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Paris: Vintage Sidecar Tour with Flexible Routes & Pickup

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/10

Duration1h–7h

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · FR

PickupAt your hotel

See Paris from a vintage sidecar with a local’s stories and secret corners

You’ll ride through Paris in a vintage sidecar—sometimes waving at strangers, sometimes ducking under leafy branches—with a local guide who knows secret corners and stories. Expect moments of laughter (and maybe helmet hair), close-up views of Montmartre or Le Marais, and flexible stops along the way. You’ll end up seeing Paris as both spectacle and home—something I didn’t expect.

1h–7h

Step-by-step itinerary

Vintage sidecar tour of Paris highlights

Visit Arènes de Lutèce park
Pass by Saint-Germain-des-Prés church
Pass by Ile de la Cité island
Pass by Eiffel Tower
Pass by Seine river piers
Pass by Trocadéro gardens
Pass by Le Marais district
Pass by Place Vendôme square
Visit Place du Tertre in Montmartre
Visit Basilique du Sacré-Coeur
Pass by Opéra Garnier
Pass by Grands Boulevards
Pass by Avenue des Champs-Élysées
Pass by Arc de Triomphe

The Experience

I’ll never forget the first lurch forward—helmet slightly askew, goggles fogging up from my own nervous breath. Our driver, Antoine, grinned back at us in the mirror before weaving into Paris traffic like it was nothing. There’s something about sitting in a vintage sidecar (I took the sidecar first, my friend clung behind Antoine) that makes you feel both ridiculous and kind of heroic. People waved. A kid pointed and yelled “moto!” I tried to wave back but my glove got caught on the seatbelt buckle. So yeah, we were off to a glamorous start.

The city looks different when you’re this low to the ground—closer to the cobblestones and café smells than you ever get from a bus or even walking. We zipped past the Grands Boulevards, past old theaters and neon signs flickering even in daylight. At one red light near Le Marais, an old man selling chestnuts gave us a thumbs-up and said something I didn’t catch. Antoine started telling us about secret courtyards hidden behind big wooden doors—he actually stopped once so we could peek through one (it smelled like wet stone and jasmine). The main keyword here is Paris sidecar tour, but honestly it felt more like time travel than sightseeing.

We chose the 1.5-hour route but it felt both long and too short at once. There’s an option to go all day or even out to Versailles or Giverny if you want—I can see why people do that now. When we pulled up at Place du Tertre in Montmartre, artists were already sketching tourists; I tried to say “bonjour” with my helmet still on and got laughed at by two painters who probably see this every day. The light on Sacré-Coeur was soft and kind of blueish that afternoon; Antoine said it’s always changing up there.

I still think about that view from Trocadéro—the Eiffel Tower looking less postcard-perfect and more like some giant iron animal waking up for the night shift. If you take the evening tour they hand you champagne right there (we just watched another couple do it). On the way back, my friend took the sidecar seat and I rode behind Antoine; honestly, switching halfway is worth it for both perspectives. We ended somewhere near our hotel, hair wild, cheeks cold, feeling weirdly proud of ourselves for having seen Paris sideways.

What’s included

Your day includes hotel pickup (except on 1-hour tours), all necessary safety gear like helmets plus gloves or goggles if needed; you’ll be guided by a professional driver who shares stories as you ride through Paris neighborhoods—and if you book an evening tour over 1.5 hours they’ll serve you champagne right by the Eiffel Tower before dropping you off wherever suits best.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessiblePets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by RETRO TOUR