Paris tour groups
Apr 22nd, 2004, 04:34 AM
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Paris tour groups
Having just returned from an 11 day trip to paris yesterday, I thought it might be helpful to share some positive and negative experiences I had with three of the major "day trip" companies in Paris. While I know most of the participants in this forum are free-spirit-spit-on-bus-tour types, I do enjoy a day or two where someone else does the thinking, and so I hope this helps others looking into Touringscope, Paris Vision or Cityrama.
I. Touringscope
I has booked two tours with them prior to leaving -- Chartres and Mont St. Michel. On the day of the Chartres tour we arrived at their offices and after a long conversation between the women in French that we didn't catch, she notified us that the minibus was broken and thus our tour was cancelled. We were disappointed, doubted the broken down minibus story, and disturbed that they didn't try to contact us at our hotel, since they had that information. But what can you do? We asked that they be SURE to keep us infomed of the Mont St. Michel trip, since that was two leave so early on Friday. She assured us that the trip was still on.
Thrusday night while we were out to dinner we received a fax at our hotel at 21:21 (9:21 pm) that the tour was cancelled due to their not being enough people registered (at least this time they were honest). But now it was too late for us to do anything about scheduling with another company! Along comes the hotel concierge at the Madison to the rescue. He saw how disappointed we were, and by breakfast the next morning there was a message on the board for us -- he had scheduled us with another company for the next day. Paris Vision, which was to pick us up and drop us off at the hotel.
II. Paris Vision
A lovely woman indeed picked us up and took us to their offices for our Mont St. Michel tour. Things went downhill from there. The tour was advertised as a minibus tour, it was in fact a large bus. But since there were only a few of us (13), I didn't make a fuss b/c my main goal was not to be in a large group like cattle. On of the tour guides openly expressed a disdain for persons speaking a particular language. I thought it was inappropriate for him to be so openly prejudiced. There were tow tour guides to speak three languages. Neither of them was particularly friendly, but it was early so we rolled on and the trip was fine, we made it to the Mont on a day with striking and ever-changing skies. Our meeting time was 4pm at the bus. By 4:15, two women were still missing, and they just took off, leaving them there. Everyone else on the bus was shocked, b/c these women spoke not a drop of either French or English, and the Mont isn't exactly in a metro area close to Paris. Some of us really felt that the one tour guide had it in for them from the time they arrived, and he seemed to have to remorse. They didn't even get off the bus to check if they were on their way in the parking lot. I'm all ofr punctuality, but this seemed a bit heartless and harsh. A thirty minute wait, or an attempt to jst peek out the door to see if they were coming...they guides didn't realize that my mother understood some French, and she heard the one guide telling the other that they should tell the office that the other attendees were impatient to go -- a lie. So we'll be writing letters to the management, but meanwhile, if you use Paris Vision, DON'T BE LATE. Oh, yeah, there was no one there when we returned to drive us back to the hotel, but by now we felt like we had escaped something, so we just RAN home.
And finally (sorry so long)
III. Cityrama. I had booked them before we left for a trip to Bruges. By far this group was the best experience of all. From check-in (no problem, really nice), to the guide (kept a smile on for everyone through a cold and rainy day, even though I think he had a cold), to the bus being more comfortable, to the fact when someone was late at a stop, he put his coat on and went to collect them.
These thinks are often luck of the draw -- what particular persons you deal with -- but from my experiences and my perspective, Cityrama would be the only recommendation I could make.
I recognize there is plenty to do within Paris, I am already making a list of things we didn't get around to, so please don't tell me these trips are unnecessary. I KNOW you could live a lifetime in Paris and not see it all, I just chose to try and show my mother all I could on this, her first and maybe last trip to the continent. Sometimes it's nice for a change of pace to be in a completely different environment, so this is hopefully to help those of you with the same idea...
Bon Voyage!
I. Touringscope
I has booked two tours with them prior to leaving -- Chartres and Mont St. Michel. On the day of the Chartres tour we arrived at their offices and after a long conversation between the women in French that we didn't catch, she notified us that the minibus was broken and thus our tour was cancelled. We were disappointed, doubted the broken down minibus story, and disturbed that they didn't try to contact us at our hotel, since they had that information. But what can you do? We asked that they be SURE to keep us infomed of the Mont St. Michel trip, since that was two leave so early on Friday. She assured us that the trip was still on.
Thrusday night while we were out to dinner we received a fax at our hotel at 21:21 (9:21 pm) that the tour was cancelled due to their not being enough people registered (at least this time they were honest). But now it was too late for us to do anything about scheduling with another company! Along comes the hotel concierge at the Madison to the rescue. He saw how disappointed we were, and by breakfast the next morning there was a message on the board for us -- he had scheduled us with another company for the next day. Paris Vision, which was to pick us up and drop us off at the hotel.
