History Walks
Castles & Cathedrals, the Gothic Paris - 2 hour tour
Castle built 1345 to defend Paris
This is a tour of the few remaining remnants of "old Paris" - the city that existed in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Come stroll with me through the charming Marais district, with a hidden castle, imposing renaissance palaces & baroque mansions, medieval timbered houses, leafy courtyards hidden behind carriage doors, charming private gardens & public fountains. Discover the unique history that preserved this charming neighborhood from destruction.
Learn how Haussmann transformed medieval Paris - click here
The Medieval Heart of Paris - 3 hours*
Ile de la Cité
The two islands sitting in the center of Paris (Ile de la Cité & Ile St Louis) are among the best preserved areas of the city and represent its historic heart.
Discover the first Royal Palace, built before Charlemagne on Roman Ruins. Visit the medieval hall & kitchens, see the cell where Marie Antoinette was held prisoner before being guillotined. Marvel at a 13th Century Royal Chapel, 70% of its surface made of stained glass. And Notre Dame with a "virtual visit" of its history, its construction & its treasures.
*Tour price does not include entrance fees to monuments
For more information on the Ile de la Cîté, click here
The Latin Quarter : Romans & Revolutionaries - 2 hours*
Paris Pantheon
Discover the treasures of the Left Bank of Paris, the city's Latin Quarter & St Germain-des-Prés. Focused on the city's Roman roots, this tour will take you to the oldest parts of the city, including the vestiges of thermal baths and an arena where gladiators once combatted.
In the 18th Century the Left Bank was a hotbed of Revolutionary insurgents. We will see where the Revolutionaries gathered, plotted their insurrections against the King and invented the guillotine.
We'll pause in a Renaissance Italian-style garden before seeing the Pantheon. The tour ends in the Mouffetard district, a lively neighborhood first settled by the Romans that became popular with the students of Latin Quarter in the Middle Ages...and still popular with students to this day.
*Tour price does not include entrance fees to monuments
America's Founding Fathers in Paris - 2 hours
Statue of Benjamin Franklin in Paris
Without France, the American Revolution would not have succeeded. Without America, the French Revolution might not have happened.
Our Founding Fathers sought the help of France to create America, and this tour will take you to the places where those great patriots lived & worked.
Along the way we will discuss the contribution that France made in ensuring American victory against the British – and the contribution that America made in disseminating Revolutionary ideals among the French elite.
The Franco-American friendship has lasted 230 years, and throughout that time Americans have enjoyed visiting Paris. Perhaps it is the city’s reputation for history and culture, or perhaps, our wish to discover a little of our own history hidden here in Europe.
New Athens : La rue des Martyrs - 2 hours
In 1820, as the city of Paris expanded, authorities decided to build a neighborhood for the rising professional classes of the new industrial era. The new neighborhood was dubbed “New Athens”, with neo-classical houses inspired by Greco-Roman architecture that featured large porches, cast-iron balconies & intricate friezes on the façades.
The new area attracted professionals as well as elite artists, particularly those of the Romantic movement, including Théodore Chassériau, George Sand, Alexandre Dumas & Frederic Chopin. In later years, some of the early Impressionists settled here, including Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, Paul Gauguin, Horace Vernet & Paul Delaroche amongst others.
Today the area is home to upmarket families & urban professionals, characterized by the trendy market on the rue des Martyrs.
Arts & Métiers - 2 hours*
Legend has it that in the 6th-7th Centuries, an abbey was founded on the location where St Martin of Tours cured a leper. The abbey, St Martin des Champs, was located in open fields just outside of Paris. But as the city grew, the lands of the abbey were incorporated into Paris in 1358.
During the course of the Middle Ages the area was urbanized, the fields disappeared as streets were laid down, artisans & craftsmen settled in and built homes. It became one of the city's most densely populated neighborhoods by the 1600s, home to the merchants and artisans of Paris.
During this History Walk we will visit the old streets, some of which were laid down in the 13th Century and have retained their medieval charm. We will see the oldest house in Paris (built 1407), as well as the abbey's old priory church (circa 1135). The visit includes a tour of the Church St Nicolas des Champs (from 1420) with its magnificent gothic decors (5 naves, 100 columns & over 70 works of art - sculptures, paintings, murals, etc.)
*Tour price does not include entrance fees to museum
Paris Pletzl : the Jewish Quarter - 1.5 hours
A Jewish community has existed in Paris since Roman times. However, over the course of many centuries, the Jews were expelled, then allowed to return and expelled again, in a long cycle of hatred then tolerance.
Despite centuries of persecution, the Jewish community in France managed to thrive, producing great thinkers such as Rabbi Senior and Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, known as Rashi.
This learned man wrote commentaries on the Talmud that are still read today.
The area hosts a diverse Jewish community, with a mix of Sephardic & Ashkenazi traditions. Sadly the community is much diminished as trendy boutiques are slowly pushing the small business owners out.
We start our tour at the Shoah Museum, covering the deportation of 75,721 Jews from France during WW2. Our visit will take us to the heart of the Jewish Quarter, the rue des Rosiers, where we will see the local shops and synagogues, and perhaps sample some of the local cuisine !
