Best of Paris in 7 Days Tour

I took the best of Paris 7 day tour in 2018 and absolutely loved it. It is a very active tour. There was a mother/daughter duo on the tour, and the mother used 2 canes. She made the effort to keep up, and chose to bow out of some of the activities. Unfortunately some of the walks were long and tied one part of Paris to another, so if you backed out of a section, you’d potentially miss out on a lot of great places. There were also a lot of stairs in the subway stations.

I applaud you for being cognizant of not wanting to hold up the group. Only you can decide if you would get enough out of the tour, but it truly introduces you to Paris and gives you the skills so you can confidently go out on your own to enjoy the splendour that this city offers.

Another option would be to stay in a RS recommended hotel and take a few walking tours to familiarize yourself with the things that are important to you.

Tour companies rate their tours' overall activity levels and give further and more specific details about each day's itinerary (how many total miles, cobblestones, standing in museums, etc).
If the goal is to get to Paris using the support of a guided tour maybe choosing one with an easier pace would better suit your needs. Road Scholar, for example, has an Easy Going level with very little walking. I didn't see that option for them for Paris but as it's such a popular destination I'm sure you can find one!
I have used Intrepid, Gate 1 and Odysseys Unlimited (as well as 4 RS tours). OAT is well-reviewed here on the Forum.

Thank you Susie

Your response was very helpful.

Many stairs in the subways might be a real problem for me. And like the woman with two canes, I would probably miss out on a. lot.

Hi Bon Voyage

Road Scholar offered an easy tour for Paris but it would cost me over $5,000. It was for 9 days but I do not know if I want to pay over $5,000 for it.

I will look into Odyssey and Gate 1. I have heard good things about Gate 1.

I will be very frank. I believe, based on your reports of what you were able to do on your cruise excursions plus your time before/after your cruises, that this tour or any Rick Steves tour will be too much for you. You know I am a lover of tours and I did the Best of Paris tour in 2014 when I was 65. I did fine but I was in great shape, doing long walks of 8 miles or so before I traveled that year.

On my Best of Paris tour in 2014 there was no one who could not keep up although according to my notes some found it a strenuous tour. We went everywhere by Metro and the metro stations nearest our hotel did not have escalators. There were a few people who opted out of activities for a day or half a day. IF you opted out of an activity or could not keep up you would need to get yourself back to the hotel either by Metro, bus or taxi/Uber. I have in my notes that I thought you needed to be able to walk a solid 3-4 miles per day to manage on this tour.

I agree that you might be able to manage on the Road Scholar Slower Pace tour. I have done a number of Road Scholar tours (13) but have not done Paris with them as I'd already done 3 Rick Tours that had Paris included and feel very comfortable on my own there.

https://www.roadscholar.org/find-an-adventure/22235/Paris-at-a-Slower-Pace-Art-Culture-in-the-City-of-Light

I was in Paris this summer and can attest that there are a LOT of steps in the central metro stations, which was even bothersome to my 20 year old niece. Since they are quite up front about the physical demands of the tour they expect that everyone can mostly keep up. If you fell behind it could be difficult to catch up without imposing logistical troubles on the guide and the group. I have been on RS tours where people sat out activities due to illness or injury and the guides accommodated them as best they could. I had one RS tourmate that was almost sent off the tour due to poorly managed health issues that was adversely affecting the tour (late to activities, unable to keep up, etc). She managed to pull it together but it wasn't a pleasant experience for her, the guide, or the group.

You have mentioned that you are budget conscious. I would think it a poor value to spend quite a lot of money on a tour where you could potentially miss a good share of the activities. A different tour company might be an option but Paris can easily be visited on your own. You could even follow the RS tour itinerary but go at your own pace.

I “second” Pam’s suggestion to look into the Road Scholar’s Paris at a slower pace tour. We have taken many Rick Steve’s’ tours as well as Road Scholar tours.
Generally speaking, the average age of Road Scholar participants are older. I think the “slower pace” tour might be a perfect fit for you.
I notice that a motor coach is used for this tour rather than the metro.
It might be slightly more expensive than the Rick Steves Paris tour, but you would probably not choose to “opt out” of any activity and the hotel might be nicer.

I looked at the Road Scholar tour that is what I call "Slower Paris". And it is a good one. It is probably the right one for me but very expensive since I need my own room and would probably use their air fare. It will cost me over $6,000 for 9 days in Paris but a very good excursion.

I agree that I probably should not try to take the Rick Steves Best of Paris in 7 Days Tour. It is not the right fit for me. I was hoping that maybe ..... but no, we are not meant for one another.

I have been doing a lot of research and there are not many excursions that go to Paris, just Paris, for a full week.

Thank you to everyone who responded the very first time that I inquired about a week in Paris (pre Japan) and now this most recent time.

CL

I could probably do Paris on my own at maybe less money than an tour excursion but I am very bad with maps and directions. I do not have a good sense of direction.

I think when it is all said and done, a paid tour might not be all that much more.

And I think that it would be a lot less stress. And maybe more fun. I love my privacy and my space but I get lonely.

That is one reason why I like cruises so much. I go to my cabin when I want space but I come out and socialize when I want company.

Carol NR

I noticed that Road Scholar is using motorcoach rather than public transport which I really like and it is a real nice hotel.

Plus they still give you a museum pass on the Road Scholar tour.

I believe that it is also 9 days rather than 7.

I'm with CL. Budget and mobility issues would suggest seeing Paris on your own.

You could certainly duplicate many aspects of the tour on your own.

Yes, you'll miss the full time guide and the group dynamics, but with some advance planning you can see Paris at your on pace, travel by bus and taxi, join guided museum tours and walking tours and return to your hotel at your leisure.

Length of Road Scholar Paris tour: Road Scholar’s # of tour days is misleading. Day 1 is when you fly out of the USA. Therefore, I always count # of hotel nights.
Another major difference between the 2 companies: lectures are included in the tours.
I guess there’s a reason the word “scholar” is part of the company’s name.
I honestly think it will be a good fit for you.

Road Scholar tours also include more meals than Rick's tours. Both tours include the hotel breakfast. All of the Road Scholar tours have at least a lunch or a dinner included every day and often have both lunch and dinner included.

From my notes the Rick Steves Best of Paris tour had 3 dinners included - the Welcome dinner, the farewell dinner and one about halfway thru. No lunches were included.