II. Paris Vision
A lovely woman indeed picked us up and took us to their offices for our Mont St. Michel tour. Things went downhill from there. The tour was advertised as a minibus tour, it was in fact a large bus. But since there were only a few of us (13), I didn't make a fuss b/c my main goal was not to be in a large group like cattle. On of the tour guides openly expressed a disdain for persons speaking a particular language. I thought it was inappropriate for him to be so openly prejudiced. There were tow tour guides to speak three languages. Neither of them was particularly friendly, but it was early so we rolled on and the trip was fine, we made it to the Mont on a day with striking and ever-changing skies. Our meeting time was 4pm at the bus. By 4:15, two women were still missing, and they just took off, leaving them there. Everyone else on the bus was shocked, b/c these women spoke not a drop of either French or English, and the Mont isn't exactly in a metro area close to Paris. Some of us really felt that the one tour guide had it in for them from the time they arrived, and he seemed to have to remorse. They didn't even get off the bus to check if they were on their way in the parking lot. I'm all ofr punctuality, but this seemed a bit heartless and harsh. A thirty minute wait, or an attempt to jst peek out the door to see if they were coming...they guides didn't realize that my mother understood some French, and she heard the one guide telling the other that they should tell the office that the other attendees were impatient to go -- a lie. So we'll be writing letters to the management, but meanwhile, if you use Paris Vision, DON'T BE LATE. Oh, yeah, there was no one there when we returned to drive us back to the hotel, but by now we felt like we had escaped something, so we just RAN home.
And finally (sorry so long)
III. Cityrama. I had booked them before we left for a trip to Bruges. By far this group was the best experience of all. From check-in (no problem, really nice), to the guide (kept a smile on for everyone through a cold and rainy day, even though I think he had a cold), to the bus being more comfortable, to the fact when someone was late at a stop, he put his coat on and went to collect them.
These thinks are often luck of the draw -- what particular persons you deal with -- but from my experiences and my perspective, Cityrama would be the only recommendation I could make.
I recognize there is plenty to do within Paris, I am already making a list of things we didn't get around to, so please don't tell me these trips are unnecessary. I KNOW you could live a lifetime in Paris and not see it all, I just chose to try and show my mother all I could on this, her first and maybe last trip to the continent. Sometimes it's nice for a change of pace to be in a completely different environment, so this is hopefully to help those of you with the same idea...
Bon Voyage!
Apr 22nd, 2004, 04:44 AM
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Hi Riverchick - thanks so much for your review. I can't believe those tour guides left the women stranded. That's pretty scary.
The only tour group I've had any dealings with is Paris Walks. In addition to their wonderful two-hour walking tours I did a half day bus tour with them to Vaux-le-Vicomte. I was thrilled with their tour. We were a very small group (also on a large bus) and the guide (also the owner) was so knowledgeable. You might want to check them out for your next Paris trip.
I usually plan my own excursions but agree that sometimes it's better and easier to take the tour rather than plan your own logistics. After all, this is supposed to be a vacation and why not let the experts plan sometimes.
The only tour group I've had any dealings with is Paris Walks. In addition to their wonderful two-hour walking tours I did a half day bus tour with them to Vaux-le-Vicomte. I was thrilled with their tour. We were a very small group (also on a large bus) and the guide (also the owner) was so knowledgeable. You might want to check them out for your next Paris trip.
I usually plan my own excursions but agree that sometimes it's better and easier to take the tour rather than plan your own logistics. After all, this is supposed to be a vacation and why not let the experts plan sometimes.
Apr 22nd, 2004, 05:27 AM
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This is rather distressing as the most expensive thing I have booked for our few days in Paris is a day trip to Giverny/Versailles on a ParisVision minibus. I opted for the minibus over the regular bus so as to get picked up and dropped off afterwards and you say no one was there to drop you off. Also thought that it would be nicer than the larger bus and fewer languages. But we generally travel on a budget purse so perhaps this will not be worth it. Do any other tour companies do both these destinations in one day?
Apr 22nd, 2004, 06:18 AM
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Brief post note -- when I arrived at the Cityrama tour office I noticed they had AAA stickers on the doors. While I'm a member, I didn't raise the issue of trying to get a refund for any discount b/c frankly it was 7am with no coffee --I was too lazy. But it's certainly worth asking about for any of you considerng it.
Apr 22nd, 2004, 11:20 AM
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I have only done day tours with Cityrama and they were absolutely excellent.
I have never even heard of Touringscope (and have been traveling to Paria a long time), so would not recommend people choose unknown companies. That could account for the problems, they are not one of the main companies and would have trouble getting people to sign up if no one knows of them or they don't have a good reputation.
