Magnificent Hôtel de Lauzun is one of the very few hotels particuliers (private mansions) that retain their rich carved, painted, mirrored and gilded interiors from the time of Louis XIV. The mansion is a 17th century interior and exterior architectural jewel. It is the only private mansion on Ile St Louis that can be visited. It has been recently restored while being preserved as its last private owner left it at the end of the 19th century, with the gold detailing and ceilings of the 17th century, combined with the exuberance of the 19th century.
Hotel de Lauzun can only be visited every day but during private events only-
Stroll a few small streets and alleyways around Montsouris park and experience the charm of a neighborhood where one really feel away and far from Paris. Some of the beautiful houses were built for famous artists. Some villas were also used as experimenting new art déco techniques and materials. In a close-by passage, we'll visit the grand house atelier of a sculptor, now turned into a museum after her death (10€ pp). -
The Opera Garnier is undoubtedly one of the most dazzling monuments in Paris. The tour will go through the history and context of the construction with a first outdoor description. The visit of the building will start with a vast space formerly used as a waiting room, before ascending the Great Staircase which leads to the auditorium as well as the various reception rooms and the famous grand foyer. It opens onto a balcony offering a stunning panorama stretching over to the Louvre. Some areas also exhibit costumes from famous plays, an archive gallery and temporary exhibitions. -
The tour will introduce the abbey of the Val-de-Grâce, built in the middle of the XVIIth century by Queen Anne of Austria to thank God for her son Louis XIV's birth. Since the Revolution, the abbey has been transformed into a military hospital. Inside the sumptuous church: many sculptures or paintings by Philippe de Champaigne and the beautiful Saint Anne chapel where the Queen was buried. The history of medical military service museum is located in the historical part of the building, around the magnificent cloister. -
Visit this authentic palace hidden in the heart of Paris where a enthusiast has spent all his life gathering the biggest private collection of Napoleon's objects in the world! Access the beautiful and gilded rooms where portraits, sculptures and pieces of furniture are exposed at an arm's reach in an apartment manner, without anyone around! The end of the tour will see the secret cabinet of curiosities open, where the visitor can marvel at some unique pieces of the collection belonging to the Emperor Napoleon and his family. Treat yourself: stroll the collection with a glass of premium champagne! -
This tour is meant for architecture and interior decoration lovers. A first stretch in Western Paris will recall Art Déco's origins and diffusion, highlighted with several houses built in the same street by key architects. One of these houses will be exceptionally open for a visit of the vast workshop on the ground floor. Just a block away, another amazing place, built by leading 1930's architect Le Corbusier, gives another orientation to modernist style. After a short metro trip, a stop has been arranged in one of the most beautiful and typical restaurants in Paris, rich with anecdotes. Across the street, is another example of Art Deco buildings, directly inspired by American high rise. The end of the tour will take place in a fantastic hotel built as a tribute to the great 1925 Art Déco exhibition, filled with the most refined furniture, frescoes, and decors. -
Père Lachaise cemetery is the most prestigious and visited in Paris. Located in the 20th arrondissement, it extends over 44 acres of outstanding scenery and contains about 70,000 graves. In the largest green space in Paris are the graves of many celebrities: Balzac, Chopin, Colette, Champollion, Molière, Yves Montand and Simone Signoret, Jim Morrison, Alfred de Musset, Edith Piaf, Pissarro, Oscar Wilde, Modigliani and many others. The cemetery is also well known because the Commune of Paris, a socialist Revolution ended right there in 1871 in horrid fightings. -
In 1670, there was nowhere to house disabled or destitute soldiers who fought for France. Louis the XIVth, sensitive to the plight of soldiers who served during his many campaigns, decided to build the Hotel Royal des Invalides. Now assigned to the Ministry of Defence but also housing many organizations from other departments, the Invalides still retains its first hospital-hospice function for the severely disabled veterans of war. Aside the visit of the museum of war and its many secrets, we will go over the political design of the king behind the institution and its influence in the urban landscape in Paris. -
The name of this neighborhood comes from the ancient abbey of Saint Germain, one of the richest and most prestigious in Europe. Only the church remains today, and it is the most ancient in Paris with its oldest part dating from the 11th century. This area was also the meeting place of the intelligentsia and international artists before World War II, as well as for postwar philosophers. It is celebrated as the birthplace of jazz in Paris, and is famous for it nightly revelry and crazy parties. This walk will explore all of these fascinating aspects, as well as the superb Luxembourg Palace and Gardens. You will see why Saint Germain guards the literary soul of the left bank and boasts ‘chic Paris’, typical of the 6th arrondissement. -
An unforgettable experience is guaranteed as you wander through la Butte aux Cailles, anti-establishment Parisian party district, with it’s restaurants and detached houses that provide an unrivaled Left Bank atmosphere. One of Paris's favorite playgrounds for street artists, the area also boasts of hidden gems and many other peculiarities. -
Stroll the 17th arrondissement of Paris and discover the unsung Batignolles quarter, with its flowery and discreet streets and designer shops. Beyond the traditional park lies the recently built eco-neighborhood around the Park Martin Luther King, as well as the brand new courthouse designed by the architect of the famous Centre Pompidou museum, Renzo Piano. -
The tour will detail the historical and political roles of this capital city landmark since the 16th century. After meeting on the large main square outside the building, the impressive facade will be detailed and its history recalled.
