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Bois de Boulogne: (from 9am to 6pm Saturday and Sunday) and Bois de Vincennes (from 9am to 6pm Sunday).

Jardin du Luxembourg, 6e: immediate surrounding streets including parts of rue Auguste Compte, rue d’Assas, blvd St-Michel and rue des Chartreux (from 10am to 6pm March to November).

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Bicycle Hire

FAT TIRE BIKE TOURS Map

01 56 58 10 54; www.fattirebiketoursparis.com; 24 rue Edgar Faure, 15e; 1hr/day/weekend/week €2.50/15/25/50; 9am-7pm; La Motte-Picquet Grenelle

Fat Tire is a friendly Anglophone outfit that rents three-speed cruisers, kids’ bikes, trailers, tandems and so on. Show a driver’s licence or passport and leave €250 deposit on your credit card.

GEPETTO & VÉLOS Map

01 43 54 19 95; www.gepetto-et-velos.com, in French; 59 rue du Cardinal Lemoine, 5e; half-/full- day/weekend/week €7.50/14/23/50; 10am-7pm Tue-Sun; Cardinal Lemoine

New and secondhand bicycles plus repairs. To rent, show your passport and leave a €325 deposit.

MAISON ROUE LIBRE Map

01 44 76 86 43, 08 10 44 15 34; www.rouelibre.fr; 1 Passage Mondétour, 1er; 1hr/4hr/weekend €4/10/28, weekday/Sat or Sun/night from 5pm €10/15/7, electric bikes 1hr/4hr/weekday/Sat or Sun €6.50/16/16/26; 9am-7pm mid-Jan–mid-Dec; Les Halles

Sponsored by the city’s public transport system, this is the place to rent a bike – pedal powered or electric (with which you can rent a €32 audioguide). Seniors, students and under-26s get a 10% discount. Insurance, helmet and baby seat are included. The deposit is €150, and you need some form of ID. Its outlet at Bastille (Map; 01 44 71 54 54; 37 blvd Bourdon, 4e; Bastille) shares the same hours. From 10am to 6pm Sunday and public holidays April to October, bikes can also be rented from ‘cyclobuses’ (bikes stored on big buses) around the city, including Denfert-Rochereau (Map; cnr rue Daguerre & av Général Leclerc, 14e; Denfert- Rochereau).

PARIS À VÉLO, C’EST SYMPA! Map

01 48 87 60 01; www.parisvelosympa.com, in French; 22 rue Alphonse Baudin, 11e; half-day/10hr/weekend/week €10/13/25/60; 9.30am-1pm & 2-6.30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-7pm Sat & Sun Apr-Oct, 9.30am-1pm & 2-5.30pm Mon-Fri, 9.30am-6pm Sat & Sun Nov-Mar; St-Sébastien Froissart

Cringe-worthy name (‘Paris by Bike, it’s Nice!’), yes, but it rents tandems for the price of two bikes and organises great thematic bike tours around Paris. Deposit €250 (€600 for a tandem) with a credit card or your passport.

VÉLO CITO Map

01 42 73 60 21; 97 rue Mademoiselle, 15e; www.velocito.fr, in French; day €25; 9.30am-1pm & 2-6.30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-7pm Sat & Sun Apr-Oct, 9.30am-1pm & 2-6pm Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm Sat & Sun Nov-Mar; Cambronne, Commerce & Vaugirard

The pedal-weary can opt for extra power with a smart electric bicycle to cruise around the city from this 15e outlet; rental is by the day only and you need to leave your passport as a deposit. Its Right-Bank branch (Map; 01 43 38 47 19; 7 rue St-Ambroise, 11e; St-Ambroise) shares the same hours. Both distribute an excellent free map (1:53:000) detailing some lovely pistes cyclables starting at RER stations around Paris.

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SKATING

Be it across Tarmac or ice, skating is big – Click here for street spots to catch entertaining free demos. See opposite for details of traffic-free streets to cruise down on Sundays.

In-line Skating

Serious bladers use the bus lanes; others scoot along pavements and cycling lanes. Up to 15,000 take part in the weekly randonnées en roller (skating rambles).

The 30km Pari Roller Ramble ( 01 43 36 89 81; www.pari-roller.com, in French) kicks off on place Raoul Dautry, 14e (Map; Montparnasse Bienvenüe) at 10pm Friday (arrive at 9.30pm), returning at 1am.

The Rollers & Coquillages Ramble ( 01 44 54 07 44; www.rollers-coquillages.org) afternoon skate departs from behind the Nomades bike shop (below) on Sunday at 2.30pm, returning around 5.30pm.

NOMADES Map

01 44 54 07 44; www.nomadeshop.com, in French; 37 blvd Bourdon, 4e; half-/full- day weekdays €5/8,