If you intend to hire a bicycle take a repair kit with you.

Me and a group of friends found ourselves stranded in the middle of Paris when a pedal fell off one of the cycles.

A phone call to the hire shop informed us that it was up to us to sort it out. The rest of the day was spent looking for a garage with the correct tools to sort the problem.

When we eventually made it back the hire shop was happy to refund our money – perhaps this is cheaper than sending someone out!

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To use the free city bikes in Paris (there's lots of them at Gare du Nord and outside all metro stations) you just need your credit card for a 150 Euro deposit.

They give you a 24hour pass for just 1 Euro and you get to use the bikes as often as you like, keep it to 1/2 hour slots and you don't pay a penny more.

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Try a cycle tour of the city with Paris a velo - c'est sympa!

Tried and tested with initially reluctant friends who later admitted it was the best part of the holiday.

You see so much more and it's better for the environment so what's to lose?

Tours can be arranged in your own language and the tour guides are excellent.

www.parisvelosympa.com/

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Arrive in Paris and hire one of the city’s (carbon neutral!) self-service bicycles –Vélib’. Locate the cycle station at Gare du Nord and discover – quelle surprise! – they’re all taken.

No worries, there’s another station a short walk away on my road, rue Louis Blanc. But it’s permanently ‘hors service’... Carry on then to the Vélib station at Jaurès for a chat in the long queue before finally getting your hands on the ‘deux roues’.

Cycle along the pretty canal for a picnic at Parc de la Villette before heading back to Jaurés for a canalside drink at the MK2. Voilà!

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Little can beat floating down the Seine when your aching feet have had enough. Try Bateaux Mouches, which leave from the Pont d’Alma, and Bateaux Parisiens, which pick up from near the Eiffel Tower. Both are packed in summer, but they do give you the best possible view of the world's most handsome cityscape.

www.bateaux-mouches.fr/; www.bateauxparisiens.com/

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