Service suspended for 2 weeks due to high demand
Confirmed and paid orders are honoured, all others refunded.
A little over four kilometres of water in the middle of Paris, a chain of locks, metal footbridges and swing bridges: Canal Saint-Martin is a thread you follow naturally by bike. Wander Gourmet accompanies you along the quays in a small group, five guests at most per guide, from a signature viennoiserie to a creative pastry.
The canal is not decoration. It was dug in the 1820s and opened in 1825 to supply Paris with water and bring goods into the heart of the city: grain, wine, timber, coal. Its locks make up the drop between the Bassin de la Villette and the Seine, and part of its course was covered over in the nineteenth century to carry a boulevard. The district around it stayed a working faubourg of workshops, printers and warehouses for a long time, before becoming one of the places where the new Paris cooking settled.
This is where the word bistronomie takes on a concrete meaning. Since the 1990s a generation of cooks has left the grand houses to open small tables with no tablecloth, a short menu and carefully sourced produce, and the 10th arrondissement took in many of them. Alongside them work bread artisans who raise their dough with a sourdough starter, cheese affineurs, wine merchants who also feed you and pastry chefs who try things out. The tour puts these trades in conversation rather than simply lining them up.
Between two houses, the setting does the work: quai de Valmy and quai de Jemmapes, the streets running down towards place de la République, a covered market hall inherited from the Second Empire, the brick-and-stone quadrangle of a hospital founded by an edict of 1607, under Henri IV, and still in service today, a former convent turned public venue, and to the north the rotunda of La Villette, once a toll gate. The pedal-assist bike lets you hold all of that together in a single half-day, which a walking tour cannot do.
Four formats are available, and for each of them the tour draws on the houses described below. The Jaunt, about two and a half hours, two houses, from €140 per person. The Ride, about three hours, three houses, from €165 per person. The Grand Tour, about three and a half hours, four houses, from €185 per person. Private & Group, from €180 per person, billed for at least three people, with more generous portions; quotes for companies. These amounts are stated inclusive of all taxes and cover the tastings served by the artisans who welcome you, the use of a pedal-assist bike and a helmet. The final price, the date and the exact content of the tour are confirmed to you in writing before any payment.
A viennoiserie of the day, a croissant or a laminated pastry, served by the shopkeeper at their point of sale. Your guide explains the starter, the flour and the fermentation time, then what this faubourg owed to those who kneaded through the night for the morning workshops.
A selection presented by the cheesemonger in their own shop, at different stages of ageing, whose composition varies with the season and what is available. Raw-milk cheeses may be part of it: they are not recommended for young children, pregnant women or immunocompromised people: tell us when booking and we will look for an alternative with the artisan. This is where we talk about the market halls and the provisioning of Paris, which for a long time arrived by water rather than by road.
A sharing board whose composition varies with the season and what is available, put together and served by the artisan who welcomes you in their own shop. Your guide tells the story of the warehouses along the quays and the barges that came up as far as the locks.
A glass of grower's wine poured by the merchant in their own shop, or an alcohol-free drink: the alcohol tasting is optional and can be swapped at any time, no alcohol is served to minors, and nobody drinks before getting back on the bike, since riding a pedal-assist bike calls for the same sobriety as any other vehicle. We talk about the wine that entered Paris by canal and toll gate, and how the district brought low-intervention growers' wines back onto the list.
A seasonal pastry, often a reworking of a classic, chosen with the pastry chef and served in their own shop. This is the last house: your guide shares their own addresses in the district here.
Booking is a request, not a firm reservation: the tour details, date, meeting point and final price are confirmed in writing before any payment. Prices are indicative, per person, all taxes included, and cover the tastings and the use of a pedal-assist bike and a helmet.
Tell us when you send your booking request: the mention is optional. We pass it on to the artisans who welcome you before the tour. We cannot, however, guarantee the absence of traces, nor promise a route that excludes a given allergen: this route includes gluten, dairy and pastry, and the tastings are prepared in places where other products are handled. On the spot you can ask the shopkeeper directly about what is being served to you. In case of a severe allergy, we may advise you against certain houses as a precaution.
Wander Gourmet designs and accompanies the tour. Each tasting is prepared and served by the artisan who welcomes you, on their own premises. Wander Gourmet neither prepares nor handles any food.
No. The glass offered by the wine merchant is optional and can be swapped for an alcohol-free drink, on request and at any time. No alcohol is served to minors, and nobody drinks before getting back on the bike: riding a pedal-assist bike along a canal calls for the same sobriety as any other vehicle. Alcohol abuse is dangerous for your health, consume in moderation (L'abus d'alcool est dangereux pour la santé, à consommer avec modération).
Your request is not a payment. We come back to you with availability, the meeting point and the detail of the houses, and everything is confirmed in writing before you pay. As this is a leisure service supplied on a specific date, the fourteen-day right of withdrawal does not apply, under article L. 221-28, 12° of the French Consumer Code. Cancellation and rescheduling terms are set out in our terms of sale.
Booking is a request, not a firm reservation: the tour details, date, meeting point and final price are confirmed in writing before any payment. Prices are indicative, per person, all taxes included, and cover the tastings and the use of a pedal-assist bike and a helmet.
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