Touring a city on a bike lets you see more. You could just rent a bike, but on city bike tours in major capitals, guides pedal you past top attractions and give you interesting info about the neighborhoods you're exploring.
© 2011 Lois FriedlandThe colorful hutongs, narrow lanes and alleyways teeming with locals, are among Beijing's oldest neighborhoods. The twisting lanes were formed by lines of siheyuan, traditional courtyard residences, which we peeked into as we biked past. It was a fascinating introduction to life in China.
© Lois FriedlandWe rode under the legs of the Eiffel Tower at dusk, when the sun set the tower aglow. Riding a motorized trikke on the bike lanes and pedestrian-crowded sidewalks in Paris is a novel and entertaining way to explore this French city.
visitBerlin.de-KochFew fragments of the Berlin Wall are left, but you can still see where it stood. A 160-kilometer trail traces the course of the former German Democratic Republic's (GDR) border fortifications that encircled Berlin during the Cold War, until the fall of the Berlin Wall, November 9, 1989.
You can see the sights and learn the history of Paris, Berlin, Barcelona, and London when riding with Fat Tire Bike Tours. The company promises expert guides and a "super-comfortable bike".
This company offers three-hour tours of the city daily from March through November. If you prefer to explore at your own pace, you can pick up a bike and a map and plot out your own adventure, according to About.com guide Rachel Cooper.
When you bike in an Irish City, you may even stop in a pub. But first, the guides will take you past the Custom House, Christ Church, Dublin Castle, Temple Bar and many more attractions.
You’ll see much more than you would on foot, according to About.com guide Birge Amondson. The tour takes you through Munich’s Old Town, and along the green banks of the river Isar. You’ll also ride through Munich’s famous English Garden, where you’ll stop in one of the city’s best beer gardens.
The Capital City Bike Tours guides have entertaining stories about presidents, Congress, memorials, parks, spies, and scandals. You'll pedal past the White House, the Lincoln Memorial and lots of other monuments.
