Paris Segway Tours

The City of Lights from a Segway

Woody Allen ’s latest film, “Midnight in Paris,” opens with a montage of the city’s most iconic sights - the Moulin Rouge, Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe - all shot in static, postcardlike serenity. Mr. Allen ’s Paris is idyllic, yet weirdly serial, discontinuous - much like the Paris you can expect to see from the back of a Segway.

Segway tourism is hardly a new phenomenon, but it all began, strangely enough, in Paris.

Saunter along the Seine on any given afternoon, and you’ll likely run into them - convoys of helmeted humans, artificially elevated to Himalayan heights, scooting around in Euclidean, single-file lines. They travel within a thick cloud of English and stop traffic at every intersection. They seem to genuinely enjoy not walking.

But then why squander precious hours aimlessly wandering the crooked, cobbled streets of Montmartre, discovering a hidden market, or pondering deep thoughts at a corner cafe when you can splice your Paris into an efficient highlight reel from aboard a Segway, right?

Paris is a city that invites exploration, almost by design. Eschewing the numbered grid-system you’ll find in most American metropolises, its grands boulevards extend diagonally from the Seine, forming a baroque web of side streets just pleading to be strolled upon. Aren’t Segways somewhat orthogonal here - the quick-fix Big Mac amid a landscape of four-course, prix-fixe menus?

“They’re just fun machines,” said Graham Robinson , 27, operations manager at City Segway Tours , one of several companies that offer two-wheeled traipses across the City of Lights and the first to introduce the concept, in 2003. “Sure, you can see the same things by bus, by foot, by bike, but it’s really about doing something different.”

City Segway ’s junkets begin at the company’s offices, near the Eiffel Tower , crawl past the Musee d’Orsay and culminate in front of the Louvre. The first part of the tour is largely spent in a semiawkward state of technological adolescence. Everyone’s growing their Segway sea legs, adjusting to their wide loads and discreetly comparing each other’s motor skills. The learning curve, however, is surprisingly shallow, and within half an hour, even the greenest of riders are comfortable enough to tackle high curbs and execute (relatively) balletic twirls.

When you’re facing open terrain, devoid of all things human and pebbly, Segway cruising can be an exercise in ergonomic hedonism. The beast, once tamed, undulates with startling organic fluidity, and can often feel like an extension of your own body. But along the more crowded pathways of Paris, the craft demands sustained vigilance. Riders must avoid rocky pavement and lollygagging pedestrians, and are explicitly prohibited from traveling side-by-side for fear they may spin out into an abyss of doom and broken fibulas.

Top Fun Places in Paris for Kids | World Top Top | World Top Top

Disneyland Paris

Disneyland Paris is a holiday and recreation resort that provides a great opportunity to make the kids and the parents happy. Occupying 4,800 acres (19 km2), the complex is the largest Disney Park based on the original in California and comprises two theme parks (Disneyland park and Walt Disney Studios), dining and entertainment …  Read more about Disneyland Paris

The Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (National Museum of Natural History) in Paris includes the Jardin des Plantes, the Gallery of Mineralogy and Geology, the Gallery of Palaeontology and Comparative Anatomy, and the famous Grande Galerie de l’évolution (Grand Gallery of Evolution) …  Read more about Musée d’Histoire Naturelle

Parc Astérix (Asterix Park) is a theme amusement park based on the stories of Asterix and Obelix’s comic books by Albert Uderzo and René Goscinny). Asterix and Obelix, the famous representative characters of the former Gaulle, are two brave Gauls resisting the Roman army … Read more about Parc Asterix

The Jardin du Luxembourg or the Luxembourg Gardens is the largest park in the Paris. Spread with statues, fountains and flowers, it is full of activities for kids, like poney rides, a circular pond where you can float a rented toy boat and a puppet theatre (Théâtre des Marionettes) that takes place in the southwest corner of the garden … Read more about Jardin du Luxembourg

The Palais de la Découverte (Palace of Discovery) is a 25,000 square meters science museum located in the Grand Palais, where science is demystified by making it more accessible. Some of its features are the Space Odyssey of Ariane V, a digitally projected simulation in 3D of two space missions; the Voyage Into the Cell, a 3D film … Read more about Palais de la Découverte

France Miniature is a miniature park that features detailed 1/30-scale replicas of major French landmarks and monuments in a 5-hectare (12-acre) outdoor park in the shape of France. Monuments are placed in the park to correlate approximately with their real-world locations in the country.

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