Biking is something Ken and I love to do at home, so we thought renting bikes in Paris would be a fun way to see the City! Paris has a bike sharing system similar to Minneapolis’ Nice Ride Program called Le Velib where you can basically rent bikes by the day or week. There are hundreds of bike stations throughout Paris where you can rent bikes, get where you need to go, then park them at any nearby bike station. We picked up bikes on the right bank of the Seine River at Boulevard Henri IV, biked down to the Bastille and then over to the Promenade Plantee, a beautiful elevated linear park built on top of an old railway structure. The original plan was to bike the Promenade Plantee as I could have sworn I read that it was a great bike ride, but when we arrived we realized bikes were quite frowned upon due to the narrowness of the walking paths. The name Promenade Plantee really should have been my first clue, but what can I say? Luckily, the bikes have built in bike locks, so we locked them up, and climbed the steps to this cool elevated green space. The Promenade Plantee is long and linear by design and has beautiful vine tangled trellis archways, fantastic street sightlines and garden roses–so many garden roses.
From the Promenade Plantee, we decided to head down to Luxembourg Gardens for a picnic, stopping off at a little market in St. Germain for a baguette, a few cheeses, a pear, and a bottle of red wine to split. We snagged three green chairs under the shade of a large statue and facing the Palais du Luxembourg, we set up our picnic on the 3rd chair. (Most of the grass in Paris’ parks are off limits which is why they provide the chairs.)
After lunch and some time exploring the gardens, we decided it was time for dessert. I’m a huge macaron fan (pistachio macarons to be exact), and thanks to a wonderful recommendation from a fellow francophile, Mrs. Nina G, we knew Laduree was not far from Jardin du Luxembourg. Next time you’re in Paris, you’ve got to stop in to experience the sweet perfection that is Laduree. Not only do they have an impressive selection of macaron flavors to choose from, but also lovingly adorned larger confections too. Their desserts are true works of art–so beautiful and so yummy!
As the day came to an end we made our way down to the Quai de la Seine on Île Saint-Louis to watch the river’s reflection transition from shimmering daylight to twinkling lamplight. With our lady, Notre Dame, looking on, the swans put on a show for their captive audience, and Ken and I slipped a little deeper into Parisian heaven.
