Offbeat Paris: covered passages, Belleville and Père-Lachaise by electric bike

Four hours in a Paris you do not see from the main avenues: glazed passages from the first half of the nineteenth century, the locks of the Canal Saint-Martin, the Belleville panorama and the alleys of Père-Lachaise. An guided tour for people coming back to Paris, and for Parisians curious about their own city.

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Covered passages are a Parisian invention born at the very end of the eighteenth century and developed under the Restoration: glazed, heated, lit galleries where you could stroll away from the mud and the carriages. Paris had around a hundred and fifty of them by 1850; about twenty are left. They are the direct ancestors of the shopping mall. The Galerie Vivienne, the most elegant of them all, was built in 1823 to the plans of the architect François-Jacques Delannoy for a notary, Louis-Auguste Marchoux, who was speculating on the Bourse district: it first carried his name and was only inaugurated as the Vivienne in 1826. It has kept its mosaic floor and its glass roof. Colette, often associated with the district, lived a few streets away at 9 rue de Beaujolais, in the gardens of the Palais-Royal, until her death in 1954. You walk into the arcade on foot; the bikes stay out on the rue Vivienne.

The Passage des Panoramas, cut through in 1799, is one of the oldest still in business, the Passage du Caire having preceded it by a year. It is where the capital's first public gas lighting was installed in 1817: Parisians came out of sheer curiosity to see light without a candle. A few turns of the pedals away, the Canal Saint-Martin tells another story. Decided by Napoleon in 1802 to bring drinking water to Paris and opened in 1825, it became an industrial waterway carrying goods up towards the Halles and the La Villette slaughterhouses. Haussmann had it vaulted over from 1860 to lay a boulevard on top, the one now named after Richard-Lenoir, and the vault was extended under the boulevard Jules-Ferry in 1906. The locks still work. One detail often comes as a surprise: Arletty's line about atmosphere, in Marcel Carné's Hôtel du Nord, in 1938, was not filmed here. The film was shot at the Billancourt studios, on a set where Alexandre Trauner had rebuilt the hotel, the footbridge and a stretch of the canal.

The Belleville hill tops out at 128.5 metres at 40 rue du Télégraphe, in front of the Belleville cemetery: this is the highest point of public land in Paris, and Claude Chappe set up his first telegraph there in 1793. The parc de Belleville itself rises to 108 metres, which makes it the highest garden in Paris, and opens a wide, clear view over the city. The hill was still a village of winegrowers before it was absorbed into Paris in 1860, and the city replanted a vineyard beside the park in 1992. A plaque at 72 rue de Belleville claims Édith Piaf was born on the pavement outside, in December 1915: her birth certificate gives 4 rue de la Chine, the address of the Tenon hospital, but she kept the legend alive all her life, and Paris prefers its legends. Then comes Père-Lachaise, where your guide picks four to six graves with you, according to your curiosity.

The tour starts in the 7th arrondissement on a Tern pedal-assist bike set to your height, helmet included, and comes back to the same point, where the bikes are handed back. Count fifteen to twenty kilometres of riding, the way out and back included, two hills the assist takes care of for you, and several stretches on foot. You need to be able to ride a bicycle and to be comfortable in Paris traffic: the route uses streets open to traffic. Five participants at most per accompanying guide; beyond five, we may be able to run a second simultaneous group, subject to our availability, at the same rate, and we confirm that to you in writing. The shoulder seasons, October to November and March to April, suit this route particularly well. The exact route is adjusted on the day to suit the weather, the crowds and the traffic.

On this ride

Offbeat Paris: covered passages, Belleville and Père-Lachaise by electric bike

Galerie Vivienne

Built in 1823 to the plans of François-Jacques Delannoy for the notary Louis-Auguste Marchoux, it first carried the name Galerie Marchoux before being inaugurated in 1826 as the Vivienne. Mosaic floor, glass roof, rotunda staircase: it is the most carefully kept arcade in Paris, and it still houses booksellers and antique dealers, open on their own hours and sometimes closed on Sundays and public holidays. Colette lived a couple of streets away, on the rue de Beaujolais, at the Palais-Royal. You are walking through Balzac's Paris, the city where a writer could work while strolling under a glass roof.

Passage des Panoramas and Passage Jouffroy

Cut through in 1799, the Passage des Panoramas is one of the oldest still in business, behind the Passage du Caire which opened a year earlier. This is where the city's first public gas lighting was lit in 1817: people came out of curiosity to see artificial light. Today it holds stamp dealers and old-fashioned shops, with the Passage Jouffroy directly opposite, on the other side of the boulevard, also open on its own hours.

Canal Saint-Martin

Decided by Napoleon in 1802 and opened in 1825 to bring drinking water to Paris, the canal became an industrial waterway carrying goods up towards the Halles and the La Villette slaughterhouses. Haussmann had it vaulted over from 1860 to lay a boulevard on top: the canal runs in the open from Stalingrad down to République, then passes under the vault, beneath the boulevards Jules-Ferry and Richard-Lenoir, as far as the port de l'Arsenal. The locks are in working order and can be watched in operation from the footbridges.

