We will be in Paris for 10 days starting Sept. 27. Rather than taking a bus tour out to the Loire Valley, we are considering renting a motorcyle and riding there on our own. Does anyone know of a reputable outfit in Paris that will rent motorcyles for the day? If so, how much would this cost?

It would be a lot cheaper to rent a car. Motorcycle rentals are very expensive (probably because of insurance) for large models like you'd need to ride on major highways. Anyway, I'm not sure you can because I think you need a special permit to ride one in Paris, but maybe rental agencies handle that. Also, you'd have to really know French driving rules well to be safe (priority to right rules), but perhaps you do know all that. I've seen rates of $100-200 per day for large ones. Anyway, I don't know about reputability but a firm I know for other rentals (bikes, etc) seems to have them from a check I did, so you can look at their site to see<BR>http://www.holiday-bikes.com/index_us.htm

Here's the only one I know of<BR><BR>Active Bike in Paris <BR>Tel: 01.40.55.02.02 <BR><BR>It will probably be very expensive, as Christina says, around $100 a day.

Amy, three words: go for it ! That said, IMHO, motorbikes are much more convenient to discover Paris than to go to the countryside. And no, you don't need any special permit to ride within Paris (we're not in Moscow in the old days ! ). In France, you can park on the sidewalk, you are allowed to go between car lanes, so, compared to the metro, or, even worse, the car, it's day and night. There are two reputable outfits that rent motorbikes: Cimo motos is an established, non sleazy, second hand bike dealer (I bought my first bike from them) located in the Guy Mocquet area. They also rent" bikes: www.cimo.fr. "Auto moto location are also reputable, in the Porte Maillot area (www.auto-moto-location.com). For a 600 cm3 bike (Honda Transalp), the rate is $ 100 a day, $250 a week-end, $ 400 a week. But the trickiest part is the wealth of guarantees they ask for: beyond the usual credit card imprint, they state on their web site that they need proof of residence in France and a deposit cheque (I suppose a French one). You would have to negotiate with them beforehand or get a - trustful ! - French friend to churn out the docs. Another option might also be the classic big rental car companies, who often also offer motorbike rentals. It might be worth it checking it out with the likes of Avis, Hertz, etc. Good luck: Paris on a motorbike is something you'll never forget !

That's a lot of good information, but I had read you needed a special permit to drive a motorcycle in Paris, I don't think it has anything to do with Russia, I imagine it's for safety reasons. I don't drive one but I think that is common in the US, also, you need a special driving permit for that. YOu also need a special permit to ride a horse in Paris from what I've read for the same reasons -- safety and to make sure you know what you're doing.<BR><BR>It was the French Govt. Tourist Office who had that information on their web site, but perhaps it is wrong.

Christina, you do need to have passed a special driver's licence ("permis" in French, hence the possible confusion of the French travel office, who might have wrongly translated it into "permit") for bikes over 125 cm3 (under that volume, a normal car driver's licence is valid), but no special permit.

We rented a BMW bike from the Place Madeleine in June... a fantastic trip through Paris...especially around the Arc de Triomphe.