While those may be the best free and paid tours in the city, Paris has a lot more to offer — no matter your interests. Here are 10 other insightful and educational tours in the city!
1. Devour Food Tours
People enjoying the classic French cafes of beautiful Montmartre in Paris, France
Devour Food Tours is my go-to food tour company in Europe. They always have incredible guides and unique tours that showcase each destination’s best eats. In Paris, they offer a handful of tours including a Montmartre neighborhood food tour, and evening food and wine tour, and a filling 3.5-hour tour that covers the city’s best dishes. For those with a sweet tooth, they also have a tasty chocolate and pastry tour too.
2. Simply France
A red bike near the river in Paris, France with the Eiffel Tower in the distance
This small-group bike tour covers a lot of ground, showcasing some of the city’s most interesting districts, such as the Latin Quarter and Saint Germain, where you’ll learn about Paris’ past and present from an expert local guide. The pace is leisurely, and while you will see some of the main sights, the tour explores a lot of local areas that other tours don’t visit.
3. Meeting the French
A large street art picture painted on a wall in Paris, France
For a niche, insider tour about Paris’s art scene, check out this two-hour street art tour. This tour explores the Belleville neighborhood, one of the most vibrant areas of the city, where street art and graffiti is common (and ever-changing). You’ll get to see works by locals as well as art from international artists (you might even see people making new art during your tour!).
4. City Free Tour
The sun shining over the historic Pantheon in Paris, France
This free-tour company, like New Europe, offers a couple of great general tours to help you get familiar with the City of Light, led by a local expert who can answer your questions. They also offer a few specialized tours so you can really focus on different neighborhoods. For example, the Montmartre tour does a great job of showing you just what life is like in this famous bohemian neighborhood, while the Latin Quarter tour highlights some of the most famous landmarks in town.
5. Discover Walks
Tourists exploring the exterior of the Louvre in Paris, France
Discover Walks offers free walking tours, as well as paid tours if you’re looking for something more focused and in-depth. With almost 60 tours on offer in Paris, chances are you’ll be able to find something to pique your interest. They have a great free tour of the Latin Quarter. For something more unique, try the photography workshop.
6. Localers
Walking down a path surrouned by trees near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France
Localers are a great choice if you’re looking for a unique tour option and want something more nuanced than just a free walking tour. They tend to specialize in more niche tours like literary, art, or historical tours. I enjoyed their tours a lot. I hadn’t heard of them before I moved here and was bummed their tours had flown under my radar for so long.
The World War II tour is particularly insightful and does a great job of illuminating the war’s true cost to Paris. I also really liked the Scandalous Paris tour, which highlights Paris’ brothels and the town’s more colorful past. There’s also an insightful literary tour too that takes you through the literary history of the city’s left bank. This is a solid mid-range tour company for travelers looking for value.
Most tours last 2-5 hours.
7. Paris Bar Crawl
The patio of a busy bar a night in Paris, France
If you’re looking for a more rambunctious way to spend an evening, head out on a pub crawl. Paris Bar Crawl is one of the most popular ones (it tends to be just for tourists and visiting students though). You’ll meet a bunch of new people while seeing what nightlife in Paris is all about. The tour visits three bars and one club..
Honorable Mention: Get Your Guide
A beautiful view of the historic Montmartre neighborhood in Paris, France
Get Your Guide is a massive online platform for finding all kinds of fun activities, including walking tours, bike tours, and food tours. Whenever I visit Paris (or any city) I always check their app to see what new activities I can find. There is really something for every interest and budget, and booking is a breeze. I can’t recommend them enough!
Walking tours are a great way to get below the surface of Paris. Every time I visit, I always make sure to try a new one. Having an expert guide to answer your questions while providing in-depth, local knowledge is the best way to deepen your experience as a traveler.
These walking tour companies are the best in Paris and will be able to provide you with the insight and information you need to really make the most out of your next visit to this incredible city. If you can only do one, start with Take Walks (but try to do a couple)!