Parc de Belleville

The park rises to 108 metres, the highest garden in Paris, and opens a wide view over the city, on a hill that was still a village of winegrowers before 1860 and where the city replanted a vineyard in 1992. Entry is free, during the opening hours set by the City of Paris. The highest point of public land in Paris is not here but a few streets away, at 40 rue du Télégraphe, 128.5 metres up. A plaque at 72 rue de Belleville says Édith Piaf was born on the pavement outside: her birth certificate says the hospital, but the legend outlived her.

Père-Lachaise

Opened in 1804, it is the first of the great landscaped cemeteries of Paris. Count about three quarters of an hour in the alleys, bikes left at the boulevard de Ménilmontant entrance, with four to six graves chosen with you, for example Jim Morrison, whose grave is railed off and often hard to get close to, Oscar Wilde, Édith Piaf, Allan Kardec, or the Mur des Fédérés where the Commune ended in May 1871. Access depends on the cemetery's opening hours, set by the City of Paris. It is a working cemetery, so we keep our voices low.

Ménilmontant and the streets towards Bagnolet

Depending on the time left and what the group feels like, the route can carry on through Ménilmontant and the streets climbing towards Bagnolet: workshops, murals painted on gable walls, cut-through stairways. This is the Paris still remaking itself, and it reads better from the saddle than in a photograph. This extension is not guaranteed: it depends on the time and on the ride back to the 7th.

Practical details
Duration
About 4 hours, including the ride out from the 7th arrondissement and back and the stops; indicative duration, confirmed in writing when you book
Level
Easy, 15 to 20 km of riding including the way out from the 7th and back, on streets open to traffic, with two hills handled by the assist; the passages, Belleville and Père-Lachaise are covered on foot, over cobbles and uneven alleys
Meeting point
Paris, 7th arrondissement, returning to the same point where the bikes are handed back; the exact meeting point is confirmed in writing when you book
Group
Five participants at most per accompanying guide. Beyond five, we may be able to run a second simultaneous group, subject to our availability, at the same rate; we confirm that to you in writing.
Languages
French or English, tell us which in your request

Booking is a request, not a firm reservation: we confirm feasibility, date, meeting point and the final price in writing before any payment. Prices are indicative, per person, all taxes included, and cover the use of a pedal-assist bike and a helmet. No entrance fees and no indoor visits are included: the stories are told from the street, the forecourt or the bridge.

Frequently asked questions about this ride

Is this tour worth it if I already know Paris?

That is exactly who it is for: returning visitors and curious Parisians. Covered passages, the canal locks, the Belleville panorama and the alleys of Père-Lachaise make up a Paris that few people take the time to see. The shoulder seasons, October to November and March to April, suit it particularly well, when the light is low and the alleys are quiet.

How does the Père-Lachaise section work?

On foot, and quietly. The bikes stay at the boulevard de Ménilmontant entrance and we spend about three quarters of an hour in the alleys, with four to six graves chosen with you according to your interests. Access depends on the opening hours set by the City of Paris, and some graves, Jim Morrison's in particular, are railed off and hard to approach. It is a working cemetery: we come as discreet visitors, with no theatrics and no comment on anyone's beliefs.

Is it tiring, and do we go inside the passages?

Fifteen to twenty kilometres of riding, including the way out from the 7th and back, with two hills the electric assist takes care of, plus stretches on foot in the passages, in Belleville and at Père-Lachaise. You need to be able to ride a bicycle and to be at ease in Paris traffic, because the route uses streets open to traffic. The covered passages are private property, open to the public on their own hours, with possible closures on Sundays and public holidays: we walk through them when they are open, with no purchase and no consumption included in the tour.

How much is this tour and how do I book?

Indicative prices, all taxes included: 75 euros per person on a shared tour and 95 euros per person on a private tour, electric bike and helmet included. You send us a request, which is not a firm booking: we usually answer within 24 to 48 working hours, and the date, the meeting point and the final price are confirmed in writing before any payment. No paid admission, no indoor visit and no refreshment are included in the price.

Other rides
Five revolutions in eighty years, from the Bastille to the Communards' Wall 1789, 1792, 1830, 1848, 1871: a little over eighty years of barricades, trials and firing squads, from the Place de la Bastille to the Communards' Wall in Père-Lachaise. About three and a half hours on an electric bike in a small group, including some thirty minutes on foot inside the cemetery, with a guide who tells you what the cobbles no longer say. The writers' Left Bank, from the Île Saint-Louis to Saint-Germain-des-Prés Seven stops between the Île Saint-Louis and the streets of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, where people sculpted, wrote, drank a great deal of coffee and put the world to rights out loud. About three hours on an electric bike in a small group, with a break halfway round; anything you order there is at your own expense. Paris of the Artists: Montmartre and Pigalle by electric bike, in a small group Four hours to climb the hill of studios and cabarets, from the boulevard de Clichy to the Clos Montmartre vineyard, with a guide who knows the stories behind the façades. The electric assist takes care of the slopes, and the steepest stretch is done on foot, with the bikes parked at the bottom.

Request a booking

Booking is a request, not a firm reservation: we confirm feasibility, date, meeting point and the final price in writing before any payment. Prices are indicative, per person, all taxes included, and cover the use of a pedal-assist bike and a helmet. No entrance fees and no indoor visits are included: the stories are told from the street, the forecourt or the bridge.

Request a booking