Please recommend your favorite Paris walking tours?!
 

Hi Fodorites!

I am a passiontae walker (from NYC), looking for highly recommended Paris walking tours.

My husband and I are pretty fit, and we're especially interested in 1) a comprehensive ARCHITECTURAL tour of Paris (throughout the different eras); and 2) a history of all the ARTISTS (musicians, writers, revolutionaries, etc.) tour

If you know a good one, please do tell. Thanks a million!

--Betty

I just heard about a new group: Context Paris. I don't have first-hand experience with it.

This is from Heather Stimmler-Hall's Secrets of Paris newsletter:
"Californian native Brenna Flanner has just opened Context Paris, a private tour company that focuses on specialized, in-depth tours of the city’s art and architecture. She just moved to the city permanently this fall after managing the Context Rome office for two years, and has been busy getting together a crack team of docents, many who have PhDs in their field, all who know and love Paris and want to share it with all of you."

http://www.contextparis.com/

degas posted a few several months back, and they were very good & interesting. I particularly liked the one of Montmartre. You might try doing a search. ((b))

What about the personal guide named Michael Osman that many people have hired?..

Paris Walks are good.

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

I did the St Germain and Ile St Louis tours.

My sister, when she lived in the 16th, did a tour of the Guimard buildings and metro entrances. He is the architect who designed the famous metro entrances in the Art Deco (?) style. I think this is the tour company:

http://www.frenchlinks.com/pariswalkingtours.html

Hope this helps,
Mike

topping

Paris a Pied (Paris on Foot) is one major Parisian walking tour company.

Paris Walks are great fun, witty guides and have a wonderful selection of walks to choose from. Rachel Kaplan tours are very expensive for what you get.

A friend wrote to Context Paris and found them too expensive and not organized.

Michael Osman has been the best value and best guide so far and his colleague, can't remember his name!

Context Paris is an off-shoot of Context Rome, which is the reorganized version of the highly-thought-of Scala Reale.
Context Paris is in business, perhaps not fullly, but is offering Paris tours with various themes--I have been in touch with them via email.

I too have read much praise of Michael Osman here. I have not been so fortunate as to hear from him, despite several emails and a fax that I sent over the past several weeks.

paris walks do not compare to london walks (part of the same company) in my opinion. london walks are given by characters who are some of the top tour guides in the country. they are unique and passionate about the subject matter and story telling.

paris walk guides are typical guides who just point things out. since i live in london, my expectations are higher for a london walk and it never disappoints. paris walks does not compare.

Thank you all for your Paris walking-tour suggestions! I heard that Michael Osman is extremely difficult to get in touch with, but I will try my best. Probably will go with whomever has the most-extensive architecture tour. And if time allows, add on an artist-writer tour as well.

Cheers!