Visit Paris for your next trip!
Bike and barge your way around the Parisian waterways
Two of the most famous palaces in the Ile de France (Paris region) are Versailles and Fontainebleau. These magnificent buldings and their gardens are on the agenda for a visit during a bike and barge tour along the rivers Seine, Loing and Oise.
Ile de la Cite
It was in the year 508 that the first royal palace was built on the Ile de la Cite, one of the two natural islands in the middle of the Seine river. This was the original Paris, where it was easy to defend the island's 22 hectares from any attack. As time passed and the original palace and grounds were too small, the Louvre palace was built on the "mainland" bordering the Seine river. When the French Kings left the island palace to live in the Louvre, then Versaiiles, the ile de la Cite ("City Island") remained as a centre for religion, administration and law courts. The old royal palace was the centre used for trials of the aristocracy during the French Revolution.
The original Notre Dame de Paris church, made world famous through the Victor Hugo book "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" was built on this island between 1163 and 1345. As this travel article is being written (December 2024) the "new" beautifully restored Notre Dame has just been opened. Since the original Notre Dame de Paris was destroyed in flames in April 2019, it has taken five years to rebuild this iconic church as close as possible to its original style. Bravo, the French!
Fontainebleau
This palace was originally built around the 11th and 12th centuries 55 kilometres to the south east of Paris centre. It was used as a hunting lodge and summer residence of many French monarchs over a period of 900 years. With its natural springs and large forests for hunting wild deer and other game, the original more modest medieval palace was upgraded in Italian Renaissance style in the 15th and 16th centuries by King Francis I, and had continuous upgrades right up to the times of Napoleon.
Today, you can visit over 100 of the palace's 1536 rooms, on your own (where allowed) or with a guide. It is said that there is more furniture and art works than in any other palace in Europe, and it is now a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Chateau of Versailles
One of the largest palaces in the world with 2300 rooms, situated on over 800 hectares of grounds, this palace is full of gold paint and glittering chandeliers and boasts 90,000 artworks to discover. It takes your breath away! Although the building of Buckingham Palace in England is larger than Versaille Palace, the domaine of Versailles is the world's largest
In 1607, the future King Louis XIII visited Versailles, a small village about 19 kilometres from the centre of Paris. He delighted in the forest and meadows with plenty of game to hunt, but it was not until 1623, as King of France, that he first built a hunting lodge on the grounds.
The original hunting lodge of Versailles (how the Kings loved to hunt!) was later enlarged into the royal palace of Versailles later in the 1600's. It was used by the royals until 1789, the beginning of the French Revolution, and afterwards was abandoned and the contents removed. Today, you can visit the palace, its gardens, Marie-Antoinette's farm, the Petit Trianon and the Grand Trianon, the best way to travel being by car around this huge estate.
The Paris bike and barge tour
This fabulous bicycle cruise along the Parisian waterways is a great way to enjoy a peaceful day on the river, or take a guided bike ride to visit famous sites, pretty villages and quiet forests. On the daily bike rides you can cycle quietly through the green countryside, dotted along the way with charming little villages and richly decorated castles and palaces. The cruise winds between the artist towns of Moret-sur-Loing and Auvers-sur-Oise. At Auvers, you can visit the graves of Vincent van Gogh and his beloved brother Theo in the municipal cemetery. Another day, on the way to Versailles you pass the St Germain-en-Laye chateau and follow the bike tracks through the leafy green forest of St Germain. Each day's bike ride leads to more discoveries of Paris - behind the scenes.
On this tour, a typical day in Paris is where you experience riding along the Seine river, passing well known sites like La Defense, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame de Paris and the Bois de Boulogne. Each day, you start the ride after breakfast, stopping for a morning tea, then after more riding, a stop for your packed lunch. At the end of the tour the route takes you to Bassin de la Villette where the barge will be moored and a freshly baked afternoon tea will be waiting for you.
Paris - the city of Light
Arguably the most visited city in the world, Paris and its surrounds boast many architectural and artistic treasures, from the Eiffel Tower to the Leonardo Mona Lisa painting, from stretches of the peaceful river Seine to the highlights of the Champs Elysées, from the Sacré Coeur (pictured above) to the Moulin Rouge. A city with so many excellent restaurants, bistros, brasseries and cafes, that you would never run out of options for enjoying French food and wine. With over 150 museums, art galleries, markets and shopping centres of all price ranges, there is never a dull moment in Paris. The cultural centre of the beautiful country of France is just the beginning. The diverse regions of France are all different in their food, wines, architecture and art - ideal locations for walking tours, cycling tours, small group tours, self-drive houseboats, river cruises, bike and barge tours and more. Stay a few days extra in Paris before or after your tour so you can enjoy the pleasures of this beautiful city.