While I've not done a Segway tour, they've become popular in our town as well. The advantages of a Segway tour over walking and the Metro are that A) you don't have to walk all those miles that you cover on the Segway and B) you see a lot more than if you were in the Metro covering those distances.

It is true that the "beauty" of the Segway tour is not necessarily in seeing the city. It's really in trying something new, having fun, and being in Paris!

If someone was really looking for an information-packed TOUR I wouldn't suggest it. (But then I wouldn't recommend seeing Paris that way.) But if you are traveling with a teenager they always like trying new things, and sometimes just sightseeing can get a little old for them.

The Segways are not really hard, but you do need to be in fairly good shape to do them. You can get tired! We had a blast on them, but they do take learning and you have to be careful. All kinds of people do them though, so clearly it's not that hard.

I forgot to mention that if you are in Paris for a week you'll have lots of time for all kinds of activites - and definitely do the boat rides. In fact, since I noticed you're there a week I would recommend the Segways even more.

fun_4_us -- Now at home, I can tell you that the other guide I recommend is Andre whose primary job is doing tours for the large tour companies like ParisVision. Sounds like he's a subcontractor in that regard. We had him all day for a trip in a minibus to Loire Valley and were totally impressed. Very professional, very personable and not afraid to let his hair down (if requested) and tell you what he thinks about the issues of the day. Very thoughtful and intelligent man. Probably in his early or mid 30s. Started out with an economics degree and ended up sitting in front of a computer screen all day. Wasn't his thing. So in 1999, he decided to pursue his passions, people and Paris, and began touring. At the end of our tour, I asked him whether he gave private tours of Paris and he said definitely. He charges 130 E per day which covers everything, including metro tickets and museum tickets. He gave me his email address which is: [email protected] Good luck! Dave

Thanks surfmom and dcd I have tried to e-mail surfmom but the mail was returned . Don't know what was the problem said it was undeliverable. I have also e-mailed Andre and gotten a reply so hope it works out . I was pleased to find another guide. I will let you know when I have the plans confirmed .

Hello again I am happy to report that I have confirmed a day with Andre so hope it will be enjoyable. Now I am going to ask another question as I have been so grateful for the suggestions andb help so far. We are planning to go to Versailles for one day . My travel agent suggested we book a 4 hour guided tour with Paris Vision which includeds Castle and the gardens . Is this a good plan or would be be better going on our own? Thanks again for all your helpl. I find this forum very helpful .

Just a lot of money, and of course, your TA gets some too. Look at a book and plan it yourself. Or just spend, spend, spend.

I think you'll really like Andre. Tell him Dave and Joyce from St. Louis say "hi".

As for Versailles, I don't believe the half day Paris Vision tour includes a tour of the State Apartments or anything else inside the palace. I also don't believe it includes a tour of the gardens. It looks like it's simply transportaion to and from and some commentary along the way. If you compare their half day and full day tours on their website, you'll see what I mean.

As you may know, the gardens' fountains are only operating certain times during the weekends. When they are on display, it's 6E per person to get into the gardens; otherwise the gardens are free.

A guided tour might help hold your grandson's interest. You may have to do some additional research to see how to get such a tour if you are only planning to spend a half day there. I'm not sure he'd be "into" a self guided tour of the state apartments with an audio headset. He might find that boring. On the other hand, if you have a good book, you can go at whatever pace suits the 2 of you. The Versailles website has a lot of info. You might look there for helpful hints. Also you might search here for other posts on kids and Versailles.

If you go by yourself, you may need some help figuring out the RER ticket machines. I about lost my religion trying to do so and had to rely on the kindness of strangers to get tickets.

I am almosr ready to leave on the trip and I sent a final e-mail to Andre. On my last e-mail I had said I could confirm that he would be our guide on the 28th and asked for his contact numbers . I thought all was arranged and then yesterday I got a reply he didnt remember me? so I sent the details and the previous mails backto him. Now today he replies that he does remember me but thought I was going to call him ?and that he may be able to meet us in the the afternoon . I am a bit upset at this late stage .

He doesn't sound very organized.

No he does not sound very organized thats what concerns me .I got he name from a posting here and the people seemed quite impressed with him so I will write more when I return.

bookmarking

You could always try to find someone else, but with the 28th only four days away, I doubt that anyone would have that day open.

fun 4 us 2 - How did Andre work out?

Antoinette Azzuro
[email protected]
www.parispersonalized.com
This woman is fantastic! Vivacious, cute as a button, and extremely knowledgeable. You won't be disappointed.

Yeah, but she charges more for an hour then MO charges for a full day!

Vivacious and cute don't come cheap.

Hello Again I am sorry to take so long in writing . My grandson and I had great trip. The only thing that was not very enjoyable was our first day . We were tired of course as we didnt sleep a lot on our. flight and the trip started with an hour delay in Halifax and a second delay in Montreal.When we arrived in Paris (CDG) we got misdirected and took a wrong turn for our baggage finially got the baggage and spent time finding the RER train . Then on the train which was quite easy to follow the stops once we got on I had written the number down before I left home so I knew which train I needed just had to find it!A couple of young men got on and tried to get us to look at a paper they were really sort of pushing we said no no and then my grandson sort of pushed them away and they did leave . They must have been very amateur at it but they were trying to get the zipper open on my grandsons pack a lady on the train said thsy were pick pockets . Anyway they left without further ado and we eventually got to our stop. We go off and found ourselves in an underground station we made it to the street and after asking three different peoplefor directions ( my grandson got to use his french ) got to the hotel. This was our only negative part of the trip. I was very pleased with the hotel . Citadine Les Halles good location friendly staff and they have free internet use so my grandson could e-mail home every day . Of course it was not the Ritz but quite adequate.I think one of the highlight s of the trip was the evening cruise on the river and seeing the lights of the city especially the Eiffel Tower with the lights ,also on this tour we had a land tour of the city at night . Tehy pick you up at the hotel and drop you off very convenient.The guide Andre was very good and I would recommend him

fun4us2, thanks for checking in. Glad you had a memorable trip. Rough first day though, but still memorable!! I'm glad Andre worked out for you. You might provide some more details about your time with him, cost, etc. I'm a huge Michael Osman fan but, as you discovered, he's not always available so it's nice for others on this board to know there are good alternatives. Dave

Hi Dave Yes we were quite pleased with Andre (65$cndn)for a morning .He met us at the hotel lobby and asked what we were interested in seeing . He explained that what he recommened was a walking tour that would cover areas that we would most likely not see if we were going to focus on the main attractions . So we walked around the city and he showed us the Latin quarter ,St Gremain De Pres etc we did go inside Notre Dame Cathedral and we walked around(outside) which he said a lot of people don't see this view. We were able to get a feel for the location of the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre and other famous landmarks. We walked for almost four hours and Andre kept up a running commentary . he was willing to continue but I was getting a bit tired as we were still having a bit of jet lag.I did enjoy our tour to Versaille but we really did not get a complete tour its so large .It was a guided tour we saw the apartments and the gardens but from reading I know there was a lot we did not see I think a whole day would be better . Our tour was four hours.