The Paris Monuments Tour

The highlight of our trip tp Paris! Perfect for our family (2 adults and 3 kids ages 13 and 11 year old twins) Bikes were easy to ride and comfortable. I was told the kids bikes although fine will be upgraded soon. Our guides were awesome. At some busy parts because of construction and traffic they should speak louder but other than that the tour was amazing and a great way to see many sites that otherwise would have been difficult to hit via walk or drive. It is a solid 3 hours with one 15 minute break. The biking is not hard but if you have kids that tire easily or cannot follow direction easily I would not do this. We are an active family so this was perfect for us. Paris traffic can be tricky but we never felt unsafe and again the guides were great. HIGHLY recommend this tour!!!

I have never written a 1 star review before, as if I have a bad experience I usually give feedback direct to management, but I have no idea if my feedback got to management, so I am writing this. I have not mentioned the tour guide’s name as after speaking to another Bike Bout Tours cycle group that went out at the same time - the same problems existed with their tour - so I assume this is a management issue and not a tour-guide specific issue. There was so much wrong with the tour! Big issue: Tour guide LOST 3 PEOPLE (my son and I and another man travelling alone). The group was too big (12 people) to safely get everyone through the traffic lights together. If you were at the back of the group and the lights changed quickly, you were often left behind or had the choice of pulling out in front of approaching cars or stopping at the red light. My family are regular cyclists, and have been on several other bike tours (London, Berlin and Rome); both our kids are good cyclists. In all of these other tours, the tour guide would inform the group when we were near traffic lights that changed quickly, the tour guide would then get the group closer together to ensure everyone got through, the guide would pull over afterwards and check everyone made it through. Our guide did not do either. At one point, my son and I were at the back of the group and were faced with a red light (the rest of the group cycling on). We tried to cross but were nearly hit by a car. My son was really shaken, and I decided that we would stop at all red lights despite the bad practice by the tour guide. Repeatedly this happened, we waited at red lights but the tour guide did not wait for us. He lost us twice, the first time we got stuck on two red lights, but I managed to see the group taking a right at the end of another road and we were able to catch up. The group only stopped to wait for us as one of the group members I had chatted to shouted to my husband that my son and I were missing, he alerted the guide and the group stopped and waited for us. While waiting for us, the guide realised that he had lost not only my son and I, but someone else from his group. After my son and I caught up, we ended up waiting there for an extra 20 minutes but the man never reappeared. The second time our guide lost us, had no idea where they had gone. However we saw another group with the same company who had stopped. We asked if they were heading back and if we could join them. As I explained why we lost, two people in the group noted that someone had been lost from their group too, and the guide didn’t wait for people who got stuck at / waited at the red traffic lights. Some also mentioned to me that it was like the Hunger Games at the front - where you had to get behind the leader to avoid cycling at the back and getting lost. As a result people were pushing each other out of the way to try and stay at the front - this did not make for a relaxed city tour! Smaller issues: (i) tour guide had limited knowledge of Paris. My husband asked him what the gold domed building near Invalides was - he said it was a mosque (it has crosses on the roof), we later found out it was a Russian Orthodox church. Guide told us that Napoleon lived in the building beside Louvre, we asked if it was the whole building or an apartment - he wasn’t sure. (ii) Guide spoke quietly and couldn't project his voice; if you were at the back you heard nothing, (iii) group was too large, (iv) start time was off. They say to arrive 15-20 mins before allotted start time. We did this as we wanted helmets etc,. We were advised on arrival to come back 2-3 mins before allotted start time. Guide arrived 2-3 mins after allotted started time. Then walked 5 mins to bikes, then spent 15-20 mins getting set up, and started 30 mins late! Suggestions for management: 1. Smaller groups - no more than 8. 2. Speaker for guide and Headsets for all group so that they can hear the guide even if there is traffic or they are at the back (I heard almost nothing about the city). 3. Guidance on traffic management given to the group before reaching specific tricky spots e.g. where there are dangerous corners, or where there are lights that change quickly, or where there are a series or quick left and right turns and the group may split up. 4. More time between groups going out to ensure that there is enough time to do the tour and stop for red lights. 5. Start on time.

What an amazing tour of Paris! This was one of the highlights of our trip. Our guide, Marley, is SO knowledgeable about Paris and we learned a lot. It was the most beautiful tour of the city. We had so much fun and highly recommend anyone considering a tour to book with this company! The tour was about 3 hours long and felt like the right amount of time. We learned a TON and got to see all the major monuments and more. We even stopped for a snack and got to eat sandwiches in front of the Eiffel Tower. Five stars to this tour! It was incredible! Marley made us fall in love with Paris.