Help -Our Paris tour guide Cancelled on us!
 

I had booked Michael Osman in January to guide our party of 6 around Paris for two days on June 21 and June 23. He just today emailed me and cancelled. I have a feeling that I will not be able to get another private guide unless he/she has a cancellation. Any ideas on how I can piece together tours to hit the major sites in Paris. For instance, are there guides at Louvre that can do a "highlights" tour? Is there a good bus tour that you can take around the city and get off at sites?

Any help will be appreciated - this has really left us in a lurch with less than 2 weeks until we leave.

Liz

email me at jsemmer @ comcast . net

take out the spaces. I can make a recommendation, but I don't know if she's available...

Why do you need a tour guide? Just do some research (get a good book like Eyewitness), go, and enjoy everything! You don't need a tour guide to do the best stuff - eat, hang at cafes, wander the streets. The Louvre has a brochure for "highlights" or you can do a little advance work on that too. I mean, the Louvre is HUGE and you could spend all 3 days in there.

I'm sick in bed and can't check the book, but I think that Sandra Gustafson's Great Eats Paris or Great Sleeps Paris have a rec for a guide.

Good luck.

Liz, there is a hop on / hop off tour take a look at http://tinyurl.com/h6hjj

The Louvre does have a highlights tour, and you can use the Audio Guide (many museums have them and they are a great tool for understanding what you are looking at)

Maybe you can do these things on your own and use Surfmom's guide to plan a special day out?

Not cheap, but very good if you happen to be able to book her:

http://www.parispersonalized.com/index.html

Try www.contextparis.com. I have used their guides extensively in Rome and they are the best!

I think you'll be fine with the hop on hop off bus tour that Grantop suggested. You may also enjoy the hop on hop off boat tour of the Seine -the Batobus.(http://www.batobus.com/english/mentions.htm)
I'm curious though, what reason did Michael Osman give you for cancelling at the last minute? Did he suggest an alternative?

Hi, he said that his family suddenly decided to come and visit him in Paris after 9 years of not visiting him. I do not doubt this but I also do not like our group of 6 (ages 9 to 68) being left in the lurch. If it was just myself and my husband, I wouldn't care that much but I have volunteered to provide 2 seemless days of touring to our group and was depending on Michael to help me...

Sorry, I know we'll figure it out. I just want everyone to have a good time.

There was a sort of similar thread not too long ago, and in the end the poster booked with "Andre". Maybe this will help you out.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2

That link wasn't helpful!

Here is a cut and paste:

Author: dcd
Date: 05/14/2006, 11:57 am
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

Try contacting: [email protected]

She writes for www.bonjourparis.com and it's reported that her tours are super.

Hi Lizkn:

Well, my post to you will be of absolutely no help, but I just wanted to commiserate with you.

I was the first person on Michael's April 06 calendar. I had originally contacted him in Sept of 05 to arrange a days tour, and we firmed up the date in December when he set up his April Calendar.

Just 10 days before our tour day he cancelled on me. Said he had "forced travel" out of town. I don't think I would have known about the cancellation even 10 days ahead except I wrote TO HIM to reconfirm my date. Actually, he never responded to my first two emails to reconfirm and only cancelled on my third attempt to reach him. I found it very difficult to communicate with him. He either would not respond to emails or he would take his sweet time to do so.

He advised his partner Scott was also unavailable, but he recommended Linda Mathieu Paris tours.

HappyCheesehead - Hum. I hate to say it but the same thing happened here. I sent two emails with my requested itineraries and only got this cancellation response on the second try. I am sure that he probably has alot of people cancel on him too but I think that he can probably pick up another client where I am not sure if I can pick up another guide.

Thank you all for advice so far - I will check with guides and if all else fails will put together a tour using bus and maps.

Liz,

I have not followed all of your posts, but Paris is the easiest city to visit. I never even thought of getting a guide for Paris. They have the best subway system I have ever encountered. I can't speak a word of French and we never got lost once. It is such a great place that my first instinct is that a guide would mess up the experience. Is there a particular reason why you want a guide? A good guide book (I think we used eye witness) is all you need. What sort of things are you looking to do? We do often get guides and they are wonderful for many places. But not so sure for Paris...

There is virtually no legitimate excuse for a guide to cancel short of debilitating illness. Many people plan their trips months in advance and have a lot of money riding on them (much of which they will lose if they attempt any last-minute changes in their plans), and dropping them at the last minute is extraordinarily unprofessional. The family visit can wait, and "forced travel" is unlikely to really be necessary more than once in a lifetime, if at all.

