Paris City Highlights Guided Quad Tour

Riding a quad through Paris

A Paris quad tour gives you the freedom of an open vehicle with the security of a guide who knows the traffic and the best photo spots. Before setting off you receive a helmet and gloves and a full safety briefing on how the quad handles. The quads seat two people, with ergonomic backrests and handles for the passenger, and run on petrol or electric power.

The driver must be at least 18 with a valid driving licence, so bring yours on the day; passengers can be from 8 years old. The group is never larger than six participants, which keeps the convoy compact and safe in city traffic. Please arrive 30 minutes before departure, as late arrivals cannot join and there are no toilets or lockers at the meeting point.

The Champs-Élysées

The Champs-Élysées runs for about 1.9 kilometres from Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe, and riding along it on a quad is a thrill few visitors forget. Laid out in the 17th century as a tree-lined promenade beyond the Tuileries, it became the grand avenue of Paris, lined with theatres, cafés and flagship stores, and it is the stage for the national military parade every 14 July.

The lower part of the avenue is a green stretch of gardens and pavilions, while the upper part climbs gently towards the Arc. In the evening, when the trees and shop windows are lit, the Champs-Élysées tour is especially beautiful, and the meeting point is only a short walk away.

The Arc de Triomphe and Place de l'Étoile

At the top of the Champs-Élysées stands the Arc de Triomphe, commissioned in 1806 to honour the French armies and completed in 1836. It rises about 50 metres high, covered with sculpted reliefs of battles and allegories, and beneath it lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where a memorial flame has been rekindled every evening at 18:30 since 1923.

The arch stands in the middle of Place de l'Étoile, the star-shaped roundabout where twelve avenues meet. Driving around it is famous for its free-flowing traffic, so your guide leads the group carefully. The tour does not include entry to the arch's rooftop terrace, but you enjoy the monument and its sculptures up close from the road.

The Eiffel Tower photo stop

The highlight for most riders is the stop at the Eiffel Tower, the iron lattice tower built for the World Fair of 1889 and standing about 330 metres tall. It was the tallest structure in the world until 1930, and today it is the most visited paid monument on the planet. Your guide chooses a spot where you can park the quads and take photos with the tower behind you.

If you choose an evening departure, the tower is lit with golden light after dark and sparkles with thousands of flashing bulbs for five minutes at the start of every hour, an unforgettable sight from the seat of a quad. This tour does not include a visit inside the tower, so it combines well with a separate Eiffel Tower ticket on another day.

The 1st arrondissement, the heart of the Right Bank

The route also takes you through the 1st arrondissement, the oldest part of the Right Bank and the district of the Louvre and the Tuileries Garden. Its elegant stone facades, arcaded streets and grand squares show the Paris of kings and of the great 19th-century renovation that gave the city its wide boulevards.

Riding through these streets on a quad gives you a feel for how the city fits together, from the riverside palaces to the shopping avenues. The exact streets depend on the guide and on traffic, and the tour finishes back at the starting point after about one and a half hours. It is a fun way to get your bearings at the start of a stay, before exploring the same streets again on foot.