Some of the longtime Secrets of Paris readers might remember that I was a tour guide for almost 15 years, working the first few years for the big international tour companies (EF Tours, Backroads, Context Tours), before creating my own private Secrets of Paris private tours in 2005. Although I stopped giving tours in 2017, I’m always happy to recommend tour guides for friends or Secrets of Paris Community members. I have either worked with the guides in this shortlist, or have tested their tours myself before recommending them to others. All are highly knowledgeable, longtime residents of Paris (if not French), have registered their businesses here in France, and — in the case of museum guides — are licensed guides conferenciers.
And I just think they’re all fascinating people who I’m sure you’ll be delighted to meet! Do note that while these guides may appreciate knowing how you found them, there’s no obligation to mention my name. I make these recommendations for the Secrets of Paris Community because I stand behind them; I don’t receive commissions or compensation of any kind.
Museum & Monument Tours with Licensed Guides
Jean-Manuel Traimond: For art lovers and history buffs, Jean-Manuel is the best guide in Paris. A prolific author born and raised here, he knows he knows every corner of Paris and its history, from the most obscure to the most popular. He can give tours of any museum (including temporary exhibitions), monument, or cemetery. He’s been my go-to guide for almost 20 years, including recent excursions for the Secrets of Paris Community members to the Centre Pompidou and the Musée des Années Trente. He speaks seven languages, is never short on fascinating (and often cheeky) anecdotes, and can enchant both academics and families with young children. He’s old-school — no website, no Instagram — but he brings encyclopedic knowledge and a theatrical flair to every tour. From €300 per group. Contact Jean-Manuel directly via email: hlbhlb@hotmail.com
Richard Smith of Richard’s France Tours: Originally from England, Richard vacationed with his family in France before moving here in 2011 to get his Master’s degree in Parisian History. Now a fully accredited French guide conferencier, he offers customized, private tours of not just Paris, but also Versailles, Champagne, Loire Valley, Giverny and the D-Day beaches of Normandy. And he’s one of those rare guides who also has a VTC license permitting him to drive clients in his own vehicle. Secrets of Paris members recently enjoyed a tour with Richard in the private rooms at the Château de Versailles that normally aren’t open to the general public, followed by a picnic with items we purchased at the nearby food market, the perfect day! Contact Richard through his web form: https://www.richardsfrancetours.com/enquire
Neighborhood & Specialty Tours
Rosemary Flannery of Passport to Paris: After a career in media and fashion in NYC, Rosemary moved to Paris in 1989 where she pursued her love of the arts. Artist, author and certified guide-conferencier, she offers private tours of Paris museums, monuments and neighborhoods. She also loves sharing the story of Monet’s home in Giverny and the history and splendor of the palace of Versailles and its gardens. Passionate about architecture, Rosemary’s tours of Architecture through the Ages, Modern Architecture of Paris, and Angels in Architecture, will take you on a discovery of the history of Paris’s extraordinary buildings, mansions and houses from the Middle Ages to the 21st century. Having studied the the applied arts – furniture, porcelain, jewelry, bronzes and more – at Drouot, France’s famous auction house, Rosemary is a great guide for the legendary Paris flea market, where she’ll help you find whatever’s on your wish list. She also creates personalized shopping tours for art, vintage, and fashion. Contact her through her website: http://passport-to-paris.com/contact/ or at flannery2501@gmail.com
Lily Heise of Je T’Aime Me Neither: Originally from Canada, Lily is an author, guidebook writer, and tour guide living in Paris since 2000. She specializes in private and small group tours of romantic Paris and Montmartre, but can also do tours of popular neighborhoods such as the Marais, Latin Quarter, and St-Germain-des-Prés. As an expert in romance, she can also help you design a unique and special marriage proposal (complete with a photographer). Lily has traveled extensively as a travel writer, so her services include custom trip planning for Paris, as well as France and other destinations around the world. Contact her directly by email: jetaimemeneither@gmail.com
