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The 3 Best Bike Routes in Paris

Paris is arguably more accessible by bike than by any other mode of transportation. The city becomes small when you ride, especially if you know the most convenient bike routes, and despite the apparent chaos of the busy roads and roundabouts, it鈥檚 possible to spend nearly all your tour within the safety of designated bike lanes.

Remember that in Paris, a biker must respect the same laws as those in cars – no riding on footpaths, breaking when the lights are red, and giving pedestrians right of way!

I love biking in Paris because my wheels allow me to cover more ground鈥攊t鈥檚 the wandering walking tour on a larger scale. While it鈥檚 always lovely to choose several destinations and wander at your leisure through the little streets and alleyways, it can also be lovely to know exactly where you鈥檙e going, and just relax and enjoy the view.

I鈥檒l give you some of my favorite routes around Paris, but I鈥檇 encourage you to take the time to wander on your own and discover what the city has to offer!

Route #1: Canal Saint Martin

One of my favorite rides is also the most simple: ride the length of the famous Canal Saint Martin. Make sure you choose a sunny day鈥攖here will be too many places to stop and enjoy it along the way. You can ride in either direction.

The first option: start at Bastille in the morning, where, if you plan your ride for a Sunday or Thursday, you can find some breakfast at the bustling market that lines the Boulevard Richard-Lenoir.

Le Boulevard Richard-Lenoir, Jean-Louis Zimmermann – sourced from Wikimedia Commons

Walk your bike through the market, both as an essential taste of daily life in Paris, and because the road becomes a nightmare of trucks delivering goods in the middle of the bike lane and people crossing to visit the market. The canal is underground at this point. However, when it was first extended into the city by Napoleon Bonaparte in the early 1800s to provide a source of drinking water (hard to believe, considering the water quality today), it ran uncovered all the way into the heart of the city.

Once you reach the end of the market, you鈥檒l continue along this covered portion. You鈥檙e riding over a huge vaulted cavern built by Georges Eug猫ne Haussmann in the 1860s and extended in the early 1900s to grant greater access to and control over the popular quarters in the east of the city.

Soon after the boulevard bends to the left, you鈥檒l reach the beginning of the uncovered canal. If you feel like stopping, hop off your bike and walk along the crowded Rue du Faubourg du Temple towards Place de la R茅publique, a common destination for political protests in the city, and meander back to the canal through the small streets lined with hip caf茅s and restaurants.

D茅but de la rue du Faubourg-du-Temple, Coyau – sourced from Wikimedia Commons

Continue up the canal, passing crowds of Parisian youth lining it鈥檚 edges, drinking and laughing on a sunny day. Navigate the busy intersection at Jaur猫s and on to the wide quai lining Le Bassin de la Villette, after which you鈥檒l arrive at Parc de la Villette.

The park stretches across both sides of the canal, and you can picnic in the expansive grassy fields or explore the Cit茅 des Sciences et l鈥橧ndustrie and la Grande Halle de la Villette. Don鈥檛 miss the Philharmonie de Paris, the stunningly modern concert hall designed by French architect Jean Nouvel and inaugurated in 2015.

Parc de La Villette,聽 Guilhem Vellut – sourced from Wikimedia Commons

This is a beautiful and relatively calm route that can take you as much or as little time as you want鈥攁nywhere from around 45 minutes to several hours, depending on how much time you spend sight-seeing.

Alternatively, you can ride in the opposite direction. Start at Parc de la Villette and ride into the heart of the city, passing the market at Bastille, navigating the wild roundabout, and continue on towards the Seine.

You can even link this route with the next: the scenic route along the river.

Route #2: La Seine

Start at H么tel de Ville. From the square in front of the magnificent city hall, take the bike path towards the west that runs along the quai. The islands are the origin of the city of Paris: first there was nothing, then there were the islands, so it鈥檚 fitting to begin your tour here.

