Tour Paris Promenade

Paris Promenade is a race course in Mario Kart Tour. It is named after and inspired by Paris, France, and makes it debut in the city's namesake tour, the 2019 Paris Tour. The course currently has three routes, tied with London Loop and Los Angeles Laps: Paris Promenade, Paris Promenade 2, and Paris Promenade 3. From versions 1.2.0 to 1.4.0, the first route was named Paris Promenade 1.

The first route is a favorite of Cat Peach, Peach (Vacation), Mario (Santa), Luigi (Classic), Cat Luigi, Waluigi (Bus Driver), and the Cat Mii Racing Suit, the second is a favorite of Black Yoshi, Bowser Jr. (Pirate), Baby Peach (Cherub), Baby Rosalina (Detective), Mario (Chef), Mario (Aviator), Rosalina (Chef), the Birdo and Cat Mii Racing Suits, and also Cat Toad if he is at level 3. The third is a favorite of Yellow Toad (Pit Crew), Cat Toad, White Yoshi, Rosalina (Halloween), Peach (Halloween), Luigi (Painter), Cat Rosalina, Dr. Luigi, and the Peach and Birdo Mii Racing Suits.

In the Booster Course Pass DLC for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Paris Promenade returns as the first course of the Golden Dash Cup. This version of the course incorporates paths from all three iterations of the course.

Paris Promenade
The course begins at a road facing the Arc de Triomphe. One bypass road for the Arc appears on the left side, though the player can also use a shortcut inside the Arc by breaking through two Piranha Plant wooden cutouts. After a gradual left, the player encounters a Glide Ramp that sends them over the and underneath the Eiffel Tower, where some Goombas reside. Afterwards, the player must make a sharp left, followed by another left next to a Big Piranha Plant and a bypass of the leading to the finish line.

The course also appears as Paris Promenade R (reversed), Paris Promenade T (with ramps), and Paris Promenade R/T (reversed and with ramps).

Paris Promenade 2
This layout is driven in the opposite direction compared to the first layout, and it visits a different side of the city. In the standard layout, the racers start the course in a street facing the instead of the Arc de Triomphe like in Paris Promenade 1. On, a street on the right leads to the Eiffel Tower. Players can see on the right the and a  on the. The street then turns left, and goes underneath the Eiffel Tower, where some Goombas reside. Players then have a view on Cathedral of Notre Dame in the background. Afterwards, racers must make a sharp left leading to a roundabout with a Big Piranha Plant in the center. After passing through a part of the Louvre, players have a view on in the background, as well as  and  along the large left turn. Then, another left turn in front of the leads to the Arc de Triomphe, which racers get around to find the finish line.

The course also appears as Paris Promenade 2R (reverse), Paris Promenade 2T (with ramps), and Paris Promenade 2R/T (reverse and with ramps).

Paris Promenade 3
The course starts at the Arc de Triomphe, just like the first route. Racers make a right curve around the Arc before continuing, as in Paris Promenade. The path continues for much the same until the Eiffel Tower, where players make a left turn rather than drive through the tower, making this the only Paris course to have this distinction. Racers then drive towards the Luxor Obelisk before making a right turn to a Big Piranha Plant, where racers then drive to the left as they would in Paris Promenade 2. However, the racers are cut off from driving back to Arc de Triomphe as the path takes them back to the Luxor Obelisk before a final right turn to the Finish Line.

The course also appears as Paris Promenade 3R (reverse), Paris Promenade 3T (with ramps), and Paris Promenade 3R/T (reverse and with ramps).

Appearances
For this course's tour appearances, see List of Paris Promenade tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Paris Promenade makes its console debut in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe via the Booster Course Pass. It is the first course of the Golden Dash Cup, and as such was added in the first wave of the DLC. It is an expanded and combined version of all three routes for this course from Mario Kart Tour. Paris Promenade is one of three courses to originate in Mario Kart Tour to appear in the first wave of the DLC, alongside and Ninja Hideaway.

As with all other courses from Wave 1, this course's icon and lighting were adjusted slightly in the 2.1.0 update.

Course layout
The first two laps of Paris Promenade combine elements and pathways of Paris Promenade 1 and 3, the course begins at a road facing the Arc de Triomphe, where the player is able to go around it from either the left like in Paris Promenade, the right like in Paris Promenade 3, or go through the Arc as a shortcut by breaking through two Piranha Plant wooden cutouts, like in both versions. After a gradual left, the player encounters a Glide Ramp that sends them over the and towards the Eiffel Tower, like in Paris Promenade. Because of the Glide Ramp, the Jardins du Trocadéro cannot be driven on normally like in Paris Promenade 3, unless the player is hit with an item while gliding, such as a Red Shell or Lightning, which will throw them onto it and allow them to drive through to the tower. Afterwards, the player is given two routes they can choose from: underneath the Eiffel Tower like in Paris Promenade, which is followed by a sharp left afterwards, or a sharp left just before the tower, like in Paris Promenade 3, which is followed by a sharp right turn at the to a short path covered in pipes. Both paths lead to a roundabout with a Big Piranha Plant in the center, after which the track continues north, with the remainder of the lap following the path of Paris Promenade 3, passing through a part of the Louvre, giving players a view of in the background, as well as  and  along the large left turn. Afterwards, the player will make another left turn, followed by a right turn at the Luxor Obelisk, leading back to the starting line.

In the third lap, the players are forced to turn right by an arrow field that blocks off the Arc de Triomphe to a path only taken in Paris Promenade 2, passing the in the process and then traversing the course backwards, similarly to the R variants of the Paris Promenade courses. Because of this, it is possible to pass by racers still on a previous lap driving in the opposite direction, similarly to. The race ends on the opposite side of the start/finish line that the race started on. All of the aforementioned alternate pathways remain the same. However, if the player is thrown into the Jardins du Trocadéro by an item during this lap, Lakitu will pick up the player and forcibly move them back to the track.

The minimap has been rotated 90 degrees compared to the equivalent minimaps in Tour. While the Big Piranha Plant at the roundabout remains, the pipes and Goombas under the Eiffel Tower have been replaced by a Dash Panel. This is currently the only Tour city track to appear in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe where the same layout is used on more than one lap (namely the first and second laps). All of the other city tracks have a different layout on each of the three laps.

Mario Kart Tour

 * Mario Kart Tour Twitter: We're excited to introduce a new course in blue, Paris Promenade! Take in the sights as you race through the French capital. But don't get too close to the edge of the road—some of the greenery is out to get you!
 * Mario Kart Tour Twitter: See a different side of the city in this Paris Promenade course in blue. Paris may be alive with fragrant flowers, but not all of them are just for show—beware the Piranha Plant's bite!
 * Mario Kart Tour Twitter: The Wedding Tour is almost over. Thanks for racing! Next up in blue: Paris Promenade 3 takes center stage in the Paris Tour!

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

 * Nintendo Magazine 2022 Summer: "This course, with its beautiful cobblestone and familiar architecture, is based on the elegant Paris. Towards the beginning of the race, there is an area lined with fashionable boutiques and galleries and some fancy cafes."

Trivia

 * Paris Promenade is one of two courses in the series to have its music be in 3/4 time, the other being.
 * It is one of three courses in the series as a whole to not have music in 4/4 time, alongside Peach Gardens and Wild Woods, the latter of which is in 5/4 time.
 * In a trailer posted to promote the release of Wave 1 of the Booster Course Pass, the glide ramp before the Eiffel Tower is replaced by a generic ramp (similar to Paris Promenade 3), but still functions like a glide ramp.
 * A painting of this course can be seen on the Flying Easel glider.