Paris Guides

[Misnco]

Hello, we are going to be in Paris a few days post cruise. Any suggestions for a great guide/tour group that will show us around Paris?

 

Thanks, Carol

[Ms Understood]

I have toured Paris with guides arranged thru Well Arranged Travel.com and been very pleased each time. In fact I have them booked for this July to do a walking tour with wine tasting and a day trip to Givenchy and surrounding area. I will tell you upfront that they are not cheap but as in all things, you get what you pay for. If the cost is too high for private, Viator has some good options as well. Enjoy!

-----------------

Helen

[cberge]

I am going out on a limb here and say that you really do not need a private guide unless you really want one fro a first trip to Paris. I think the HOHO bus companies do a really good job for an overview of all the sights and since you can do them on your time it is a real bargain to learn the major sites..a lot of the really big one,ie, the Louvre require your own time.With all the reading material available,and a decent guide book you should be all set.You can walk to a lot of sites as well.You can then go back or ask at your hotel if they have a guide to use for the day.Enjoy your visit and stay.My favorite city hands down:D

[wongri]

We use Michael Osman everytime we visit Paris.

He is very knowledgable and friendly.

 

Email: PARISFIND@AOL.COM.

 

You may do a search on CC forum as many have also booked Michael.

[MICHE99]

wongri,

Tried a search for Michael Osman. Didn't turn up. Do you have a website?

[wongri]

http://parisfind.blogspot.ca/

 

See above link to Michael's Parisfind blog.

His knowledge of art is amazing.

He will ask your interests and plan the day accordingly.

 

If he does not answer your email in a couple of days email him again as sometimes he does not receive.

[55J5-5]

We are planning on spending 3-4 days in paris and looking for a tour/guide also. Any other suggestions?

[vacation fool]

Went to Paris for the first time last year and was overwhelmed with all there was to see. We booked with sightseekers delight who specializes in walking tours. They do smaller groups i believe their limit is 12. It was great cause you get lots of history and stories which you will not get on your own unless u walk while reading rick steves ;) We did 2 tours with them, the montmarte one and the city tour. When we go back next year we will do another with them. their website is www.sightseekersdelight.com they get great reviews on trip advisor too. Enjoy Paris no matter what you do :)

[madjack]

Why does anyone need a guide for Paris if you're staying there for a few days? We were in Paris with another couple in 2009 and went everywhere without a guide, and we'll be there for four days in September and again will explore by ourselves. We'll be in Italy for 8 days and France for 8 days. A good guidebook, such as Rick Steves, and you're good to go. I don't think I could get the feel of Paris, or Rome, or any other place if someone was guiding me around. Discovering new places is so much fun!

[jwds]

If you have interest in walking tours check out:

 

http://www.paris-walks.com/

 

We have used them and found them to be a great value. You just show up and pay, no reservation, so you can be "spur of the moment".

[hubofhockey]

I highly recommend sight seekers delight for their four hour Paris Along the Seine walking tour. It is 40 euros per person and worth it. We did two tours with them. The second was a 2.5 hour tour in Montmartre. www.sightseekersdelight.com

[55J5-5]

Thanks. They do look really good. Nice to know others have used them and enjoyed it. Found Fat tire bike tours and they look fun also.

 

any suggestions for Notre Dame or Eiffel tower? I know we can wait in line to get tix and such but I like skipping the line and having someone explain what im looking at vs trying to read a book while looking.

 

Thanks for the suggestions.

[hubofhockey]

Thanks. They do look really good. Nice to know others have used them and enjoyed it. Found Fat tire bike tours and they look fun also.

 

any suggestions for Notre Dame or Eiffel tower? I know we can wait in line to get tix and such but I like skipping the line and having someone explain what im looking at vs trying to read a book while looking.

 

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

Here is my suggestion for Eiffel Tower.

 

http://www.cultival.fr/en/visites/les-coulisses-de-la-tour-eiffel

 

We did this mainly to skip the lines. But the tour is very good. It may only be on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

 

If you do a Sight Seekers Paris Along the Seine walking tour, they begin at the Notre Dame. So, you might want to do a self tour right before that one begins.

[55J5-5]

hubofhocky - that is a neat idea. LOVE going behind the scenes. Looks like they offer a few more days than wed and sat.

 

Ill check for a Notre Dame tour before sight seekers, thanks for the heads up.

[hubofhockey]

I have some great other suggestions for you. We were in Paris for 3.5 days and set up an amazing itinerary. I was going to post a new thread on Saturday. I will leave a link here.

