MEET THE BEST GUIDES IN
PARIS
Meet The Best Private Tour Guides in Paris
All of our guides have a slightly different look at the world. Have a read through some profiles to get a sense for who they are!
PLANNING
Paris is a city that large enough to warrant planning, but dense enough to feel intimately navigable one sublime bit at a time, if you stay in the right place and let your days unfold without undue pressure.
While many first-time visitors try to squeeze in too much, a slower approach structured around museum appointments, long walks, and time at the table often proves more rewarding. You're coming back, this isn't a 50-year marriage in one visit; it's a first date.
Where
Location matters. Many of the classic sights sit along or near the Seine, from the Île de la Cité to the Louvre, the Left Bank, and west toward the Eiffel Tower. First-timers often opt for the 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, or 7th arrondissements, which place you close to the river and major monuments.
But don’t discount the 9th (for Montmartre access), the 11th (for food and nightlife), or the upper Marais (3rd), with its Les Enfants Rouge market (the oldest in the city), and the Rue Montorgueil street market, by far one of the city's loveliest.
When
Seasonal differences are real. Spring (April–early June) is glorious but crowded with school groups and travellers chasing blossoms. Summer (late June–August) sees Parisians flee to the coast, leaving parts of the city eerily quiet with the exception of other visitors, and smoking hot, though key sites stay open and festive energy abounds.
Autumn (September–October) may be the best time to visit: fewer tourists, mild weather, and a city reawakening with the rentrée.
Winter is for insiders: galleries are emptier, reservations easier, and the café windows fogged with real life. It’s lovely as long as you skip the Christmas to NYE week, where really and truly many things will be shut. Just bring a good coat.
How
Getting around is relatively simple. Paris is a walking city at heart, with each neighbourhood revealing itself at street level.
The metro is fast, safe, and well-connected. The metro can and will go on strike at random, and at that point there will be nothing you can do for love or money to get a cab, meaning you’ll inevitably be on foot. Try not to get worked up, and pivot instead.
Taxis are fine but often slower than walking over short-to-medium distances; and rideshare apps like Freenow, G7 or Bolt function reliably.
Don’t be afraid to have a private driver with your guide to ease things up.
And above all: Paris is about rhythm. Balance your day with monuments, meandering, and meals.
But of course, our guides will make this happen for you effortlessly.
MUSEUM & SITEBOOKING
Timed entrances at the Louvre, and D'Orsay should be booked in advance, as should Saint-Chapelle to avoid disappointment.
Note that the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays. Louvre tickets can be had here.
Note that the D'Orsay is closed on Mondays. D'Orsay tickets can be had here.
St Chapelle tickets can be had here.
Notre Dame Timeslot reservations can be had here.
While the Paris Museum Pass technically grants access to all of these, in the case of the Louvre, a separate timed booking is required, and the Louvre has unhelpfully allotted a separate category of timeslot tickets exclusively for PMP holders, that has a tendency to book out much faster than the Louvre itself overall does.
Our suggestion: just buy each entrance separately. It's much easier, and not much more money.
ITINERARY SUGGESTIONS
Highlights & Louvre
DAY I
This day will cover key highlights on and near the Isle de Paris, including Notre Dame, St Chapelle, the Conciergerie, and Pont Neuf.
After lunch, we suggest finishing the day in the Louvre before going back to your hotel to relax for a bit before dinner.
This is quite a big day—for dinner, consider an introduction to Parisian cooking in the form of a simple café dinner, perhaps oysters and champagne to start, and then a steak frites or even a glorious, perfect Parisian hamburger. For dessert, consider a Crème brûlée, or even a l'île flottante, for a truly old-world, simple and delightful conclusion to your introduction to the world of iconic French dishes.
Marais & D'Orsay
DAY II
This day gives you a chance to explore Paris’s old Jewish Quarter, la Marais.
Stroll through charming streets, get some shopping in, have a couple of key snacks in Rue des Rosiers, visit a hidden garden to see a remaining piece of the old Parisian city walls, and have a spectacular lunch.
There is plenty of Jewish history to discuss if this is what you’re here for, and if you’re not, it’s a fantastic quarter to get to know anyways.
After lunch (or indeed, for lunch, as the d'Orsay café is truly outstanding), head to the D'orsay. Enjoy one of the very finest collections of French impressionist paintings in the world, along with many other treasures—don't miss the art nouveau interior design installations, for example, or the small collection of Rodin sculptures.
For dinner, consider something a little bit wilder—you might be ready for a more contemporary Bistro or Brasserie where the chef de cusine shows off some of what modern Paris is truly capable of.
Les Passage, Montmartre, & Eiffel Towel
DAY III
This day should be a chance to visit a few of Paris’s stunning 19th century covered shopping passages before heading up to Montmartre to walk the streets and visit sacre-coer.
Lunch is likely best served in one of the lovely restaurants or even a café in and around the passage. There are many great choices here depending on how hungry you are, and a wealth of spectacular patisseries.
In the evening, finish up with a visit to the Eiffel Tower. Yes, it’s a bit touristy, but going right to the top is still a terrific experience.
And perhaps even the somewhat-overpriced-but-still-nice glass of champagne up there isn't the worst idea either, just for the fun of it.
Whenever you choose to have dinner, it's probably time for something a bit more celebratory. If you were going to go for a Michelin restaurant, this is probably the spot for it. And if you enjoyed yesterday's contemporary bistro or brasserie outing, well, all we can say is that Paris will spoil you with its offerings in this particular class.
You might wish to stay longer, and here's why we think you should:
DAY IV PLUS
There are dozens of reasons to stay on longer in Paris, and it would be a fool's errand to try and list them all, or even try and convince you of which you should prioritise.
The author would suggest that you consider Paris not a place to visit, but a city that you build a relationship with over time, through the course of repeated trips here and there.
For example, a good time to visit Paris is when one requires some reassurance that civilisation is not truly dead, but hiding in a Paris Brasserie afterall, or perhaps in an all-night cocktail bar et cetera, and so on like this...
The city has dozens of museums worth exploring, including many old private townhouses.
Here are a few spots worth adding to your list of potentials:
1. Musée Nissim de Camondo
Bordering Parc Monceau, this is a preserved Belle Époque mansion filled with 18th-century French decorative arts. It tells the story of the Camondo family—a Jewish banking dynasty whose tragic fate during WWII gives the visit emotional resonance as well as aesthetic delight.
2. Musée Zadkine
Tucked behind the Luxembourg Gardens, this serene atelier-museum is dedicated to the Russian-born sculptor Ossip Zadkine. Set in a quiet garden, it’s a meditative space filled with dynamic wood and stone sculptures—an ideal pause from central Paris.
3. Musée Gustave Moreau
Here is where the stunning spiral staircase that everyone seems to have posted on Instagram is to be found—see the cover image of this guide. A richly atmospheric look into the Symbolist painter’s home and studio in the 9th arrondissement, here you'll find mythological paintings, and intimate glimpses into Moreau’s process. A dreamlike and romantic experience.
4. Musée Marmottan Monet
Located near the Bois de Boulogne, this elegant museum holds the largest collection of works by Claude Monet, including Impression, soleil levant, which gave Impressionism its name. It also houses art by Berthe Morisot and other key figures of the period, in a much quieter setting than the Orsay.
5. Musée Bourdelle
Dedicated to sculptor Antoine Bourdelle, this museum occupies his former studio and garden. Monumental plaster casts and bronze statues live alongside original studio interiors, offering insight into Paris’s vibrant early 20th-century artistic scene.