Pont d’Arcole and H么tel de Ville, Juan Enrique Gilardi – sourced from Wikimedia Commons

Cross the second bridge, Pont de Notre Dame. Once you arrive on 脦le de la Cit茅, you can either turn right, to circumnavigate the island and visit the stunningly intricate stained glass walls of Saint Chapelle, or continue straight to the south side of the island.

Before crossing the bridge into the Latin quarter, you鈥檒l see the famous Notre Dame cathedral on your left. Go see it. No, it鈥檚 not a choice. Entry is free, but no one will blame you for wanting to skip the line! Just walk your bike through the surrounding gardens and admire the gargoyles mounted atop the countless flying buttresses dating back to the twelfth century.

Cath茅drale Notre Dame, Antonin Subtil – sourced from Wikimedia Commons

At the end of the island and the gardens, take Pont Saint Louis over to the much quieter 脦le Saint Louis. It鈥檚 a bridge reserved for pedestrians and bicycles, so you鈥檒l often see a small crowd gathered around a street performer or two.

Wander along the quais and the small streets of the island, maybe get a gelato, and enjoy the calm respite after the throng of Notre Dame and the next stop, Parc de Quai de Seine. Once you鈥檝e had your fill of the islands, cross back to the north side of the river and descend to the pedestrian and bicycle road along the river bank.

This is one of the most popular (and beautiful) areas in Paris, and everything always seems to be happening at once. You may see the occasional roller blading race, or, if you鈥檙e there on a summer Sunday afternoon, the quai may be filled with happy swing dancers twirling to a live jazz band.

Notre-Dame, Quai de Montebello,聽Connie Ma – sourced by Wikimedia Commons

At the end of the quai, the road becomes a tunnel. Brave the darkness, because when you arrive again in the light, you鈥檒l be at the Jardin de Tuileries and the expansive Place de la Concorde.

Finish your ride with a victory lap around the enormous roundabout, then you can visit the Orangerie鈥攐ne of the most beautiful museums in Paris, originally an indoor orange orchard (hence the name) converted into a two-room museum designed specifically to house Monet鈥檚 waterlilies. The two oval rooms create an experience of art unlike any other Paris museum.

These are two very classic routes through Paris, and of course, there are others. However, they bypass one of my favorite and least trafficked neighborhoods in the city: Belleville, in the 20th arrondissement.

Route #3: Belleville

If you鈥檙e feeling motivated and ready for a slightly hilly and further-from-the-beaten track bike route, this is the one for you. You鈥檒l encounter fewer grand monuments, fewer tourists, and many quiet, beautiful streets, with a view over Paris rivalling that of Montmartre.

Start at Bastille and ride to the north-east up Rue de la Roquette, a hip street with buzzing caf茅s and restaurants. You鈥檒l pass Th茅芒tre de la Bastille, a small but well-known theatre in Paris, constantly showing cutting edge contemporary works鈥攊f you can understand French, it鈥檚 well worth the visit.

Le Th茅芒tre de la Bastille, Besopha – sourced from Wikimedia Commons

Continue straight through the roundabout at Voltaire and turn left where Rue de la Roquette forms a 鈥淭鈥� with boulevard de M茅nilmontant at Cimeti猫re P猫re Lachaise. Before continuing on your bike, take a walk in the cemetery.

Take a look at the map. You鈥檒l be able to find the tombs of French icons like Marcel Proust, Edith Piaf, and Honor茅 de Balzac, as well as modern international characters of pop culture like Jim Morrison.

When you鈥檙e ready to move on from the somber atmosphere of the cemetery, start riding north on Boulevard de M茅nilmontant, and take your first right onto Rue de Bagnolet. This is the climb that leads to Gambetta along the length of P猫re Lachaise.

At the top of the hill you鈥檒l pass Place Martin Nadaud (named for a 19th century mason-become-socialist-politician from the neighborhood), with some tables and a couple of lovely caf茅s if you need a break after the hill. Continue on as the road bends to the right toward Place Gambetta.

