Paris: 11 Specialty tours worth booking
If you’re thinking of paying for a private walking tour in Paris, the choices can be overwhelming. Websites like TripAdvisor can be helpful, but they can also feel like a mess of one food/photo/history tour after another. How can you even tell where to begin?
We’re here to help, with a round-up of private tours that specialize in specific aspects of visiting the French capital. These guides are vetted and approved by us, and worth a little splurge in Paris.
Related: Free walking tours in Paris
Discover Paris
Explore Paris’ black history with Monique Wells. Tours focus on various black cultures that became part of Paris, including African-American culture during the early 1900s. Visit haunts made famous by Josephine Baker, Langston Hughes, and other notable black figures. They also have self-guided walking tours that you can download.
Walking tours last about two hours; email for prices.
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Pedal through quaint French villages with an expert guide with French Mystique Bike Tours. Photo: French Mystique Bike Tours
French Mystique Bike Tours
There are numerous bike tours in Paris, but few actually take you outside the city. Bruce McAleer at French Mystique Tours takes small groups just outside Paris by train to bike the beautiful Parisian countryside, including small towns and chateaus. He also offers quirkier tours in Paris if you’d like.
Tours from three hours, from €150 for the entire group.
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The Gay Locals tour will show you LGBT history in surprising places, like this plaque on rue Montorgueil. Photo: The Gay Locals
The Gay Locals
The Gay Locals offers gay or lesbian travelers (and their friends), an LGBT-focused tour that covers gay and lesbian sights, issues, and history beyond just the bars of the Marais. (Although tours hit up the bars, as well!) Private tours are available through one or several neighborhoods. (Note: Send me any questions about these tours, as I’m one of the tour guides for the Gay Locals.)
€350 for a 4-hour neighborhood tour for up to 8 people (including admissions and transit).
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Ghost Tours of Paris
For something a little different, the team at Mysteries of Paris tour attempts to take a more frightful approach to the city. Ghost and vampire tours in the evening may be a good option for teenagers and those who might not care as much about history and cheese.
Groups up to 25, €25 per ticket (€20 when booked in advance online).
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Take a cooking class or a tasting tour through Paris with La Cuisine. Photo: La Cuisine
La Cuisine
The team at La Cuisine started off with cooking classes, including one that tours a local market. But they also organize a food tours in Paris, including a sweets tour of the Marais and a tour through the old market district Les Halles. They also host a unique trip out to Versailles to learn how the royalty ate at this former royal palace.
Tours from three-hour shopping and cooking, from €95.
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A group enjoying the tastes of the Latin Quarter food tour by Paris By Mouth. Photo: Paris By Mouth
Paris By Mouth
Few people can claim the culinary capital amassed by the team at Paris By Mouth. Their tours take visitors to the city’s most iconic neighborhoods, tasting along the way. Group and private tours are also available. Come hungry.
Three-hour tours (with tastings) from €95.
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Reduced mobility travelers can book planning services or a tour from Paris for Seniors. Photo: Paris for Seniors
Paris for Seniors
Walking tours aren’t accessible to everyone, but this company thinks that sightseeing in Paris shouldn’t be physically daunting. Genevieve Spicer has created a company that helps reduced mobility travelers in Paris. From knowing how to get around, to hiring a car and a private guide, she can take care of it all.
Half-day tours from €400.
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Running past the Eiffel Tower is just one of the highlights of Paris Running Tours. Photo: Paris Running Tours
Paris Running Tours
If you’re looking for both a city tour and a way to burn off those pastries, this company can help. Their experienced local runners will jog you around Paris, showing you some of the best sights along the way. Culture and calorie burning? Sign me up, please.
One-hour tours run from €55 per person.
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Exploring a flea market during the Secrets of Paris tour. Photo: Secrets of Paris
Secrets of Paris
Heather Stimmler-Hall, the creator of Secret of Paris, is a Franco-American who has been touring the city for years. If you’re looking to get off the beaten track, she customizes every tour to your needs and expectations, so there’s no script that she’ll be rattling through.
Two-hour tours €250 (up to 6 guests); half-day tours €300-500 (1-6 guests), including admissions.
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Get up close to your favorite scenes with a tour from Set in Paris. Photo: Set in Paris
Set in Paris
Paris can often seem like a giant Hollywood back lot, with big productions shooting in the streets and sidewalks, from Funny Face to Midnight in Paris. Movie buffs might appreciate this tour company that focuses on visiting the scenes of some of Hollywood’s most memorable Paris scenes. They offer walks through different districts, and even offer the chance to design a tour based off your favorite movies.
Two-hour walking tour €20 adults, €12 children.
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Go on a fun scavenger hunt through the Louvre with a tour from THATLou. Photo: THATLou
THATLou
How do you visit the world’s most visited museum? Why not with a specialized treasure hunt. That’s the idea behind THATLou (Treasure Hunt at the Louvre), where owner Daisy de Plume creates thematic hunts that put teams against each other while discovering many of the 35,000 pieces housed in the Louvre in an innovative way.
Private hunts (up to 15 people) €25 per person, public hunts from €18 per person.
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