Walking Tour or Bike Tour?

Mon to Thurs next week with 17 year old daughter - thinking of doing a walking or bike tour on Monday and have heard of Sandeman%26#39;s free walking tours from St Michel. Anyone know if they are any good or should I book/turn up for a paid walking tour or do a bike tour? Also planning Canal St Martin trip (thanks for advice from previous post) and poss a tour of Palais Garnier. Any other %26#39;off the beaten tracks%26#39; recs would be appreciated. Daughter vetoed the Catacombs and Sewers!!! Thank you Jane

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Paris Walks does a good walking tour

http://paris-walks.com/

I%26#39;d lean towards the paid ones. I like the walking tours better as you spend time and detail on the various landmarks, building, etc.. The bike tours tend to zip by things even with the narration but they are better at covering more ground and giving more of an overview of an area.

The best %26quot;off the beaten%26quot; track tours are given in French by a range of French people. Check out this link and you%26#39;ll be amazed by the non-standard tours

www.parisbalades.com/Autre/defaulte.htm

Last time I took a tour near the %26quot;banque de france%26quot; that was very nice -- saw the house that Sarkozy grew up in, home owned by the Guerlain family, and a lot of styles of architecture I never saw before. Look at these photos from that part of the trip

www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action…

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I would do both if I had the chance. The bike tour is a great way to see all sites of the city fast by close up. I also loved the Paris Walks tours as well. We did the one of Notre Dame and the surrounding area. We will do another one this year.

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Last summer my daughter and I took an electric bike tour with Paris Charms %26amp; Secrets. I%26#39;ve been to Paris multiple times and saw and learned things I%26#39;d never known.

Highly recommended...

www.parischarmssecrets.com/main_en.html

For something that allows you to see some big sites (Invalides, Tuileries etc) but is mostly about the fun take a Segway tour!

http://citysegwaytours.com/paris

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I%26#39;ve done both and I really think your daughter would like the bike tour best, but I have been with mother/daughter on walking tours as well. Check out Fattirebiketours.com. Take any of the tours, but the night bike tour and the Giverny bike tour are the ones I have taken and were a lot of fun. There were lots of young people on the tours as well as people my age (53).

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I%26#39;ve been on a lot of the pay walking tours, and some have been more interesting than others.

Definitely agree with considering Paris Charms/Secrets and/or a Segway Tour.

The electric bike tour is very unique, but be advised that the bikes are heavy. And, they take much more getting used to than Segways, which are a blast. But, the Segway tour is more for scenery, with very little commentary (and what you%26#39;ve probably read if you%26#39;ve read just one tour guide).

As for the free walking tour...haven%26#39;t been on that one - but, 3-1/2 hours and a LOT of territory is covered.

You could always think about a two-day pass on l%26#39;Opentour - a great way to see the entire city.