Paris Walks — Local services in Saint-Denis

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...

Our overall experience with Paris Walks - what can I say?! All guides we've had (so far we've taken 5 tours over 2 Paris visits) are knowledgeable and professional. Their 2-hour tour length is absolutely perfect. We were comfortable, and well-fed with knowledge. The old adage, “leave them wanting more” certainly works with this timeframe, let alone with all the knowledge the guides imparted in that allotment of time. None of us walked away - “left early” - due to either boredom or an overabundance of information. Paris Walks tours aren’t the usual fare of tourist sites, and really spotlight the interests many of us at our age have. Just the tour titles make me want to know more! The Paris Walks prices, reservation, and payment processes were easy to follow and understand, and I appreciate their understanding of our concerns about not carrying more cash than necessary. Having tours begin and end near a metro stop is brilliant. Makes those navigating unfamiliar cities and locales able to go from our Point A to the tour’s starting Point B (and back) a breeze. I felt we were benefitting from the advice & assistance of friends, not an impersonal and uncaring business. Their office team's professionalism and responsiveness made the stress and uncertainty of dealing with a stranger go away.

We are so glad we found Paris Walks a couple of years ago, and absolutely recommend them when...

Fun, affordable, well-informed. We took a family of six (two adults, two teens, two young adults) on a private tour of Paris chocolate shops, with Iris as our guide. She was knowledgable, friendly, flexible, and good-humored; all six of us really enjoyed her tour. She made sure to select four stores with different styles and offerings, and we took our time in each. We sampled something different at each store, which combined to give a broad explanation of chocolate as a product and treat. We returned to one store, Cluizel, and received a 10% "friends discount" because we had been there on the tour earlier: nice! The couple who run the company were very organized and professional: I never felt like our plans were uncertain or vague. It was a really good experience for all of us, and I encourage anyone to...