I am sorry that Michael has let you down like this. This site features individual guides and their itineraries and dates and might assist

http://www.parisbalades.com/Visites/default.htm

I am going to try some of these walking tours in October and the beauty of them is that you just show up at the metro stop or other place at the appointed time and dont need to book. There are discounts for children and students

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pariswalking/

Otherwise I do agree that although you have not been given much time to plan for those two days, you can formulate a great tour by yourselves using bus and metro and guidebooks - Rick Steves has some good suggestions for walks in interesting areas. I really hope this cancellation does not affect your fantastic family trip.

Foder's Giveth and Foder's Taketh away. Take note,business owners.If you take great care of us,you will be handsomely rewarded,but if you take us for granted...!

I also made my own tour - I would recommend going to the bookstore, like Barnes and Noble and picking up the fodors book, etc. - they have great tours. Very easy to do.

People who book with Michael Osman have to understand that he is sort of doing this casually, and doesn't have the same standards as many businesses would. It's kind of a "hobby" or sideline as a way to make money. I guess he's a student or something. That's why he only answers email when he wants, doesn't respond in a timely manner all the time, and then may cancel due to personal reasons. So, if you book with someone like that, I think those things come with the territory. I can understand the reason he wants to cancel, but that is not professional -- if you are running a legitimate business that depends on making appointsments months in advance for people only there a limited time, you have to inform your friends and families, that you need to plan in advance, that you can't just take off at the drop of a hat because they decide to visit you after nine years of whatever, without planning. I can understand that may happen and he could cancel and recommend someone in advance, but don't think he should be doing it with only a few weeks notice. But, you never know what family drama is behind that.

However, I don't see the need for a personal guide to major tourist sites in major cities, those are the ones you don't need a guide for. They are discussed in every guidebook, and major museums do have audioguides nowadays, which I think are enjoyable. As for the Louvre, they do have English language highlights tours, if you need that, and you can sign up for them at the welcome or reception desk. You'd better get there early, of course.

There are bus overviews of Paris, also, more detailed than the hopon, hopoff bus thing (which I wouldn't take for any real "guiding", just perhaps a convenient way to get around to the major tourist sites). I actually like those bus overview tours of cities, and they don't really take that long, a few hours out of a day. I think they are better for an overview of the city from a scenic viewpoint and seeing the buildings, rather than seeing any specific site, of course.

These are a couple that have those,
www.parisvision.com
www.cityrama.com

Liz,
As one of the group "of 9 to 68" you mention, I vote for the "hop on, hop off" method. I believe I sent you an itinerary for this a few weeks ago.

I can't recommend any private guides, but a week ago while there I took a walking tour of Montmartre with Paris Walks, and it was excellent. A bargain at 10 Euro per person for a 2 hour tour. You don't have to reserve in advance for most of their tours; you just show up at the appointed place (see their website). For the Montmartre tour, for example, this was just outside the Abbesses metro station. About 25 people showed up, so it wasn't an unreasonably large group. Paris Walks gives tours all over the city, and based on the one I took, I'd guess the others are terrific too.

I'm sorry that Michael canceled on you. I know it's put you in the lurch but I do want to say that when I did 2 tours with him this past February he mentioned that his family was pressing him to visit them here in the US. I asked if they might come to visit him and he stated they'd never do that. I guess he didn't think they would!

I'm not trying to excuse his behavior, just thought I'd shed a small bit of light on the situation. Again, I'm sorry he canceled on you.

Liz,
I highly recommend Lexie at

http://www.yourfrancetours.com

I emailed her in Paris today and she has your dates available.

Carla

I don't really think you need a guide, either, but if you email me at [email protected] I can give you the contact information for two excellent, seasoned guides.

We used Michael last month and he arrived right on time, just as agreed to. We had a great time.

It is important to remember, though, that the arrangement to use him is casual at best. We had not obligation to be at our meeting point any more than he had an obligation to be there. It was a genteleman's agreement, sort of, if you know what I mean. Unlike tour companies that have your credit card number and process it in advance, the situation with Michael is much more casual. I did ask him how many times he had been stood up, and he said only once in all his hundreds of tours.

I do agree with many other posters that Paris was a very easy city to tour and to get around. I would not be worried that you are on your own. It will all work out and you will be delighted with the city!

Thank you all for the great references. I really appreciate the trouble that some of you incurred to provide information.

Cheers, Liz

Hope you will be well soon, Tuscanlifeedit.
Liz, if I can do it alone, you can.:)

Cigalechanta, thank you for the kind wishes. They are appreciated.

In a city like Paris you have lots of options.