Rebecca Devaney of Textile Tours of Paris: Anyone interested in embroidery and other “fiber arts” won’t want to miss Rebecca’s tours. A professional haute couture embroiderer, researcher, and award-winning educator who has worked all over the world, Rebecca got her MFA in Textile Art and Artefact from the National College of Art and Design in Dublin and perfected her embroidery at Paris’s prestigious École Lesage. She worked for couture houses including Chanel and Dior before founding Textile Tours of Paris in 2019, leading tours of the city’s celebrated haberdashery and notions boutiques, and the flea markets for vintage laces, linens, and threads. Rebecca also conducts occasional embroidery workshops, which usually fill as soon as they’re announced. If you can’t book a tour, check out her Textile Travels Paris eBook with 50 listings mapped out for you. Contact Rebecca through her web form: https://www.textiletoursofparis.com/say-hello
Samuél Lopez-Barrantes: Samuél is a novelist (Slim and The Beast, The Requisitions) and musician living in Paris since 2010. He and his wife are the co-founders of Kingdom Anywhere, an independent anglophone micro-press based in Paris, and he is also a board member and fiction editor at the new arts & literature SOUVENIR magazine. He’s the one you’ll want to book if you’re intrigued by the intellectual history of the Left Bank and its literary legends (Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, James Baldwin and Simone de Beauvoir, to name a few), if you’re curious about what Paris was like in Montmartre during the 1870 Commune to the Belle Epoque. Samuél is also an expert in the history of the Nazi Occupation. Visit Samuél’s website to learn more & view the current walking tours on offer: samuellopezbarrantes.com/paris-walks
Gabrielle Arnault-Lazard of Potins de Paris: Even if you think you know Paris and Parisian history better than the average visitor, chances are you haven’t heard the stories of what was really was going on in Versailles, at the Bastille, or in the Palais Royal until you’ve taken the cheeky “500 Years of French Gossip” tour with Gabrielle, aka La Marquise des Potins. Even I learned a few new juicy historical anecdotes! If your French is good enough, you can join one of the small group tours with Gabrielle’s colorful colleagues. Otherwise, private English tours are available on request (note the English version of the website isn’t as up-to-date as the French one). Contact Gabrielle directly by email: lespotinsdeparis@gmail.com
Simon Burke of Txango Tours: Simon Burke is a history teacher turned tour guide who spent a decade hiring and training tour guides for other companies before combining his two passions — guiding and sidecar motorcycles — to form Txango Tours. Simon and his team bring guests to every corner of Paris & Versailles through their private 2-hour tours, from well-known monuments to off-the-beaten-path tours such as “Vice & Violence in Montmartre” or “Secrets of the Left Bank”. Check out my experience here. From €297 per sidecar. You can send questions to Simon (simon@txangotours.com) or their operations coordinator Mariana (mariana@txangotorus.com). Book tours via the web form: https://txangotours.com/en/contact-us/
Bruce McAleer of French Mystique Bike Tours: Bruce moved to France from Boston in 2009 and spent his free time exploring the little towns, villages, and countryside outside Paris with nothing but a Michelin map and his bike. He started French Mystique Bike tours to share his favorite routes with visitors (and Parisians) looking to escape the city. In my opinion, it’s by far the best way to experience the Parisian countryside without any hassle. Just contact Bruce and he will take care of everything. Read my article about my own experience on his tours “Bike Tours of the Parisian Countryside”. Book your tours directly on his website, https://www.frenchmystiquetours.com/
You can find Paris bike tour companies I recommend here (however I don’t know the guides personally).
