"Paris Walks"
 

We have taken London Walks while in London and enjoyed them thoroughly. We are going to be in Paris in September and were looking at the brochure for Paris Walks. We are especially interested in The Village of Montmartre. Have any of you taken Paris Walks and this one specifically? Would you recommend?

I don't know how much Paris walks charge..but you can hire Michael Osman , a private well-versed guide, for around 75 dollars for the WHOLE day. He'll take you anywhere you want to see or suggest a route on your interests. He is an American artist who lives in Paris and will even take you thru museums or shopping! Do a search here on his name..you will find 100's of recommendations!

One complaint re: Paris Walks is the inability to hear unless you stand at the immediate side of the guide. Street traffic noise is a problem complicated by too many people grouped around a guide. But they're inexpensive (about $15). There are self-guided walks of Montmarte Village, which is a small, contained area easily explored without a guide.

I've taken several Paris Walks, and I thought the Montmartre walk was one of their best, and definitely worth the price (which, according to their website, is still 10 euros). I thought the guide did a good job of pointing out things I might not have noticed if I had tried to explore the neighborhood on my own. Their Ile St. Louis walk, on the other hand, while perfectly enjoyable, left me feeling like I could have gotten as much out of walking around by myself with a good guidebook.

As for hearing the guide, I didn't find it a problem - at least, no more than on any of the London Walks I've been on, so if you've been able to hear the guides on the London Walks you've taken, you shouldn't have a problem hearing the Paris Walks guides.

I did the Montmartre one last year and it was 10 euros. It was very enjoyable and informative and we only had a small group of about 12 people. It was certainly worth the cost as we explored many little areas that I would have missed on my own.

We did the montmarte walk and the marais walk last march. I loved them both, we did not have a problem hearing the guides. PJ

I would like to second the recommendation of Michael Osman. We just returned from our trip to Paris and were very lucky to have had the chance to meet and use his services as a tour guide. We were so impressed with the amount of knowledge about not just the art in the city museums, but also of the city's history and neighborhoods. He took us around to places we would have never went on our own. We felt like Parisians exploring the city with Michael. As Jody has said his price for the day is very reasonable. Look him up for some added insights into life in Paris. He made our trip! My only complaint is that we didn't get to see his own art work. My contact address for him is [email protected]

For self guided walks, the Rick Steves Paris guidebook has some really good ones.