As for leaving people, I disagree with that being bad or a problem. These companies MUSt make rules like that or they would be waiting around forever. It is a person's responsibility to have a watch and be on time. There is nothing wrong with that whatsoever, unless they left early. They already waited 15 extra minutes, which is more than some do. People have to take some responsibility for their actions and their travel. If you are going to take a bus tour in a foreign country where you don't know the language at all or even the second-used one, you had better make sure you understand when to be back on the bus. There is no excuse for that (unless they had an accident or something), as whether you understand the language or not, you know that there will be a time you must be back to the bus on those kinds of things, and you must take responsbility for finding out what it is.
I have never even heard of Touringscope (and have been traveling to Paria a long time), so would not recommend people choose unknown companies. That could account for the problems, they are not one of the main companies and would have trouble getting people to sign up if no one knows of them or they don't have a good reputation.
As for leaving people, I disagree with that being bad or a problem. These companies MUSt make rules like that or they would be waiting around forever. It is a person's responsibility to have a watch and be on time. There is nothing wrong with that whatsoever, unless they left early. They already waited 15 extra minutes, which is more than some do. People have to take some responsibility for their actions and their travel. If you are going to take a bus tour in a foreign country where you don't know the language at all or even the second-used one, you had better make sure you understand when to be back on the bus. There is no excuse for that (unless they had an accident or something), as whether you understand the language or not, you know that there will be a time you must be back to the bus on those kinds of things, and you must take responsbility for finding out what it is.
Apr 22nd, 2004, 11:42 AM
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Touringscope is also known as Euroscope if that helps to identify this tour company.
I used Touringscope (is that the same as Tourscope?) for a city tour including lunch and Montmarte (daytime) and Moulin Rouge dinner/show. I chose the minibus option and not the large tour bus. The city tour was allright; the guide drove us to the the sights and explained things properly but things became very disorganized at lunch. The tour guide just left us at the restaurant and sort of mentioned that another guide would pick us up after lunch. We thought this meant someone would pick us up and drop us back at the hotel as transportation to return is included with the minibus option. What actually happened was that after we ate we noticed a man asking the hostess something as though he was looking for someone. She appeared to tell him that the party was not there and he left, then he returned looking positive that the party was indeed at the restaurant. It turned out he was looking for us (my aunt & I)! Then he explained that he'd take us to Montmarte and we told him that we'd just seen Montmarte as the first guide had taken us there. Suddenly a woman appeared and saw us talking, assumed we were the party she wanted, and asked our names. Being the correct party, she proceeded to tell us that she's from Touringscope and she was going to take us to see the Louvre! Then the man said no we were going to Montmarte with him. Now we were really confused. Finally they asked us what we wanted to see: Montmarte or the Louvre. Since we'd already seen Montmarte we opted for the Louvre. Then the man just went on his way.
This guide for the Louvre was not the best. She walked too fast and didn't really pay attention if everyone was following properly. And since we were the only two who spoke English (there were 4 others and they spoke French), she elaborated more in French than in English. Plus after the tour we were really tired since it was 6 p.m. and we were out the entire day. We asked if someone from Touringscope would be picking us up to return us to the hotel and the guide said that transportation wasn't included. So we ended up taking a taxi. We mentioned this to the hotel when we arrived and the receptionist was very surprised as this should not have occurred. She thinks that with the day being Valentine's Day there was a shortage of drivers so maybe that's why. But I felt this was not right. Anyway, we let it pass.
The tour to the Moulin Rouge was uneventful. All the guide had to do was drive us in the minivan and come pick us up after the show and return us to our respective hotels.
I'm not sure if I will use this tour company again.
I used Touringscope (is that the same as Tourscope?) for a city tour including lunch and Montmarte (daytime) and Moulin Rouge dinner/show. I chose the minibus option and not the large tour bus. The city tour was allright; the guide drove us to the the sights and explained things properly but things became very disorganized at lunch. The tour guide just left us at the restaurant and sort of mentioned that another guide would pick us up after lunch. We thought this meant someone would pick us up and drop us back at the hotel as transportation to return is included with the minibus option. What actually happened was that after we ate we noticed a man asking the hostess something as though he was looking for someone. She appeared to tell him that the party was not there and he left, then he returned looking positive that the party was indeed at the restaurant. It turned out he was looking for us (my aunt & I)! Then he explained that he'd take us to Montmarte and we told him that we'd just seen Montmarte as the first guide had taken us there. Suddenly a woman appeared and saw us talking, assumed we were the party she wanted, and asked our names. Being the correct party, she proceeded to tell us that she's from Touringscope and she was going to take us to see the Louvre! Then the man said no we were going to Montmarte with him. Now we were really confused. Finally they asked us what we wanted to see: Montmarte or the Louvre. Since we'd already seen Montmarte we opted for the Louvre. Then the man just went on his way.