Food & Wine Tours
Allison Zinder: This American living in France since 1995 trained in Angers to become a professional chef, working in restaurants throughout the country before landing in Paris in 2007, where she began teaching students in culinary arts and hospitality in both French and American universities. A born storyteller, she started her own company giving private tours to share her love and knowledge of French gastronomy and wine through market tours and food history and tasting tours, perfect for demanding foodies who want to really take a culinary deep dive! Her newest offer is a 4-day gastronomic adventure along the picturesque French Atlantic Coast. The trip combines the region’s rich cultural heritage with its culinary bounty. Contact Allison directly by email: contact@allisonzinder.com
Jennifer Greco of Chez Loulou: Jennifer arrived in Paris in 2015 after spending nearly a decade living in the southwest region of Languedoc-Roussillon and then the Calvados department in lower Normandy, where she blogged about regional foods and wines, especially cheese! She now shares her vast knowledge through her cheese and wine workshops. Comfortably seated in a Parisian wine shop, these 2.5-3 hour tastings include 10-12 French cheeses paired with 3-4 wines (and/or other drinks). You’ll learn everything from how to choose the your cheese with confidence, how to pair it, and even the proper way to cut it. You can either join one of the weekly workshops for up to eight participants, or book a private group tasting. Contact Jennifer directly by email: louloufrance@gmail.com
Geoffrey S. Finch of Paris Wine Walks: Geoffrey is a longtime French resident, wine expert, author and teacher, with extensive experience in guiding wine and gastronomic tours throughout Europe. His Paris Wine Walks focus on the city’s hidden vineyards and illustrious wine-making history that most people (even Parisians) don’t know about. After walking and exploring Paris together, tours usually end around the table with a bottle or two of wine, “sharing personal stories, sharing wine, sharing bread, sharing food.” He does small group and private tours, as well as non-drinking tours of the the historic Medieval and Roman districts of Paris for families, and day trips to the vineyards of the Ile-de-France. Special rates available for students, Parisians, travel agents, and industry professionals. Contact Geoffrey via email at pariswinewalks@gmail.com
Franck Adandé of Vegan Paris Tours: Bringing fun and enthusiasm to the rapidly-evolving Paris vegan scene, Franck is best known as the creator of the Vegan Tourist Map (in French and English), an old-school printed map that wonderfully guides you to the best vegan spots, categorized from bakeries to gourmet dining. He also conducts three-hours tours of vegan Paris, one focusing on street food, the other on pastries. The tours are bilingual English and French, so you can also practice your French without worrying about getting totally lost (they can also be privatized on request). Franck hosts regular social events as well, from game nights to vegan disco fest, which you can find listed on his Instagram feed. For tours, book online using these links: https://vegantourist.fr/fr/
You can find more wine and cooking schools that also offer food tours here (although I don’t personally know who your guide would be if they’re not mentioned by name).
Tour Platforms
As easy as it is to use the giants like Viator, GetYourGuide, or even ToursByLocals, even though the guides are local (it would be a rather absurd commute if they weren’t), the platforms themselves are owned by foreign corporations that — unlike independent guides and locally-owned tour companies — don’t have pay any French taxes on their cut of the tour proceeds. I get it; running a business in France is expensive. But those avoiding taxes by registering abroad make it even harder for the local companies to compete. That’s why this section is rather thin at the moment — recommendations welcome!
#ExploreParis: This tour platform is a unique partnership between the four regional tourism offices of the Ile-de-France region (with Paris at its center), the RATP (Paris Transport Authority), and local tourism organizations. The idea is to promote urban tourism in the Greater Paris region, to move visitors from the same overcrowded “Top Ten” sights around Paris to the many lesser-known (and often fascinating) sights on the outskirts and immediate suburbs of the city. This can include neighborhood tours, waterfront activities, artisan workshop visits, food tours, historic factory visits, cultural excursions, or meetings with artists. You can search for tours by date or activity; most allow you to book immediately online for a spot on a small group tour at very reasonable prices. You can also filter for tours available in English, although there aren’t as many available as in French, so if you see something particularly cool (especially visits to places not normally open to the public), it may be worth testing your French just to follow along. Most of the English tours can be booked privately, as well. For any given tour you’ll see the name of the local tour company or independent guide who is leading it, which I like for the transparency. You can subscribe to their newsletter (in the footer of their website) to get updates on their latest tours.
Do you know of a fabulous Paris tour guide who should be listed here? Email me and we’ll talk! heather@secretsofparis.com
I want a left wing tour.
Perhaps you mean a “Left Bank Tour”? 😉