The LEKKER Journal – a blog series sharing our favourite bike trips and routes in different cities across the world. Highlighting the benefits of cycling and introducing our readers to our favourite places for riding our LEKKER bikes, these blogs aim to be an inspiration to keep on riding and enjoy our beautiful cities and nature in a responsible way. This week, introducing: Bikes routes in Paris!
The city of love and delicious patisseries. That’s right, we’re talking about the enchanting Paris: La Ville Lumière (The City of Light)! Home to historical architectures such as the Arc de Triomphe, Sacre-Coeur, the Eiffel tower and more. This whole city is like straight out of a movie – everywhere you look you will be in awe and wonder by all the beautiful architecture and culture that is distilled in this place. Paris is also making plans to expand bike lanes – with 700km of bike paths already installed and more to come, right now can not be a better time to get on your two-wheeler! To help you explore this enchanting city, we have listed several routes for you to make the most of your pedalling journey worthwhile.
Seine’ bank (right side)
See classic Paris along the right side of the Seine’ bank, ride past as you admire the world-renowned landmarks such as The Louvre, Notre-Dame, Concorde and more on this 2.3km path. If you’re worried about maneuvering your bike through traffic, the Paris Respair car-free scheme is the solution for you! On one Sunday per month traffic stops and the roads are car-free for pedestrians and bike riders to go around. Large parts of the city are closed to vehicles from 9 am to 5 pm making it the perfect chance to explore the city stress-free!
Parc Monceau to the Forêt de Sevran
Love a long-distance bike ride? Then we’d suggest riding from Parc Monceau to the Forêt de Sevran. This 20.9km route allows you to gain direct exposure to the view of Paris and Parisian society. Start your journey in the luxurious streets of the Parc Monceau, and make your way through the former red-light district home to the Moulin Rouge. Then pedal along the Canal de l’Ourcq where you will see some fantastic street art. And there’s more! If you push a little further towards the end of the route you’ll find yourself in the open countryside!
Canal Saint-Martin
Almost every city has a beautiful tree-lined bike path along some body of water, and Paris is no exception. Take it slow along the Canal Saint-Martin as this 4.6km route winds its way through the French capital. Taking you across charming swing bridges and passing adorable cafes, this path meets all the requirements of a chill Sunday bike ride (and it’s also a cute date idea)!
Martin Luther King Park
Paris is commonly known to be the city of romance, but there is a more modern side to this city you probably don’t hear about often. Part of this is the Martin Luther King Park, also known as Parc Clichy-Batignolles – Martin Luther King. It is a green space located in the 17th arrondissement in Paris, that is a part of a project to transform 54 hectares of land formerly occupied by freight yards for the French railway, into an urban sector with 10 hectares of parkland. This eco-friendly park is definitely a contrast from the traditional French buildings you see around the centre of Paris. With plenty of greenery and wild animals, it instantly transports you to another place – it’s a surprising side of the city that you don’t see often in the media!
No matter where you go in this beautiful city, it will always be an enchanting bike ride. We hope that after reading this we’ve inspired you to get out on your two-wheeled friend and explore the capital of la France! If you’re having trouble finding your partner in crime in Europe, feel free to hop on our website, where our team from Amsterdam will be more than happy to help you find the right bike.