As I frequently vanish in the Spirit of Paris, I prefer to offer GPS-guided audio walks using your smartphone, rather than in-person guided tours. What if we made an appointment and I ended up stuck in a time loop where Emily in Paris photobombs the famous Kiss at the Hôtel de Ville?
The good news is I can recommend a few talented guides whose in-person tours I enjoyed. Do not hesitate to contact them saying the Comte de Saint-Germain sent you. Most are bi- or trilingual, so please specify the language you need.
Black Paris Walks: for centuries, people of African descent have shined in the City of Light. Kévi Donnat will tell you about Black personalities who led the highest political institutions and artistic vanguards, and how their stories remained untold.
Croquebrique takes you to the “ugly Paris” – and makes it fun! He’ll explain why we started building skyscrapers instead of Haussmannian buildings – and why we stopped. If you really don’t want to see the architecture of Paris’ Chinatown or the La Défense business district, he also takes people inside Parc Montsouris.
Dédale: Aurore Juvenelle will reveal women literally hidden on the back of tombstones in the Père Lachaise cemetery, and the adventures of forgotten Communard revolutionaries in the iconic Butte-aux-Cailles neighbourhood. 100% original, 100% historically-sourced, her tours will truly rock your world!
Elisa your guide in Paris will show you that there is more to street art than paint on walls. It’s also people, intentions, and even rules about who must clean up the façades! This is the beauty of Paris: you can visit the very same Butte-aux-Cailles streets once with Aurore and once with Elisa, and discover two completely different sides of the same neighbourhood.
If you’d rather have a costumed guide leading you at dusk with her oil lamp, I would recommend L’Inconnue de la Seine. Macabre love stories, murders in now-touristy streets, she will ensure you travel safely through the dark sides of the City of Light.
Since the Notre-Dame fire, the most beautiful gothic view on the centre of Paris is from the top of Saint-Jacques tower, which you can visit thanks to Des Mots et des Arts. I particularly liked their historical debunking of the legend of Nicolas Flamel. Too often, other guides go for shock value over historical accuracy, but the truth is incredible enough when it comes to this tower.
I enjoyed many other in-person guided tours and will add them here later on.