At the roundabout you鈥檒l take the fifth exit for Rue des Pyr茅n茅es鈥攏early all the way around鈥攂ut if you don鈥檛 want to deal with the craziness, cut left on the petite Rue des G芒tines and left again at Rue des Pyr茅n茅es.

Take your fourth left off Pyr茅n茅es onto Rue du Retrait. It鈥檚 a soft left, and you鈥檒l be able to see the gigantic murals that line the street before you turn. I love these tiny, quiet streets, lined by drab buildings but scattered with splashes of color like exclamation points, reminders that people live here.

The murals surround the Th茅芒tre de Menilmontant, a local institution serving the neighborhood since 1927, and you鈥檒l continue to see them as you continue down Rue du Retrait to its intersection with Rue de M茅nilmontant.

Turn left down the hill, noting the view of the Centre Pompidou before taking your second right onto Rue des Cascades, another small, quiet street that will take you towards Parc de Belleville.

You鈥檒l reach a small roundabout called Place Henri Krasucki, named for a Polish Jew who, after immigrating to Paris in the 1920s, was deported from his home in Menilmontant to a Nazi work camp in Poland in 1943. Upon returning after the war in 1945, he became a prominent union leader, instrumental in some of the greatest union struggles in Paris in the mid-twentieth century (namely the strikes of 1968).

Place Henri-Krasucki – sourced from Wikimedia Commons

As you can see, Belleville has been a people鈥檚 neighborhood since its inception, housing workers and factories

Take the second exit from the roundabout, a left onto Rue des Envierges. It鈥檚 lined with several tattoo parlors and caf茅s, and will deposit you at the top of Parc de Belleville, with an expansive view of the city.

From left to right, you鈥檒l be able to see the Pantheon, Notre Dame, the Tour Montparnasse, Centre Pompidou, and of course the Eiffel Tower. On some summer days, you鈥檒l see a crowd of people blasting salsa music and dancing in the amphitheatre below.

Rue des Envierges – sourced from Wikimedia Commons

Enjoy the view, then continue down Rue Piat to the north until you reach Rue de Belleville. If you take a slight detour and walk up the hill a few buildings, you鈥檒l see a plaque marking the birthplace of Edith Piaf.

Make sure your bike breaks are in form, then descend the bustling Rue de Belleville. Before reaching the boulevard at the end of the street, turn left onto Rue D茅noyez, next to the popular bar Aux Folies. This street is one of my favorites in Paris.

The walls are lined with colorful murals, constantly getting repainted by local graffiti artists. At the end of the street you鈥檒l find a tiny but excellent restaurant鈥擫e D茅noyez鈥攁nd Le Barbouquin, a lovely caf茅 covered in art, in the spirit of the street.

Rue D茅noyez, Myrabella – sourced from Wikimedia Commons

For me, this is a perfect way to end a ride: with a coffee and a quiche on this beautiful street. If you ride or walk up Rue Rampeau at the end of Rue D茅noyez, you鈥檒l be able to visit the small art galleries that line the street, one of the characteristic aspects of Belleville.

However, if you鈥檙e looking for more, you can ride Boulevard de Belleville (which becomes Boulevard de la Villette, de la Chapelle, de Rochechouart, etc.) all the way east to the Arc de Triomphe.

You鈥檒l be riding from the historical home of Paris鈥檚 working class to the Champs Elys茅es, the richest and most prestigious part of the city by traveling through the Goutte d鈥橭r and Barb猫s, neighborhoods largely populated by immigrants, and by passing Montmartre, the famous home of Paris鈥檚 starving artists in the early twentieth century. 聽

These are just a few of my favorite bike routes in Paris. There are plenty more, of course鈥擨 haven鈥檛 even tapped any of the areas south of the river or around Montmartre. But you can鈥檛 go wrong, as long as you stay safe. Ride carefully and don鈥檛 rush, and you鈥檙e bound to have a lovely time!