ToursoftheCity

Text : Walking Tours
Walks on a variety of themes are offered by Paris Walks (tel: (01) 4809 2140; website: www.paris-walks.com), including 'Hemingway's Paris', 'The Village of Montmartre', 'The Marais Circuit' and many more. 'The Marais Circuit' departs every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday; 'Hemingway's Paris' every Friday and the 'Village of Montmartre' every Wednesday and Sunday. Tours depart from various métro stations, which are listed on the website, and last 2 hours.

Details of most tours are in the weekly Pariscope magazine (website: www.pariscope.com). Tour providers and tourist guides are also listed in the English language guide Paris for You. The latter is produced by the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau and can be picked up from tourist information offices.

Bus Tours
The Balabus is a bus that is marked Bb on the front. It operates from stops marked 'Balabus' from mid April to the end of September, passing key sights between the Grand Arche de la Défense and the Gare de Lyon. Details can be obtained from any métro station.

L'Open Tour hop-on hop-off buses (tel: (01) 4266 5656; website: www.paris-opentour.com) operate daily throughout the year, offering four different routes with running commentaries in French and English, passing all the major tourist sights in the city. One- and two-day passes  are available from tourist offices, RATP offices and also from some hotels and travel agencies. Buses run every 10-15 minutes 1000-1800 April-October and every 25-30 minutes 0930-1600 November-March.

Minibus Tours
A good alternative to the big bus tours are tours run by minibus. Minibuses can access sites that big coaches may not. Several companies offer minibus tours around Paris, with Paris Trip (tel: (01) 4212 8672; website: www.paris-trip.com), using air-conditioned minivans. Tours are available in different languages.

Boat Tours
The city's bâteaux-mouches (pleasure boats) and vedettes (launches) are a popular and instantly recognisable feature of the River Seine. Many companies offer cruises (some including lunch or dinner), among them Vedettes de Paris (tel: (01) 4418 0803 or 1950; website: www.vedettesdeparis.com), Les Vedettes du Pont-Neuf (tel: (01) 4633 9838; website: www.pontneuf.net) and Bâteaux Parisiens (tel: (01) 4411 3344 or 4699 4313; website: www.bateauxparisiens.com). A basic sightseeing tour lasts 1 hour. Departure points are at various stops along the banks of the Seine.

Bicycle Tours
Various maps and cycle guides (available at tourist offices, bookshops or bike-hire outlets) detail cycle routes in the city. In addition, there are also routes in the Bois de Boulogne, the Bois de Vincennes and a popular Sunday trip along the River Seine, which has sections closed to cars between 1000-1600.

Paris à Vélo, C'est Sympa!, 37 boulevard Bourdon (tel: (01) 4887 6001; website: www.parisvelosympa.com), offers a variety of three-hour bicycle tours including 'Heart of Paris', 'Paris Contrasts', 'Paris at Dawn' and 'Unusual Paris', as well as 'Paris by Night' tours during the summer months. Those travelling in groups can book day-long cycling tours to Versailles or Paris Guinguettes. Tours depart from the shop and the price includes bicycle hire and insurance. The company also rents bicycles per 24 hours, a whole weekend or per week. 

    

      

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