Paris · see the sights of the Marais and the Left Bank

The sights

Allow about 3 h 10: 50 min of riding at an easy 12 km/h, and 20 min at each of the 7 sights.

1. km 0.0

   Hôtel de Ville

   This is the city hall of Paris. A fire destroyed the old building in 1871. The city built it again in the same style.

   Look up: more than 100 statues of famous people from Paris stand on the walls.

   Checked against paris.fr: les statues de la façade de l'Hôtel de Ville.

2. km 1.3

   Place des Vosges

   This is the oldest planned square in Paris. It opened in 1612.

   Victor Hugo, who wrote Les Misérables, lived at number 6. His home is now a free museum.

   Bikes cannot go in the garden. Walk your bike under the arcades.

   Bike parking about 60 m away (10 places).

   Checked against Place des Vosges; Maison de Victor Hugo (general references); Paris park rules (bikes).

3. km 1.8

   Place de la Bastille

   A royal prison, the Bastille, stood here. On 14 July 1789, the people of Paris took it. It became the symbol of the start of the French Revolution.

   The column in the centre is for a later revolution, in July 1830. The gold figure on top is the Spirit of Freedom.

   Bike parking about 50 m away (58 places).

   Checked against Place de la Bastille; the July Column (general references).

4. km 2.9

   Île Saint-Louis

   This small island has quiet streets and houses from the 1600s.

   Berthillon, on the main street, makes famous ice cream. Many cafés on the island sell it.

   Bike parking about 30 m away (10 places).

   Checked against Île Saint-Louis; Berthillon (general references).

5. km 4.0

   Panthéon

   This building was first a church. During the Revolution, it became a resting place for great French people. Voltaire, Victor Hugo and Marie Curie are here.

   Inside, a copy of Foucault's pendulum shows that the Earth turns.

   Bike parking about 50 m away (32 places).

   Checked against Panthéon (general references); Sortir à Paris: Foucault's pendulum.

6. km 4.7

   Jardin du Luxembourg

   Queen Marie de' Medici built the palace and its garden in the 1600s. Today the French Senate meets in the palace.

   Children sail small wooden boats on the big pond. You can rent one.

   Bikes cannot go in the garden. Lock them at a gate and walk in.

   Bike parking about 20 m away (10 places).

   Checked against Jardin du Luxembourg; Palais du Luxembourg (general references).

7. km 6.0

   Saint-Germain-des-Prés

   This is one of the oldest churches in Paris. Its bell tower is about 1,000 years old.

   Across the street are the Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots. Sartre, de Beauvoir and Hemingway wrote and talked in these cafés.

   Bike parking about 50 m away (5 places).

   Checked against Saint-Germain-des-Prés; Café de Flore; Les Deux Magots (general references).

The words at each stop were written for this ride and checked against the sources named. Bike parking is from OpenStreetMap; it is not checked on the ground. Museums and churches have their own opening hours.