Weekend Travel

The Five-Point Weekend Escape Plan

Put Pedals to the Pavement in Paris

The city’s year-old free bike-sharing program has sparked a cult of cyclisme, night rides past the Arch de Triomph, and a way to hit all the farmers’ markets, leafy side streets, and historical sites that you can in 72 hours.

By David Sax
Published Sep 11, 2008

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1. Where to Stay

Murano Urban Resort.

(Photo: Courtesy of Murano Urban Resort)

Stay a third night free at the four-star Paris Marriott Rive Gauche Hotel and Conference Center (from $258), which renovated its spacious rooms less than a year ago (now with AC!). A new fitness center boasts several treadmills and Nautilus machines. Hop on one of two dozen Vélib rental bikes in front of the hotel and explore the surrounding Left Bank.

There’s a lap pool in your suite at Murano Urban Resort (from $515), and each guest gets an Electra cruiser bike. The hotel bar is a hot spot in the bohemian Marais neighborhood, and the restaurant serves modern Mediterranean on an outdoor terrace.

A cheaper option with boutique amenities, Marceau Bastille (from $258) offers in-room massages for sore cycling muscles. All rooms have sleek furnishings and flat-screens, but splurge on a “Privilege” room for more space and natural light, for an extra $110 per night. The work of iconic sixties fashion photographer Jean Paul Dumas-Grillet is on display in the hotel’s art gallery through the end of October.