This guide for the Louvre was not the best. She walked too fast and didn't really pay attention if everyone was following properly. And since we were the only two who spoke English (there were 4 others and they spoke French), she elaborated more in French than in English. Plus after the tour we were really tired since it was 6 p.m. and we were out the entire day. We asked if someone from Touringscope would be picking us up to return us to the hotel and the guide said that transportation wasn't included. So we ended up taking a taxi. We mentioned this to the hotel when we arrived and the receptionist was very surprised as this should not have occurred. She thinks that with the day being Valentine's Day there was a shortage of drivers so maybe that's why. But I felt this was not right. Anyway, we let it pass.
The tour to the Moulin Rouge was uneventful. All the guide had to do was drive us in the minivan and come pick us up after the show and return us to our respective hotels.
I'm not sure if I will use this tour company again.
Apr 22nd, 2004, 11:46 AM
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Thank you for posting. We usually do day trips on our own, but sometimes as you stated it's really nice to let someone else drive and deal with traffic & directions. Hopefully your experience will raise a flag on some issues for people who are considering taking such a tour. I too agree that it is imperative to be on time (or early) in a group tour situation, and I would never expect some one to wait for me, but the conversation your Mom overheard is inexcusable i.e. leave 2 people behind and then blame the rest of the group. Obviously the guides couldn't wait for ever, but a little bit of concern would have been appropriate - and it would have taken 2 seconds for the guides to have gotten off of their fannies to see if those ladies were at the point of making their way down the street or walking through the parking lot. I seriously doubt the remaining 11 people on the bus would have staged an uprising if the guide & driver had waited another 5 minutes.
I booked a night tour one year with Cityrama - it was excellent.
I booked a night tour one year with Cityrama - it was excellent.
Apr 22nd, 2004, 11:55 AM
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Regarding the tour bus that left the two passengers and drove off, that is a problem to me and I wouldn't like to have it happen to myself. Of course, the two people should have been responsible and returned on time. However, all tours I've taken made sure everyone returned and were accounted for even when it was more than 10-15 minutes past the agreed meeting time.
Take for example, in San Francisco, this particular thing occured when a tour bus took off stranding one woman. She was stranded at the Candlestick Park area around evening. She ended up being picked up by a passerby and was raped.
So I say it should be more of a responsibility for the tour company to wait until all the passengers have arrived before taking off.
Take for example, in San Francisco, this particular thing occured when a tour bus took off stranding one woman. She was stranded at the Candlestick Park area around evening. She ended up being picked up by a passerby and was raped.
So I say it should be more of a responsibility for the tour company to wait until all the passengers have arrived before taking off.
Apr 22nd, 2004, 01:16 PM
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Hi
I've also used both Cityrama and Paris Vision in the past and all went as expected, but I hadn't made any special arrangements for minivans and such.
Christina makes a valid point about people being punctual. Every bus tour I've done has had the guide emphasize what time to be back at the bus, and where the bus will be. I'm pretty punctual myself, and it drives me crazy when people are inconsiderate. BUT, this was a small group, and it's also possible that the MIAs had become ill, or hurt, or lost, or in a long line at a ladies room where a stop was needed, or something else innocent, and I'm surprised to hear that absolutely no effort was made to find them, or at least look to see if they were visible on the "horizon." It is troubleseome for them that, IF they were together, at least one of them didn't show up with an explanation or request for a few more minutes' grace for the other one. On a trip so far out of Paris, I'd be willing to be patient and wait at least a solid half hour, and scowl at them if the made it back with no visible signs of distress. It's only 30 minutes.
I've also used both Cityrama and Paris Vision in the past and all went as expected, but I hadn't made any special arrangements for minivans and such.
Christina makes a valid point about people being punctual. Every bus tour I've done has had the guide emphasize what time to be back at the bus, and where the bus will be. I'm pretty punctual myself, and it drives me crazy when people are inconsiderate. BUT, this was a small group, and it's also possible that the MIAs had become ill, or hurt, or lost, or in a long line at a ladies room where a stop was needed, or something else innocent, and I'm surprised to hear that absolutely no effort was made to find them, or at least look to see if they were visible on the "horizon." It is troubleseome for them that, IF they were together, at least one of them didn't show up with an explanation or request for a few more minutes' grace for the other one. On a trip so far out of Paris, I'd be willing to be patient and wait at least a solid half hour, and scowl at them if the made it back with no visible signs of distress. It's only 30 minutes.
