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Bponceuponatime9
15 Jun 2016

Once upon a time in Brussels, visiting Brussels by electric bike

At the heart of the Marolles, in the Tanners’ workshops, begins the story of "Once upon a time in Brussels". This dynamic young company has been around since 2012 and decided to focus on guided tours in Brussels.

The founder, Virginie, explains how it all started: "I have always lived in Brussels and studied history at ULB, so I was immersed in local history. And I am very curious, I like to ride around and discover hidden spots. To get started, it took a little inspiration. By taking part in a guided electric bicycle tour in Paris, she decides to leave her job and set up her own guided tours business.

The choice of electric bike is a sensible choice: "It is really for convenience, a means of transport was required allowing to visit much in a few hours" "In addition, with the electric assistance, it allows to take advantage of your stroll without getting tired, and we need not consider the slopes for organizing the ride. "

However, where she opts for e-bikes at work, Virginie uses her muscles for her daily commutes from Schaerbeek, with a normal bike. She applies her experience as a cyclist to planning tours: "we avoid complicated places with too many tram rails or too many traffic jams, because it is not always easy to travel with a group and some visitors are not used to riding in town".

The aim of the tours is above all to understand the city. Virginie wants to pass on her passion for Brussels by giving reading keys: "sometimes, we hear the tourists complaining some parts of Brussels are ugly or that it was not as they imagined, I want to show why the city looks like it does today and for that we must dig a little, we must understand the evolution, I want to show that Brussels is a nice city.

The visits go through both known and unknown parts of the city and we find as many locals as tourists on these bikes. The tours can indeed surprise even the most informed inhabitants: "there is only my father who already knew everything, but that is really an exception," says she, amused.

The electric bike also appeals, one wonders if some do not make the visit just to test one for a few hours. Many participants, surprised by the convenience of cycling in the city, contemplate taking the plunge and jumping on their bicycles to get to work.

Summer through winter, the tours take place. And if the rain might cool off some, know that we can lend you capes. Since according to Virginie, everything is a matter of equipment: "A Danish woman 6 months pregnant already took part in a tour in the cold and in the rain, we thought she wouldn’t come, but she told us that at home it was always like that and she was well equipped. The ride was great and we laughed all the way. "