The Best Ways to Discover Paris

We had so much fun during our first visit to the City of Lights and learned so much about the rich history of France. We are strong believers that the best way to discover new cities is through walking tours, so we did several in Paris. While some people are against walking tour because they think they’ll be boring, we HIGHLY recommend you check out the following three. We promise they’ll change your mind. All of them were great in different ways and we definitely think they’re a must-do for your time in Paris.

1. Sandeman’s New Europe Free Walking Tour

We love free walking tours!!! They help you get acquainted with a new city quickly. It was the perfect way for us to spend our first day in Paris. We learned so much about the history of the city and got to see many of the main attractions including Notre Dame and The Louvre. Our tour guide, Alex, was entertaining and engaging and taught us so much. These walking tours are also a great way to meet other people who are travelling and make new friends! Sandeman’s offers many paid tours as well. In Paris, they offered a tour of the Latin Quarter, a tour of the Montmarte District, and a tour of Versailles.  

2. Sandeman’s New Europe Gardens of Versailles Tour

For around €30 we took a tour of the gardens of Versailles. This price included our tickets for the 45 minute train ride to and from Versailles as well as a guided tour of the gardens of the palace. The gardens encompass more than 2,000 acres and this is a great excursion to take to get away from the bustling streets of Paris for a few hours. We learned a lot about Louis XIV on our free walking tour and were really excited to visit the palace he spent his life creating. Our tour guide, Alberto, was knowledgeable and really created a picture of what Versailles would have been like during the 17th century. After the tour, you’re welcome to stay and take the audiotour of the actual Palace. While this is an extra cost and is not through Sandeman’s, we totally recommend it because the inside is almost too opulent to comprehend. (As we learned on our tour, our main man Louis XIV was incredibly self obsessed and wanted to have the most beautiful palace in the world.)

3. Interkultur Tours: Alleyways of Bastille 

Interkultur offers both group and private tours and offers a variety of unique options. We chose to take a tour through the alleyways of the Bastille District. This 2 hour tour was really more of a stroll down beautiful streets riddled with a deep history. Our tour guide, Thierry, told us all about the Bastille District’s artisan wood working culture leading up to the French Revolution. He even took us to meet a wood worker who still had a traditional workshop in one of the hidden alleyways! Bastille was a hub of artisans who lived on the outer edge of the city and played a major role in the Revolution. We loved spending the morning roaming the historic streets and learning about the neighbourhood.

One of the best parts of doing all of these tours was making connections between the things we learned on each. As confident as we are in our own travel abilities, these tours allowed us to see a side of Paris that we simply could not have found on our own. No matter what tours your chose to do, just make sure you keep exploring this world of BS. 😉

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Thank you girls for this great article!

Bon voyage and see you soon in Paris!