Retro Tour

What Retro Tour does

Retro Tour, legally SIDE BY SIDE, SARL, is a French private limited company founded in 2015 in Paris that operates guided vintage sidecar motorcycle tours for leisure tourists, corporate clients, and event participants across eight destinations: Paris, Bordeaux, Normandie, Loire Valley, Bourgogne, and Saint-Malo in France, Lisbon in Portugal, and Las Vegas in the United States. The company's core product is a fleet of Ural RETRO sidecars — 2014 models inspired by the Soviet M72 that combine vintage aesthetics with modern safety features (electric starters, disc brakes, modern suspension). Local "Gentlemen Siders" guides deliver multilingual (French/English; English-only in Las Vegas) narrated tours covering city highlights, historical sites (notably D-Day beaches), wine regions (Bordeaux, Bourgogne), coastal routes, and night-time itineraries, with durations ranging from one hour to full-day experiences.

The business operates on a franchise model in which SIDE BY SIDE SARL owns the brand, trademark (registered with INPI), and operational playbook, while regional operators manage local sidecar fleets and customer service. Individual tourists book directly through retro-tour.com or via third-party booking platforms (Rezdy, Regiondo, FareHarbor, SecureDirectBookings) and pay full amounts online; corporate and wedding clients use dedicated quote-based pricing with 40-50% deposits. Per-tour pricing ranges from 109€ (Deauville 1-hour) to 849€ (Las Vegas 7-hour full day), with corporate team building starting from 150-225€ HT per person for groups up to 40.

Revenue streams include per-tour ticket sales, corporate team building and MICE events (fleet of 10 sidecars in Paris), and specialized wedding and private event services (concentrated in Las Vegas). The company holds required French passenger transport authorizations, AXA and Mutuelle des Motards insurance, Atout France tourism certification, TripAdvisor Travellers Choice 2021 recognition, and Paris Tourism Board partnership. No venture capital or private equity backing is indicated; ownership appears founder-managed with 1-10 parent-level employees.

Name

Retro Tour

Legal name

SIDE BY SIDE, SARL

Website

https://retro-tour.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Retro Tour operates guided vintage Ural sidecar motorcycle tours across eight destinations in France, Portugal, and the United States, serving leisure tourists, corporate clients, and wedding/event customers through a franchise model with direct online booking.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tourism Services

NAICS

Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Land (48711), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation (487), Tour Operators (561520)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Guided & Packaged Motorcycle / Powersports Rental Tours (THADAHAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Neighborhood & Local Life Tours (Communities & Hidden Gems) (THAJAAAJ), Cultural Heritage & Historic District Tours (THAJAAAB)

Keywords

• Sidecar tours
• Vintage motorcycle tours
• Guided city tours
• Corporate team building
• Scenic excursion services

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Tour Reservations: Per-tour ticket sales for vintage sidecar experiences. Individual tourists pay full amount at booking online. Professional clients pay 40-50% deposit. Each sidecar accommodates up to 2 passengers plus driver. Tour durations range from 40 minutes to full day experiences.
2. Corporate Events & Team Building: Dedicated B2B offerings for corporate clients including team building events, incentive trips, and special celebrations. Fleet of 10 sidecars available for group bookings.
3. Wedding & Special Events: Specialized tour services for weddings and custom events in Las Vegas, including personalized routes to chapels, guest transportation, and coordination with photographers/musicians.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Retro Tour operates guided sightseeing tours on board a fleet of Ural RETRO vintage sidecar motorcycles across more than ten destinations in France and internationally. Tours are led by local expert guides, are available in multiple languages, and can be booked individually (2–3 passengers per sidecar) or privatized for groups. A dedicated corporate offering (Retro Tour Professionnel) and event/wedding service operate alongside the consumer tour products.

Product overview

Retro Tour operates a fleet of Ural retro sidecars providing guided tour experiences across 8 destinations: Paris, Bordeaux, Normandie, Loire Valley, Bourgogne, Las Vegas (USA), Lisbonne (Portugal), and Saint Malo. The offering consists of multiple tour tiers — Retro Classic (1-hour essential tours), Great Escape (1.5-2h expanded experiences), Half Day/Full Day extended tours, and themed tours (D-Day historical, wine/culinary, flower coast, night tours). Corporate and event services are offered as add-on modules, with dedicated wedding and team-building packages. Tours are delivered through third-party booking platforms (Rezdy, Regiondo, FareHarbor, SecureDirectBookings) and include standard safety equipment, helmets, and weather gear. The company operates as a franchise model with local operators in each destination.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Tours can accommodate groups of up to 40 people (20 sidecars) in Paris for corporate events
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Benson CherryminorOthersBrand partner whose logo appears in sponsor section. Nature of partnership appears to be sponsorship or collaborative marketing arrangement.
• RezdilycoreTechnology or IntegrationBooking platform provider for Paris, Saint-Malo, and Normandy tour reservations. Core operational technology partner enabling online bookings and payment processing.
• RegiondocoreTechnology or IntegrationBooking platform for Loire Valley and Bourgogne tour reservations. Integral to customer booking experience for these destinations.
• FareHarborcoreTechnology or IntegrationBooking platform for Las Vegas tour reservations. Primary reservation system for US operations.
• SecureDirectBookingscoreTechnology or IntegrationBooking platform for Normandy tour reservations. Provides secure online booking infrastructure.
• KayakminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTravel aggregator featuring Retro Tour Las Vegas in their Las Vegas destination guide. Featured partner providing marketing exposure to travel bookers.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Viator: Largest global tours and activities marketplace where Retro Tour-style experiences are aggregated. While not a direct operator, it functions as both a discovery channel and a competing alternative tour aggregator.
• Fat Tire Tours: Established multi-city tour operator offering bike, Segway, and walking tours across European and US cities including Paris. While not sidecar-based, it competes for the same tourist sightseeing experience dollars and uses similar franchise-style multi-city presence.
• Tootbus Paris: Major Paris hop-on-hop-off sightseeing bus operator competing for tourist tour budgets. While using buses rather than sidecars, it captures a portion of the same guided city sightseeing demand.

Direct peers

• Le Tuk Tuk: Paris-based tuk-tuk guided tour operator offering themed city tours. Competes with Retro Tour for tourists seeking novel, small-group, open-air guided city experiences.
• Paris Authentic: Vintage sidecar tour company operating in Paris and offering guided cultural experiences, similar to Retro Tour's Gentlemen Siders-led city exploration format.
• Normandy Sightseeing Tours: Operator of guided tours in the Normandy region (D-Day beaches, Bayeux, Honfleur), directly competing with Retro Tour's Normandy franchise for the same historical and coastal sightseeing demand.
• Wheels of Paris: Paris vintage sidecar and scooter tour operator targeting tourists seeking unique guided city experiences, overlapping directly with Retro Tour's product positioning.
• Paris Sidecar Tour: Direct competitor offering vintage sidecar tours of Paris with similar value proposition (open-air guided sightseeing, pickup at hotel). Operates the same vintage aesthetic category in the same primary market.
• Le Sidecar de Paris: Paris-based sidecar tour operator providing guided vintage sidecar city tours for individuals and couples, directly competing with Retro Tour's core Paris offering.

Regional players

• Wine Bike Tours Bordeaux: Bordeaux-based wine region tour operator offering guided vineyard experiences via alternative transport. Overlaps with Retro Tour's Bordeaux wine tour product for similar high-end wine tourism customers in the same region.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/retrotourparis
• Facebookfacebook.com/retro.tour.paris
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/retro-tour

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Retro Tour