best walking tours of Paris

It's hard to find a walk that doesn't have to do with a theme as Paris is surrounded by history.
Check out the website Paris-Walks. They have been around for years and are great. I would recommend their Île de la Cité tour. It's as central as you can get in Paris.

How many days will you be there? I'd probably skip the Champs-Elysses walk as that will just walk you by a bunch of high end stores. The new Louis Vuitton hotel that is being built is kind of cute as it's wrapped up like an LV bag, hahaha.

I do like Rick's Historic Paris Walk. I've done that one although not in order...kind of in sections. I wish Rick and team would update this one because on the map where he has you going from 3 to 6, that side of the cathedral is not accessible. The Tower tours start in that corner now instead of the other side (#4), then there are still workers on site so their offices are along that side and it's blocked off. You can get down the other side of Notre Dame to the Deportation Memorial.

https://d3dqioy2sca31t.cloudfront.net/Projects/cms/production/000/004/448/original/b3ffaff94c20a9face6bdb25adf3adbf/map-audiotours-historic-paris.pdf

I expect there are some walking tours thru GetYourGuide and AirBnB experiences. I had not used either of these until my last trip and did 2 experiences with AirBnB although they were not a general type walk. I booked thru GetYourGuide too but the leader immediately changed the time so I cancelled and was immediately refunded my prepaid amount.

The one thing I would suggest is that you look at the qualifications for the guide. I want someone with some "book learning", hahahah and not someone who is an out of work actor looking to supplement their income by memorizing a script. That might not bother you so you do you!

Thanks. We are driving in from Germany and staying in an AirBnB near the stadium, so we can park our car and use the metro to get around the city. We arrive on a Saturday and have Sunday-Tuesday to explore the city. We've already reserved our Louvre tickets for Monday morning. The we're driving to Normandy on Wednesday. I know we want to see the Orangerie museum and go up the Eiffel Tower as well, but our dates are not yet available to reserve tickets.

Paris has too much to show in one walking tour. There's no historic center as you might find in smaller places because most of Paris is historic, though from different time periods. There are a few exceptions of areas that were bombed in WWII and rebuilt with contemporary architecture, but much of medieval Paris was demolished in the 19th century and rebuilt with the buildings and boulevards you see today. However, instead of a walking tour, a narrated boat ride on the Seine river will take you past many important buildings.

I sometimes will do the Louvre and Orangerie on the same day if I have an early morning entry to Louvre. I can last in there to about lunchtime, then head out into the Tuileries, weather permitting. I usually grab a sandwich from the Eric Kayser kiosk right next to the Carrousel Arch and head into the gardens. From there you just walk thru the gardens to the Orangerie on the other end. The Orangerie is pretty small - 2 rooms on the entry level with Monet's 8 waterlily canvases and then a downstairs area which goes pretty quickly. Maybe an hour for this museum especially if it's crowded which is the normal case anymore.

Orangerie is open Mondays as well and closed Tuesdays like the Louvre.

I did a Greeters walk last month and it was amazing. Just me and the greeter, met up in the 19th near the Parc des Buttes-Chaumant. Very interesting area with which I was not very familiar, few tourists and those not from the US.

I’m a city planner so this is the kind of thing I was looking for, but if you specify main sights I assume that they would be able to accommodate you.

Fodors had a book called 24 Walks in Paris with maps and discussion of sights -- it is still easy to find used. I particularly loved the architectural walk in the 16th.

I used the RS walks last spring in Paris and they are a good overview of the tourist areas. I also downloaded A Day in Montmartre from Jay Swanson (check out his Youtube channel). What I loved about the guide is that you walked through the neighborhood, visit local coffee shops, restaurants, along with the must see sights. He now has updated his website with an interactive guide. You may want to check that out.

One other option to consider, especially since you are interested in food is to take a food tour. We loved our tour from Eating Europe of the Marais. Took this early in our trip and revisited some of the local bakeries and cheese shops in our trip. You will get a good overview of history, culture, and food.

Great ideas! Thank you.

If you want a tour of the major sites you might also consider one of the CV2 car tours. I’ve not done one but others who have seem to really enjoy it. It would be you (and your partner) with a witty and fun guide/driver.
Any other tour guides that I might recommend concentrate on limited areas or interest.

We booked with paris Greeters a few years ago, it was very memorable. Our guide (it was only two of us and the guide) had looked up where we live in the US, even had (ancient) history of our little Florida island that we had never know about! The day of our tour, it was raining, so we bought an umbrella and met our guide. He had actually figured out how to give us the tour while standing under overhands/eaves etc so as not to get us soaked! We loved this tour. I will say, that you put your interests in, and then a guide volunteers. We lost our first volunteer (he bowed out) and then we got the gentleman I refer to above. I would do this again in a heartbeat. Just pick a theme and go for it!