Fiona

Tour the best bits of Paris by boat, bus and bike

There are plenty of Paris tours to join in on your visit to the city (don't pretend you're not keen on trying at least one of them!) and we know how hard it seems to fit everything in in one go, no matter how organised your itinerary. Often a sightseeing tour is the best way to tick off all the sights in one go. Paris isn’t short of a tour or two, and most come highly recommended as a way of exploring the city. We decided to look at our favourite ways of enjoying the city from the comfort of a seat. Well, perhaps the latter might be subject to opinion... Paris Bus Tour The Big Bus Tour in Paris is one of the most popular Paris tours and a great way to get around Paris if you’re on a tight time frame. Passing Paris’ most iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and the Paris Opera House, it gives you plenty of opportunities to hop on and off over nine stops at key locations across the city. There’s nothing more fun than sitting upon an open top double decker watching the world go by and listening to interesting facts about this historic city. A bus tour is a great thing to do to spot lesser known monuments and smaller attractions around Paris; things you might miss should you be travelling by metro, for example. If you decide to stay on the bus you can take the full 2hr 15min tour and pass all the sites from the comfort of your seat, including the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, and Grand Palais. Here you can also hop off and explore these sites at your leisure and get on again in a few hours. Plus there are great eateries and patisseries hidden around the streets of Paris that you might want to make a pit stop at while you're there... Seine River Cruise Paris by river is an experience missed by many, but we can testify that it’s a great thing to do – and you’ll probably want to do it all over again when it’s over! Travelling up the River Seine in Paris is a must-do when you’re talking about Paris tours. Did you know the banks of the River Seine was added as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991? It’s not surprising as they are lined with some of Paris’ most famous and important historical buildings, which from the water you can see at a totally unique vantage point. Unlike the bus tour, the Bateaux Parisiens River Cruise is an hour long tour that goes the length of the central Paris stretch, from the Eiffel Tower, all the way down to Notre Dame Cathedral and the spectacular Orsay Museum. Seeing Paris from the river is a breath-taking way of touring Paris and on a lovely, clear day you can’t beat it, away from the busy traffic and populated streets. It’s a serene hour break and a totally unique experience! Look out for the statue of the soldier under Pont Alma, who is used by weather men as a marker to measure the volume of the river by how wet his boots/cuffs/trousers are on a daily basis! Bike & Segway Tours For something more hands-on and involved, have you ever thought of exploring Paris by bike, or even Segway? These two-wheeled vehicles are a great way of exploring the city allowing you to be at the helm and in the driver's seat, as it were. Best done in the warmer weather, perhaps, these tours are a great way of combining a bit of activity and sightseeing. If you fancy your chances among the Parisian roads and pavements, navigating your way through the cobbled side streets and onto the famous rues that run through Paris then sign up to a Fat Tire Bike Tour. It's a far more intimate tour experience where you’ll be guided by an expert tour guide and shown around the famous monuments and landmarks of Paris, learning of historic secrets and fascinating Paris insights. If you’re worried about health and safety, or have small kids, don’t worry – you’re fully kitted out with helmets and you go in a group with a leader who takes you along a pre-assigned route. Stopping for the all-important photo-taking opportunities (and a breather!) as well as to ask of those all-important touristy questions, at the end of the tour you’ll feel like you know Paris like the back of your hand!

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