A big thank you to all of you!
Our new Certificate of Excellence Hall of Fame, more than 5 years of TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence! It is a great satisfaction for us to know that you enjoyed our tours, had a good time with us and we thank you for telling us. We share with you our passion for our city and we like to share with you its history, culture, anecdotes… for more than 11 years now. You tell us a lot of things that go straight to our hearts: “5 stars! I would have given 10 if i could! Great run, great tour guide, great route! Highly recommended!” “highlights of our trip!” “by far the most memorable part of my vacation” “I thoroughly enjoyed my running tour “ “Do not hesitate to book a running tour with Paris Running Tours – this is a class act, worth the expense, and the perfect way to orient active people to Paris!” “Highly recommend Paris Running Tours!” “We’ve done running tours in many cities, and Jean-Charles’s was by far the best!” “I am a Photographer, director, serious runner, world traveler and adventure junkie. I have had the opportunity and fortune to do a lot of wicked cool things. The Paris running tour I can honestly say is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done. Ive been to Paris so many times but seeing it with Paris Running Tours was amazing and educational . It made me fall even more in love with Paris.” … The whole Paris Running Tours team thanks you so much! If you too, you come to Paris, we will be very happy to run with you. Join us and discover Paris with authentic Parisians guides who will take you on the best sightrunning routes in Paris and who always have tons of secrets to share with you:
We found a cute little dog in Paris!
If you too you want to book a special “GPS Drawing” tour, ask us, we will study all your ideas, surprise, text, drawing and propose an original tour in Paris => https://www.parisrunningtour.com/book-now/#request
Thank you to our visitors for these great moments shared in 2018!
If you too, you come to Paris, we will be very happy to run with you. Join us and discover Paris with authentic Parisians guides who will take you on the best running routes in Paris and who always have tons of secrets to share with you:
Other discoveries of Paris with Sarah
At Paris Running Tours, we are really happy to see runners coming back to run with us. Sarah from Great Britain is one of our faithful visitors. In this month of March, we meet again for the 5th time, and it is with great joy! Each time, we create a different route. This time, we had chosen to move away from the center of Paris to join the magnificent Bois de Boulogne and its superb lakes (the wood belongs to Paris). The “Bois de Boulogne” as we know it corresponds to one of the many developments in Paris realised by Baron Haussmann, commissioned by Napoleon III. Here, for the “Lac inférieur” (Lower Lake) that we can admire in the picture above, Napoleon III’s idea was to draw inspiration from the Serpentine River in Hyde Park. This artificial river could not be built as desired, the engineer in charge having forgotten a six-meters vertical drop that would flood the lower part and dry the upper part! To rectify this error, an “upper” lake and a “lower” lake were created, the smaller one (“Lac supérieur”) discharging through a waterfall into the larger one (“Lac inférieur”). Two beautiful artificial lakes. To reach the Bois de Boulogne, we took the avenue Foch: Avenue Foch is the widest avenue in Paris. It starts at the Arc de Triomphe and ends at the Bois de Boulogne. Marathon runners know it well, it’s the finish of the Paris Marathon! It is also a creation of Baron Haussmann, wanted by the Emperor Napoleon III to give a direct access to the Bois de Boulogne. Initially called “Avenue de l’Impératrice” (the Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III), then Avenue du Bois de Boulogne, it was named Avenue Foch after the First World War. Avenue Foch is one of the most expensive avenues in Paris (see the French version of the Monopoly…). It was for a long time a very popular walk where the high society liked to show itself. Look at the small postcards above (by clicking you can enlarge the picture). Nowadays we can see a lot of runners… The avenue is very quiet on this Tuesday morning… At the end of avenue Foch, we can discover one of the last two Guimard covered edicles (we talked about it with Lysa, here): On the way back, we met one of the best-known authors in France, Jean de La Fontaine. All French or francophone children learn the Fables of La Fontaine at school. Here is the famous fable of the Crow and the Fox: [tabs slidertype=”top tabs”] [tabcontainer] [tabtext]Le Corbeau et le Renard (French)[/tabtext] [tabtext]The Crow and the Fox (Anglais)[/tabtext] [/tabcontainer] [tabcontent] [tab] Maître Corbeau, sur un arbre perché, Tenait en son bec un fromage. Maître