Upon entering, we'll discover all the fantastically decorated reception rooms, including the function room, created as a replica of the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, as well as the impressive stairs of honor.
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Amid disarray and chaos, the German army entered Paris on the 14th of June 1940. They will rule over Paris until the end of August 1944. Between grand and small history, the tour takes you to see the main buildings where the German invaders settled and ruled for four long years. Lives, actions and fates of a few unknown people living through this period will also be told along the way, between Occupation, Resistance, Collaboration, Deportation and Liberation. -
With the Russian Paris tour you will discover Russian culture throughout its history, all around the French capital, and above all religious institutions, well known and sometimes hidden, one of which containing two trees growing inside!
You'll get to see amazing nineteen century typical wooden Russian houses in a back alley usually closed to the public and learn about the lives in Paris of famous Russian representatives, such as Turgenev, Bunin, Pushkin or Chagall as well as a rather more contemporary Russian presence, through nightlife and gastronomy. Tour also available with a private VIP car.
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This is an enchanting tour in the Montparnasse area. Even if today, the neighborhood is more well known for a huge commercial centre, train station and its emblematic 1970's tower, Montparnasse is filled with back alleys, amazing stories, artists homes and workshops as well as a vibrant day and night life especially embodied with the famous great brasseries that made the area famous around the world in the first half of the twentieth century. -
This walk will uncover a unique place: a small village bordered only with Parisian villas, pedestrian and paved walkways bordered by pretty houses. The whole area surrounded by parks and small gardens. The tour will also take you in one of the last Parisian village, little known to Parisian and hidden in the 19th arrondissement. Nearby, the park of the Buttes Chaumont, created in the 19th century, is considered as the most charming and typically Parisian of all the capital's parks. -
Discover the luxurious mansions of the Plaine Monceau. This popular area of the city gives you an impression of being in a Parisian village. In the second half of the 19th century, wealthy people settled in the Monceau district, building beautiful mansions near its picturesque park. We will approach several, uncovering hidden and magnificent courtyards, detail the park and finish with a very unusual street favored by up and coming 19th century artists. -
Around the Montsouris park, there are several charming and bucolic streets that celebrities of the 1920s, after leaving Montparnasse, made their home. The architectural style of these houses is worth a look and corresponds to the technical and artistic criteria of a very precise movement. In the immediate vicinity, lies the imposing Cité Internationale Universitaire, made famous by its ideals, wide green spaces, student residents from around the world, and also renowned architects who worked on several of the buildings. -
The historic Jewish quarter is found in the charming preserved district of the Marais especially around the rue des Rosiers. The walk brings to life the fascinating history of the Jewish population that has lived in France for more than 2000 years. In between persecutions and forced exiles, there have been periods that have consecrated the Jewish community as one of the most important and active in culture, politics, and business. The tour presents places that often go unrecognized, from large synagogues to small hidden oratories, private mansions, typical streets and, of course, places of remembrance, followed by a reflection on the current status of the French Jewish community. -
Come and explore this unknown neighborhood of Paris, hidden between the Opera and Montmartre. From famous 19th century artists' mansions to small museums dedicated to romantic or symbolic painters, follow the path of vibrant artists such as Chopin or Delacroix. Discover hidden alleys, artists hideouts and amazing stories linked to this little known district. Two intiliate and beautiful Museums on option: the painter Gustave Moreau's house-atelier and the musée de la vie romantique (Romantic life Museum) -
The tour begins at Saint Denis, where we will visit the sprawling, lively market. The stalls lead to the pedestrian street, the town’s central artery. At the end of this road, a large open square offers a fantastic view of the majestic Basilica. The visit includes the tombs of the kings and queens of France, the crypt and its treasures, and the central part of the cathedral. You will also have the opportunity to admire other remarkable features of the town, like former buildings of the Saint Denis Abbey, the former Carmel monastery, and the pretty Légion d’honneur park. The walk ends near the metro and tram stops in the newer area of Saint Denis. -
Strolling under the beautiful glass walkways of Paris. From the Palais Royal pleasures galleries to the performances of the Grands Boulevards, discover the vibrant life of the city in the nineteenth century between elegance, roguery and marketing. The walk will explore the most well-known and beautiful passages of the right bank from North to south, strolling casually through houses, sneaking quietly from one street to another, the transition is definitely a Parisian invention. -
The tropical garden visit with the remains of the 1907 colonial exhibition is like journeying in totally different worlds, from Indochina with temples and lush vegetation to North Africa with various pavilions from Tunisia or Morocco, through Congo, Madagascar and many more. This tour takes the visitor to an exotic trip in the footsteps of the former French Empire's different cultures! A break is also planned at the vast greenhouses where an association of enthusiasts present and sell their locally grown fruits and vegetables produced by permaculture. -
The Faubourg Saint Antoine has gradually developed around the Royal Abbey of Saint Antoine des Champs, but the bulk of its activities developed when the wood craftsmen settled in this neighborhood. In the early 18th century, over 500 carpenters’ and cabinet makers’ shops thrived in the area thanks to royal commissions and the activity of the abbey. These traditions still exist; although manufacturers are increasingly rare to find, replaced by promoters' lofts or convenient stores. A meeting is organized with one of the last woodcrafters in his hidden workshop!