We’ve been going on their walks for 25 years. They’re the gold standard of Paris walking tours. Superb, veteran guides who’ve lived in Paris for many years - have made it their home - and who, in consequence, know the place inside out, are well connected, professionally qualified, completely fluent in French (needless to say), know the history of the place, know its idiosyncrasies, etc. They’re “locals” who are grown-ups not college students who are passing through and won’t be in Paris 18 months from now, let alone “guiding” it.

Oriel and Peter who founded Paris Walks in 1995 (and they were by no means “just off the boat” when they did so) are themselves superb guides as well as being the Platonic ideal of small business administrators. They’re warm, friendly, funny, assured, caring, efficient, will always go the extra mile for their customers - in a word, parfait.

For those who “get it” about walking tours - who know there’s a world of difference between an extremely high quality walking tour and the also rans, the imitations and knock-offs - Paris Walks is the port you should put in at in the City of Light.

They’re everything a walking tour company should be: small, local, independent, caring, friendly, assured, on the ball, etc. In that word again, parfait.

And the other side of that coin, they’re NOT corporate, not a chain, not foreign-owned and based, not given to the misuse of the word free as a lure to hook credulous tourists into an extractive operation.

Find the good and hold on to it, folks - extremely high-quality, small, local independents need and deserve your support. And it’s not just for their good - ultimately it’s for yours too.