Would anyone have suggestions of tours they enjoyed in Paris or tour companies that they found reputable. We'll be in Paris Dec 21- 26 and I thought 1 tour for the family(20 year old, 16 year old , my husband and I) would be nice. Have a great day......

Hi C,

Check out http://www.fattirebiketoursparis.com/

Parisvsion and Cityrama are the two main tour bus companies that offer a variety of Paris tours. You also have the Paris L'Open tour hop-on/hop-off.

As for Seine cruises, Vedettes du Pont Neuf is a good one. Bateux Mouches would be another possibility.

A walking tour company that is regularly recommended is Paris Walks.

It depends what you are looking for in price, comfort etc.

I prefer the Paris Vision mini-van tours. I think it is 7 people maximum, pick up at hotel/apt etc. Pricier, of course.

You can get all the information from their site. They, of course, also have the less expensive bus tours..a large site for viewing.

Wnjoy.............

I second Ira's suggestion for Fat Tires. We have done their Segway Tour at night and several of their walking tours as well. On our next visit to Paris, we are going to take advantage of their D-Day tour.

They are an American company and a small oasis in Paris. They have internet available, will download your pictures, and also help you navigate through Paris. We found them extremely helpful.

Hi,

I was last month in Paris and I booked some attractions, I can recommend you the website : www.sightseeing-tours-in-paris.com

They propose a lot of tours...

Have a good trip in France

Hire Michael Osman for the day. You will never never regret it. You willsee a real Paris. And it will be far less than any bus tour.
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I just returned from a week in Paris on Friday and I did the Vedettes du Pont-Neuf boat cruise on the Seine www.vedettesdupontneuf.com and absolutely loved it. It was one of the highlights of our trip. We went the second night we were there and took the 8pm boat (sunset was at around 8:30ish), so we were able to see things in the daylight, see the sunset and then see things at night. This boat cruise is only an hour which I found to be plenty of time, but I have heard of others that are 2 hours. You can also get a discount coupon for 2 euros on the website.

I also did a walking tour with Paris Walks in Montmartre. I loved it. Our guide was very knowledgeable and funny. They have many options, too, for walking tours and most are 10 euros. What I also loved is that you don't have to pre arrange for any of the tours (some you may, but most not), so if you woke up one morning and decided you wanted or did not want to go, that was fine. I also looked into this one www.classicwalksparis.com but it was 2 euros more, so we went with Paris Walks. The Classic Walks Paris does seem to hit a few more spots in Montmartre than Paris Walks did, but I was very happy with Paris Walks.

When I was in Paris this past May my friend Louisa and I did the French revolution walking tour with Classic Walks (12 Euros). On another day I went on a tour in the Montmartre area with Paris Walks (10 Euros). I enjoyed both of them. Next time I'm in Paris I definitely want to do a tour in the Marais.

http://www.classicwalksparis.com/

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

Monia

Yes! I triple-recomend Fat Tire Bike Tours. We did the bike tour with my family (self, husband, two kids, my parents). It was the highlight of our trip! It's not cheap, but it is worth every penny. We only did the day tour, but I bet your kids would dig the night tour. Have fun!

Gretchen - can you elaborate a little on why to hire Michael Osman? Does he do mostly walking, driving, etc. and can you give me an idea on cost? Is he easy to understand? Thanks!

He is an American artist living in Paris. He will give you an 8-10 hour tour via bus, metro, walking. You will find out about real Paris things. His cost is VERY reasonable--I don't like to publish it, It can change, but you will be amazed. He is GREAT with young people. He'll do anything you want--if you want to hit every highspot, he'll do that, and tell you wonderful anecdotes about history, art, etc. as you go.
You can't dilly dally, particularly for that time. He may not be available.

It will never be a sterile--"on your right is the______. Napoleon was here. On your left if you look 'way down there you can barely see_____"
You can take the hop on hop off tour buses for an overview.

Monica (or anyone else) - would you rate the classic walks as good as the Paris walks? I've only done Paris walks and have put several new ones on my itinerary for my next Paris trip (leaving tomorrow). Did you think the guides were as knowledgeable? I love Paris walks (have done about 6 plus a bus excursion with them) and have about 7 or 8 more lined up for this trip. Always looking for new idea though.

Go to the bonjour paris site - they have some smaller more focused tours based on your interest.

Also - look at Secrets of Paris website - she also has some interesting tours - if you dont want the typical big bus types of tours.

The kids would love the Segway tour we took through Fat Tire Bike Tours. You get to drive a Segway around Paris. It was fun!

The Segway Tours and the Walks sound great. Has anyone taken these during December? When I try to book I am told to email but I have yet to receive an answer (I probably should be more patient but I would love to get our plans organized somewhat!!) Thanks for all the links and suggestions - sooooooo helpful

HIre michael rather than pay by the head even for a walking tour.

We attempted to book with Michael Osman when we took our family trip a couple of years ago and after an initial response, never heard back from him after several attempts to connect. We ended up doing the 2 day L'Opentour which worked very well for us. As this was our first visit to Paris and it was freezing cold in December, we rode the bus sightseeing initally to get a feel for the city and to determine which sights looked interesting enough to return. We then returned to the sights and spent more in depth time. Found it a great value for an orientation to Paris tour.