In the sixteenth arrondissement of Paris, tucked into a quiet cul-de-sac off the Square du Docteur-Blanche, stand two white houses that changed how people thought about living. The Maisons La Roche et Jeanneret were designed by Le Corbusier and his cousin Pierre Jeanneret in the mid 1920s, one for a Swiss banker and art collector, Raoul La Roche, and one for Jeanneret's brother, a musician. Today the building houses the Fondation Le Corbusier, and the interiors, with their ramps, flat roofs, ribbon windows and rather austere palette, are open to visitors on certain days, so check the schedule before you go.
This is urban riding at its most stop-and-go: Périphérique access, traffic lights, buses, delivery vans and scooters weaving in every direction. Any bike without an easy clutch will make you regret it by the second kilometre.
You do not come to this place for the riding. You come for the architecture, and for the odd sense of a stage set from a hundred years ago that still looks modern. The quiet of the street, at least on a weekday morning, is a pleasant contrast to the busy avenues around. Auteuil, which surrounds it, is old Paris money, with art nouveau gems by Hector Guimard scattered through the neighbourhood, and the Roland-Garros tennis stadium is a few minutes away if you want to add some sport to your day.
For petrol, food and coffee you are well served in Boulogne-Billancourt, a big town of over a hundred thousand, and in the countless Paris cafés. The best advice is to arrive early before the traffic builds, take a long look at the white façade, and then leave Paris eastbound before the afternoon rush shuts every road in the city.