If you decide to do it all yourself, you have 100% control of your time, and you can spend it any way you wish. You also keep trip costs lower overall. However, you also limit "bang for the buck," in that you're almost certain to miss a lot on your own, and you'll spend a lot of time just figuring out logistics.

If you hire a guide, you gain a great deal of time and you're more certain to see what you want to see. However, this also imposes a bit more structure (or constraint) on your stay, even if you still have a lot of control over what you do. It's also expensive.

If you go on organized tours, everything is taken care of for you, and you don't have to make too many decisions about what to see. However, your time is tightly controlled. It's less expensive than a private guide, but it doesn't last as long—often only a few hours at most, making it impractical to fill any but the shortest visits with organize tours.

People who have limited time, or who are uncomfortable in a foreign city on their own, or who simply want to maximize the efficient use of their time, may profit from a guide or tour. Guides are midway between nothing and a heavily structured tour.

If you have plenty of time, a tour or guide for a day or two can be useful, and you can spend the rest of your time seeing the city on your own.

Also, if you are in a group of more than three people or so, guides and tours can impose discipline on your visit. Groups tend to spend a huge amount of time fumbling around and trying to decide what to do if there's nobody to corral them and point them in a specific direction. Large groups require assigned tour leaders within the group as well, or chaos ensues.

My first trip to Paris was on my own and without any guide or tours. I loved it, and spent the time just walking around the city (the layout of which I knew a bit from maps and books). However, in retrospect, I missed a great deal during that first stay. For example, I didn't see the Louvre simply because I couldn't find the entrance! Still, it was enjoyable at the time, and I was so clueless at the time that I would not have known how to hire a guide or tour, anyway; it never even occurred to me. I got lightheaded on the second day in the city until I realized that I had forgotten to eat (yes, really), and then I had to figure out where (and how) to eat. Quite a voyage of discovery, but a lot of time wasted trying to figure things out.

Like Beatchick, my experience with Michael Osman was terrific and, as one poster said, although he does not demand prepayment or credit card details to secure an appointment, he arrived as arranged and we had a great time. He also mentioned to me that he found it too expensive to go home very often and they rarely visited and he missed seeing his family so I suspect the emotional tug was too strong. I am sure he felt very badly about it as I know he is very concerned about how he is perceived and strikes up genuine friendships with the people he takes around Paris. He struggles to find time for his art - he is an artist living in Paris, not a student - and I think that is one reason he doesn't check his emails religiously, he is painting and too absorbed to look it up. That said I can really empathise with lizkn and her disappointment and I hope you do have a great time using l'Opentour and Paris Walks, or find another guide to replace Michael.

I would agree with considering context.paris

TOTALLY reliable and with a group of Paris experts second to none IMO.

Maybe airline employees should take up painting. That way passengers will sympathize them when they cancel flights and ruin vacations.

Well, at least Michael Osman's not bitchy like airline employees.

Or like Anthony.
Linda Mathieu or her business partner would be very good. I think their website is parisphototours.com .
Michael is a really nice guy and I am sure he regrets this as much as anyone.

First, lizkn, I am so sorry that your tour was cancelled. It is VERY disappointing, I am sure.

Our family has the day before you, and after reading this post I emailed Michael last night to confirm ours. I also sent a copy of this link. I received his reply this morning - his family is indeed coming to see him at the last minute. I won't answer for him, but I wil say he said that he was distressed when he had to make a difficult choice between his family and his business.

Perhaps he will reply himself.

Anthony, I was not suggesting that his painting was the reason Michael cancelled the tours, just the reason he can be a bit slow to answer emails. While I sympathise very much with lizkn, there is no need to be unfair like that.

To clarify, I meant Anthony was being unfair, not Lizkn. As I said, I do understand Liz's predicament and hope she finds a decent alternative itinerary for those 2 days.

btw, we used someone from parisphototours. (Barbara James) she was awesome! I would definitely recommend her if she has availability.

I don't get where the claim that MO does this as "a hobby" lets him off the hook for dumping you. Doesn't he get paid for these tours? If so, then he IS guiding people as a business (perhaps a small business, but a business nevertheless) and you deserve more than an "oops...I've got other things to do" brush-off.

At the very least, HE should be suggesting tour guide alternatives, not leaving you to fill the gap. HE should be checking around to see who's available and if their services meet your needs.

Not doing something full time is no excuse for treating customers shoddily. There are some magazines I write for only occasionally, but that doesn't mean I have the right to blow off the assignment just before deadline if a better assignment or something personal comes along--unless it's a genuine emergency and even then I would try to do more than just say sorry and move on.