Saturdays in October

This unique tour is being offered to highlight French influence in the city! Unlike the real Tour de France race which covers over 2,100 miles in 22 days our is a leisurely paced course that allows participants to take a gastronomic tour de cuisine of France as well as to experience the historic and contemporary ties between France and the United States.

The tour begins on the upper East Side of Manhattan, where we will see the influence of the Ecole de Beaux Arts. In the late nineteenth century Paris was the place to study architecture, and Americans adopted it in some luxuriant mansions that we will pass. As we enter Central Park, the priceless urban escape from the city itself, we will stop for an insight look into the apartment of Pierre Berge, the partner of Ives St. Laurent, as well as his magnificent view of Central Park.

The Marquis and General Washington

Leaving Central Park, which is free of motorized vehicles on weekends, we will stop at Lafayette Square. Here is the forgotten but impressive sculpture to George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette, whom Washington view as his “adopted” son. Here is surely the perfect place to recall the critical role of the French in helping us win the Revolution against the British. In Morningside Heights, our first French culinary stop before passing by a church modeled after the Cathedral at Chartres!

As we head downtown through the upper West Side, we will pass by the statute to Joan of Arc, which actually contains relics from the cathedral at Rouen. The Dakota apartment building, where you can see where Yoko Ono lives, is a marvelous example of a “french flat,’ an architectural style that was popular with the city’s elite a century ago. John Lennon himself is memorialized in Central Park, which we enter again. Our next culinary treat is in midtown before we ride down the wonderful East River Greenway with its views across to the North American continent!

A typical French flat, not a French fry!

Pedaling through the chic meatpacking district, we will learn how a cross dressing restauranteur in the area used to celebrate Bastille Day with a party that closed the whole block. In Greenwich Village we will pass by the last home of Thomas Paine, the “spokesman of the Revolution” , who profoundly influenced not only the American Revolution, but also the French Revolution. Our final gourmet French restaurant is in the Village near our version of the Arc de Triomphe.

Returning to our start, we will pedal through the exclusive Gramercy Park area. Due to the park's exclusivity, film companies are rarely allowed to shoot there. An Exception was made in the film Notting Hill, where Julia Roberts is shown starring in a film called Gramercy Park. The Steely Dan song “Janie Runaway,” references Janie who is referred to as the “wonderwaif of Gramercy Park.” We will then ride along the East River Greenway, where there are more wonderful river views.

This tour leaves the every Saturday in October, weather permitting, at 10 am from the East Side of Manhattan. It is approximately 18 miles and will last about 7 hours.

The $90 cost includes the bike, a helmet, and the licensed tour guide as well as the food sampling at the three restaurants.

Click below to reserve your spot:

(Click the button corresponding to the date you’d like to attend)