor the elevated Promenade Plantee. You could ride on the street a bit on ave Daumesnil, but don't know why you'd want to do that.

Versailles is a very good idea, I think. I'd definitely keep off the streets of Paris.

The second part of the Promenade Plantée, at ground level does indeed have bike lines on it.

Another popular place where people ride bikes (with ot without children) is the Les Halles/Beaubourg pedestrian & semi pedestrian zone (which stretches all the way to Strasbourg-Saint Denis). In the semi-pedestrian zone, cars are only allowed in with a special pass that lowers the columns blocking the roadway, so there are hardly any vehicles -- most just parked delivery trucks. The other good thing about this zone is that bicycles are authorized going in both directions, even in one way streets. Anyway, one of the biggest RATP bike rental stations is at Les Halles due to the bike friendliness of the area. All of the tourist bike tours go through there, too.

Along the Canal Saint Martin is another good place, because it has bike lines completely separate from traffic and then in the part out by the Parc de la Villette, bikes and pedestrians share the same space with no problems -- and no cars.

Thanks for this information. It's interesting how you can read about a place but not really have an accurate picture in your mind.

We will try some of the suggestions made. We have enough things to do in Paris to keep us busy for a very long time so we will just have to be selective.

We thought the kids would enjoy Cite des Sciences, Parc de la Villette, Musee de la Poupee, Eiffel Tour (and every other tower we pass - what is it about towers that begs you to climb them?), Arc de Triomphe, and so on. With active kids, we thought that cycling would be a great thing when they get restless.

Thank you everyone for the advice and if you know of any other activities or places which would appeal to a 9 and 12 year please don't hesitate to let me know.

Well, the whole Cité des Sciences and Parc de la Villette area is great for cycling, and if I may add, it is a fantastic place for a picnic on the grass, or a bench, or even in the rain, because there are a lot of covered areas.