Paris - Our Day tour

We woke up Saturday and planned to meet at the Eiffel Tower for a bicycle tour of Paris with the Fat Tire Bike Tours. Unfortunately due to the Tour de France coming in that weekend, demand for the tour was very high, and we couldn't get in. They did book us for the afternoon tour.

So instead of pedaling around town, we took off for the Arch de Triumph.







I'd seen this structure before, but I'd forgotten how impressive it was.

They've just finished restoring the sculptures, and it was magnivicent.

The last time Tony and I were in Paris, we didn't climb to the top of of the Arch, so this time, it was a must. We climbed the spiral staircase up to the museum, and then from there out onto the viewing platform.


The vistas are great from there, and well worth the climb.



From there, we walked down the Champs Elysees. A very beautiful boulevard with all the stores that you'd expect on a high street. It was once more exclusive, but over the years, it has become a mainstream shopping street.

There was a McDonalds on the boulevard, and being the crude Americans that we are, we had to stop and grab a bite. I think we all had Big Macs and French Fries.









It was now time for us to rendesvous back with the Bike Tour, so we walked back over to the Tour shop and booked our Tour.

The tour took us past the Ecole Militaire and the Champ Du Mars where Napolean went to school and learned artillery fire.







It was interesting to learn that the Champ Du Mars where the Eiffel Tower stands was once a cannon practice ground. How times change. . .



We pedaled past the Hotel Invalides, which was the first military hospital in the world. It is a beautiful building and it now houses several military museums as well as Napoleon's tomb.

We then pedaled to Plaza des Concordes where all the beheadings occured in the French Revolution. There is currently a giant Obelisk standing in the middle of the roundabout now.

From there we pedaled our way into the Tuileries Gardens for a refreshment before making our way back via the Eiffel tower to the bike shop.

I didn't think this bike tour was as good at the bike tours we'd done in Berlin and Munich, but it was a lot of fun, and it is a great way to see the city.

Tony and I picked up a picnic dinner on Rue Cler and walked over to Champ du Mars. We sat on the lawn having a lovely bottle of wine and watching the sun slowly set. It was a wonderful way to see out our last evening in Paris.