Renard, par l’odeur alléché, Lui tint à peu près ce langage : « Hé ! bonjour Monsieur du Corbeau. Que vous êtes joli ! que vous me semblez beau ! Sans mentir, si votre ramage Se rapporte à votre plumage, Vous êtes le Phénix des hôtes de ces bois. » À ces mots le Corbeau ne se sent pas de joie ; Et pour montrer sa belle voix, Il ouvre un large bec, laisse tomber sa proie. Le Renard s’en saisit, et dit : « Mon bon Monsieur, Apprenez que tout flatteur Vit aux dépens de celui qui l’écoute. Cette leçon vaut bien un fromage, sans doute. » Le Corbeau, honteux et confus, Jura, mais un peu tard, qu’on ne l’y prendrait plus. [/tab] [tab] Master Crow perched on a tree, Was holding a cheese in his beak. Master Fox attracted by the smell Said something like this: “Well, Hello Mister Crow! How pretty you are! How beautiful you seem to me! I’m not lying, if your voice Is like your plumage, You are the phoenix of all the inhabitants of these woods.” At these words, the Crow is overjoyed. And in order to show off his beautiful voice, He opens his beak wide, lets his prey fall The Fox grabs it, and says: “My good man, Learn that every flatterer Lives at the expense of the one who listens to him. This lesson, without doubt, is well worth a cheese.” The Crow, ashamed and embarrassed, Swore, but a little late, that he would not be taken again. [/tab] [/tabcontent] [/tabs] Thank you Sarah for this new beautiful stroll, see you soon! If you too, you come to Paris, we will be very happy to run with you. Join us and discover Paris with authentic Parisians guides who always have tons of secrets to share with you:
How many Arcs of Triumph in Paris? With Adam and Bridget
Adam and Bridget (Philadelphia) began their vacations in Paris with a sport discovery of the City. Paris Running Tours prepared them a tour which included well-known historical places and also spots and buildings less famous but still fascinating. Running while visiting offers the possibility of seeing many district and understanding numerous aspects of the city. The photo above is taken at the start of what we call the “Historical Axis of Paris“. Do you know where exactly is the spot which starts this perspective? We already spoke about this axis during the visit of Juliana and Pedro in 2012. You can also directly look at the track of this axis in the image we created (Click on it for all the details). So, how many Arcs of Triumph in Paris? We can already count one in the photo above: the Arc of the Carrousel. Now let us enlarge the Arc of the Carrousel in the axis of the perspective: What do we see in its center? The Arc of Triumph of Charles de Gaulle square (“Place de l’Étoile”), it gives two Arcs. These two Arcs were built at the request (and for the glory) of Napoleon 1st. If we get closer to the Arc of Triumph, for example in the middle of the Garden of the Tuileries and we look at the center of the Arc of Triumph, we can see far away another Arc, newer this time, The “Grande Arche de la Défense”. It gives three Arcs. Look, in the right of the first photo of the article: This separation marks the city wall of the King Charles V. If you continue on the track of this wall you will join what we call the “Grands Boulevards”. It is precisely the place we are going with Bridget and Adam. The “Grands Boulevards” replace this protective wall created by Charles V and then completed on the West by Louis XIII. Later, the King, saying that he was able to defend his country (and even more…), had this wall destroyed to give what will become “les Grands Boulevards”. To replace the entrances in the North of the City, the Doors of Paris, he had two Arcs built, the “Arc de la Porte Saint-Martin” and the “Arc de la Porte Saint-Denis“: Two additional Arcs, it gives 3+2 = 5! 5? The “Grande Arche de la Défense” not being in Paris, it gives 4. Therefore we have Four arcs of Triumph in Paris. But, by the way, who is this King who built these two “Doors”? You can read “LUDOVICO MAGNO“, Louis the Great, Louis XIV, the Sun King! Admire the sculptures, all for his victories and his glory. He dominates his enemy, buried under the ground, or the defeated peoples come to give him the keys of their cities: Not far from the Grands boulevards, we discover a nicely decorated pediment, with in the vignettes, the five continents and lower, the Prudence which holds the mirror of the Truth: But what is this building? A Bank! Merci Bridget ! Merci Adam ! If you too, you come to Paris, we will be very happy to run with you. Join us and discover Paris with authentic Parisians guides who always have tons of secrets to share with you:
The routes we created for our visitors
VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR 2017
Big thanks to all the runners who came to discover Paris with us in 2016! We wish you all a very happy new year and are looking forward to your visit in 2017. Happy running!
