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Private Tours in France - Paris

PARIS WALKING TOURS

All your tours below are private and customized to your taste. The licensed guide will pick you up at your hotel and bring you back, or a meeting will be set up to save time. All the tours are for 3 hours.

 


Le Marais district & the Jewish district of Paris: you will discover there a wonderful district, very particular & different to the other parts of Paris. Beautiful bourgeois houses, Place Des Vosges, rue Francois Miron, Maison 'pignon sur rue', rue St Paul, le mur de Philippe-Auguste, Hotel de Sens, Place Des Vosges, Hotel de Sully, Rue Turenne, Liberal Bruant & the Jewish quater of Paris.

 


 

Saint Michel District - The Roman and Student Area: During the Roman period, Paris, built on the left bank of the City, was the biggest city in North Europe. We will visit an old arena, the old roman baths and other ruins remaining from that period. You will also see the Sorbonne University and walk around the narrow winding streets of Mont Saint-Geneviève, named after the Patron Saint of Paris, who lived in the 5th century; then, have a break in the Luxembourg Gardens, where the 'Rive Gauche' intellectuals take their daily stroll. We can check out the nearby shopping area, browse through the book stalls on the river bank and visit two old medieval parish churches their graveyard and the oldest tree in Paris.

You will see Arene de Lutece, Sorbonne, Mont St-Genevieve church, Jardin de Luxembourg, Odeon little streets, Musee de Cluny, Eglise St Severin and St Julien le pauvre.

 


 

The Islands 'La Cité' and 'Saint-Louis' - The Middle Ages and Gothic Art: All through the Middle Ages Paris was concentrated around the island of 'La Cité', closed every night with chains crossing the Seine river. Here the Notre-Dame cathedral was built, one of the early gothic monuments, in contrast to the Royal Chapel, which is tiny in comparison and more sophisticated in style. Then we can go across to the Saint Louis island, which was called 'Cow island' ('Ile des Vaches') before it was built up by bankers in the 17th century. For Parisians Ile Saint-Louis is a place to come for Berthillion's ice-cream with its 30 flavors.

We can rest on the banks of the river or in the Notre Dame gardens. In the same complex as the Saint Chapelle, once the residence of the kings of France, now the Administration and the Court of Justice, you can see the magistrates and lawyers in their robes. We can continue our walk in many directions, maybe along the Seine to the Pont-Neuf , past the towers where Marie-Antoinette was imprisoned. This area is where 'The Hunchback' lived and it was used as the setting for the film "an American in Paris".

You will see Notre-Dame, Ile St Louis, La Sainte Chapelle, the Cour of Justice, La Conciergerie, and Pont Neuf.

 


 

The Tuileries Gardens and the Classic Style of Paris: From the gardens of the Louvre, in its classical French layout, you can see the major buildings and squares: the Concord square, built during the Louis XIV era, theEgyptian obelisk, the Louvre of course, the Musée d'Orsay, originally a railway station in the 19th century. In the gardens there is a labyrinth, copies of sculptures and kids can sail small boats on a pond, where a woman has been renting them out for the last 30 years.

We can also visit the boutiques on the covered rue de Rivoli, where you can find the English bookstore W.H. Smith and have a super-de-luxe chocolate at the famous Café Madeleine. We can walk up to the Opera and the Place Vendome, where the Ritz hotel receives the famous and very rich and where one can find the most beautiful jewelry stores. Louvre Jardin de Tuileries Concorde rue Rivoli place Vendome avenue de l'Opéra.

 


 

The Covered Passages: Paris of the Empire Period: A perfect idea on rainy days and beautiful during Christmas season. A series of 3 covered passages, lined with quaint boutiques, one specialized in second hand art books. They were built at the end of the 19th century. Built before the invention of electricity these covered passages make use of glass roofs which gives it its special atmosphere. Passing the Stock Exchange market we can walk over to the gardens of Palais Royal, where there is a covered walk way along the sides. In the afternoon we can see mothers with their children or young lovers strolling in the French-style gardens. At the other end is the Comédie Française and its café. Then across the street is the Louvre and we can peep in from the streets into the Monumental French 17th sculpture wing and end our tour in front of the entrance of the Louvre. You will see Les passages Bourse, Jardin de Palais, and Royal Louvre.

 


 

Les Halles Paris Old and New: The French central market had to be torn down and moved out of Paris in the sixties. It was then completely restored and is now a modern shopping complex center in the form of a white cascade and a garden and a merry go-round. Nearby is the George Pompidou Center, housing Modern Art. The old and the new are in constant contrast, as the Stravinsky water pond with mobiles created by Nicky de St Phalle and Tinguely on a background of the gothic church of Saint-Merry. We could either walk the chic Faubourg Saint-Honoré with the high fashion designers boutiques and/or walk the market street of rue Montorgeuil, with its cafés and foodstalls.

You will see Faub. St Honoré, Les Halles, Fontaine de Stravinsky Beaubourg, Les Halles, St. Eustache, and rue Montorgeuil.

 


 

Paris and The Seine River: From west to east we can follow the flow of the Seine river and see its history; the Eiffel Tower, the Alexander III bridge with on either side the Invalides and the 'Grand' and 'Petit' Palaces, the Orsay museum and the Tuileries Gardens and then the Louvre, the Medieval Towers of the 'La Cité' island with the bookstalls on the leftbank and the busy Parisian life and then on into the calm again by the Botanical Gardens and the Arab World Institute. Still further on lies the latest architectural works of the Ministry of Finance and Mitterand's National Library. We can alternate walking with a drive on the city's boatbus, tourist boat or several city buses.

 


 

Montmartre: Montmartre, the 'mount of Martyrs', is named thus for the martyr's march of Saint Denis, in the early days of Christianity. At the end of the 19th century, in the crazy days, Picasso, Toulouse-Lautrec, Gauguin hung out in the cabarets, while Montmartre was a little village, with vegetable gardens and windmills (two are still there). You can still have a feel of the 'old Paris' here. On top of the hill the church of the Sacred Heart overlooks the whole of Paris. At the artist's square you can have your portrait done, sit at a café and eat a traditional crepe (pancake).

You will visit Musée d'Art Primitif Sacré-Coeur Basilic, Painters square, the Old Vineyard, 2 little gardens, Moulin rue Lepic, Place du Bateau Lavoir, rue Des Abesses, rue Des Trois Frères ou Yvon-le-Tac.

Please inquire for prices. specify number of people and your first and alternate dates.

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