 

We loved the city so much that we are actually choosing to start our 2014 Baltics cruise in Amsterdam because it lends itself well to doing pre-cruise days in Paris.

[55J5-5]

I have some great other suggestions for you. We were in Paris for 3.5 days and set up an amazing itinerary. I was going to post a new thread on Saturday. I will leave a link here.

 

We loved the city so much that we are actually choosing to start our 2014 Baltics cruise in Amsterdam because it lends itself well to doing pre-cruise days in Paris.

 

That would be wonderful!!! :D just noticed your about 2.5hr from me. small world. LOL

[Tara Jane]

We are also having a couple of days post cruise in Paris so keen to read your info.

thanks in advance.

[hubofhockey]

We are also having a couple of days post cruise in Paris so keen to read your info.

thanks in advance.

 

I will post a link on this thread to my new thread by Saturday.

 

I will say that we had 3.5 days and we really didn't stop to relax too often and we are going back to Paris two days before our 2014 Baltics cruise that begins in Amsterdam.

 

But until that review goes up, here are the highlights.

 

Hotel:

 

Hotel Gramont Opera - I absolutely recommend this boutique hotel where they deal with many English speaking tourist and they will help you plan your day with Metro routes.

 

Dining:

 

L'Ange 20 gets incredible Trip Advisor reviews for good reason. The young chef is amazing and the service is great and the prices for food and drink are even great by US standards, let alone Parisien standards. The place is small and make reservations in advance.

 

Bateaux Mouches: This is a Seine River dinner cruise. The food is very good and the fixed price also includes a bottle of champagne and a bottle of wine. But seeing the city from the Seine is just amazing in an of itself. There is nothing like it. It's not cheap at 95 or 99 euros per person. But this is a special night out. They go the full nine yards on this one with live music as well. It's special.

 

Paul Chene: This is upper echelon dining near the Trocadero. Food is great and not cheap. I think the cost was over $200 total for the both of us, including a drink, appetizer, entree (I had a great chateaubriand), and we split some great profiteleros. I would choose the other two first, but loved all three.

 

 

Day 1

Sightseekers 4-5 hour walking tour - Paris Along the Seine

Cultival's Behind the Scenes Tour of Eiffel Tower and also up the tower.

Dinner at L'Ange 20

 

Day 2

Orsay Museum

The Louvre (did Rick Steves tour of Denon Wing for masterpeices (Mona Lisa, Victorie, Venus de Milo, and others in that wing.

Self guided tour of the Opera Garnier.

Bateaux Mouches Dinner cruise along the Seine

 

Day 3

Metro to Versailles for 1/2 day

Relaxing lunch near our hotel

Sight Seekers Delight Montmartre Tour

Dinner at Paul Chene

 

Day 4

L'Orangerie Museum (Monet murals and great impressionist collection)

Walk down Champs Elysees to Arc de Triomphe (did not go in - no time)

Back to hotel by 11:30 am and get ready for noon taxi to Gare du Nord for Eurostar to London, where we stayed an evening and saw a show before our transfer the next morning to Southampton.

 

We packed our itinerary and it was go, go, go. There is a great thread on these boards called 2 days in Paris. The big question is whether to devote a half of a day to Versailles. I loved that place. But if you're going for two days, you can't do everything.

 

For people doing two days, I would recommend the following:

 

Day 1 - See the Notre Dame and this is where Sight Seekers Delight Paris Along the Seine walking tour begins. That will go from 10 to 3. The Eiffel Tower Cultival Tour, if they have it that day, begins at 5 pm. Make an 8 pm reservation at L'Ange 20.

 

Day 2 - If I only had two days, I would choose between two types of days, depending on what you like. You could take the 8:07 train to Versailles, spend a half day there, get back by 1 pm, tour the Orsay from 2-4 or 3-5 after you get lunch and then do Seine Dinner cruise at 7:30. Alternatively, you could go to the Orsay in the morning (10 to 12), get lunch, spend 90 minutes seeing the masterpieces at the Louvre Denon Wing, do a late afternoon Montmartre walking tour with Sight Seekers Delight, followed by dinner in Montmartre or even the show at the Moulin Rouge or just a jazz club.

 

We really crammed five or six days of touring into 3.5. I wish we spent more time in Paris, gone to some jazz clubs, and gone at a slower pace. I will post logistics on a new thread on Saturday.

[55J5-5]

Thanks. Thats some great info.

[hubofhockey]

Thanks. Thats some great info.

 

Here is the complete review.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=34807479#post34807479