The Parisian running competitions in 2016
A new year for the running competitions in Paris It is always a great pleasure to run on the Parisian roadway freed of cars, to be able to run on the avenue of the Opera or at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, in the woods of Boulogne and Vincennes (which belong to Paris), to go down the Champs Elysées running the first kilometer of the marathon… As every year now, we propose the 2016 list of the Parisian competitions, all those which take place in Paris. DISCOVER THE LIST => HERE
Under the Eiffel tower with Rachel
Under the Eiffel Tower – Far off the Palais de Chaillot and the garden of Trocadéro 7:32 AM – Rachel, from Wales, is a regular runner with very good results… After the running tour in Paris, she arrived recently second woman of a half marathon. At present, she prepares for the next London Marathon. In this beginning of March, the sun is with us for an attractive tour of Paris by running. Look at the photo above, we are just under the Eiffel Tower. Early morning in March, the place is very quiet. Compare with the crowd that we can find on Easter Mondays for example or on a summer weekend there… Running early morning in Paris is a delight! Far off, on the other side of the Seine, we can recognize the majestic “Palais de Chaillot” which was built for the World Fair of 1937, last World Fair in Paris. The Palace of Chaillot replaced the Palace of Trocadéro built in the same place, that time for the World Fair of 1878: Aerial view of the “Palais du Trocadéro” – 1934 By the way, do you know what “Trocadéro” means? It is a fort which is situated in Cadiz in Spain and the place of a French victory; France came to help Spain to restore the absolute monarchy in 1823 (the king Louis XVIII reigns at that time in France). The Palace of the Trocadéro built in 1878 (and then the “Place du Trocadéro”) owes its name to a royalist victory! We went for running early, accompanied by the rising sun which lit for us the magnificent monuments of Paris: The Arc de Triomphe. We are in his shadow, the sun beginning to light the Champs-Elysées Palais Galliera Museum of the fashion with until, August 23rd, 2015, the exhibition dedicated to Jeanne Lanvin The Eiffel tower – We are at the “Palais de Chaillot”! The Alexandre III bridge with in the back the statue symbolizing the France of the Renaissance. At the top of the pylon, one of the four Fames: The Fame of the War. These four statues were covered with gold leaves in 1989. The Bridge of the Arts and in the back, the “Galerie du bord de l’eau” of the Louvre – The “Pont des Arts”, known these last years for all the padlocks which where put there by the loving tourists, is at present protected by wooden panels. These panels covered by graffitis spoil a little the beauty of the place. It should be temporary. The Palais Royal and its famous Columns of Buren (“Les deux plateaux”). The “Théâtre Ephémère” (short-lived theater) now disappeared. This wooden theater had welcomed temporarily the troop of the “Comédie Française” during the works of the “Palais Royal”. We can see again the garden of the “Palais Royal” through the columns. The Garden of the Tuileries – Our shadows are still very long! Merci Rachel ! We wish you a great London Marathon! The route of the tour:
In Paris, under the pink morning light with Amy
Amy – Pont du Carrousel (Bridge of the Carrousel) 7:03 AM – Amy, from Florida, chose to make an early morning Paris Running Tour in this beautiful day of March 9th. The light was magnificent, giving a beautiful pink aspect to the landscape. At this hour, on Sunday morning, nobody in streets, very few cars, Paris for us alone and some other morning runners. Look at the first picture above, from the “Pont du Carousel”, look at the pink gradation which goes with the sunrise and shines on the river Seine and the buildings of the Louvre. Admire the sight from the “Pont de la Concorde”, on the east side: Amy – Pont de la Concorde – In the background, from left to right : the Tuileries, the Sainte-Chapelle, Notre-Dame, the Institute of France and the “Musée d’Orsay” then, on the west side : Amy – Pont de la Concorde – In the background, a big iron tower ;), the new banks and the “Pont Alexandre III” On Sunday morning, we can even stop in the middle of the road in front of the Champs-Elysées to take a photo without being afraid of cars: Amy – “Place de la Concorde” – The Champs-Elysées, in the background, the “Arc de Triomphe” and far, the “Grande Arche” of “la Défense” While going back to the east, we stop at the entrance of the garden of the Tuileries, to make a small salute to the “Statue of the Fame” which sounds the triumph of the sun in Paris! Amy – Garden of the Tuileries with in the background, from left to right, the copy of the Statue of the Fame, the “Grand Palais”, the Obelisk of Louxor in the center of the “place de la Concorde” A perfect weather, a beautiful light, ideal to run in Paris! Merci Amy ! The route of the tour: