Paris Greeters

Yes, I've done it twice and have recommended it many times. It is a good way to see things through the eyes of a local, and I believe most greeters will tailor the walk to focus on what you want to see. Our two greeters did.

Great, thank you

Yes, I've used them twice and would also recommend. Even though my second greeter was a little bit "nutty" - it was still an enjoyable walk.

We also had a fabulous walk!!

My advice is to make sure you accept a walk that you really want. I made the mistake of telling them my daughter was in a wheelchair so then all the "offers" we got were bus rides, the "manhattan" of Paris, etc. Things that didn't interest us. I scraped that request and did another one not mentioning the wheelchair. This time we got a great tour! It was a gastronomic tour visiting a bakery that has been making bread in a wood burning oven, had a talk (interpreted by our guide) went to a cheese shop and learned how they age cheese, went to a wine shop and learned about wine, then we through a big outdoor market looking at all they had to offer. At the end, our tour guide had a blanket, plates, glasses etc. and we had a picnic. Then we just kept talking and talking until we really had to run to get to a museum we wanted to see. I think we stayed with our greeter until 3:00! We had a blast! It was really neat because he lived in the neighborhood way off the path of tourists. It was like nothing we could have ever done on our own!

Just know that if you get an offer you don't like, refuse it, and you'll get another one. I did feel bad, but ultimately got more of what we wanted, and a fabulous greeter!

Yes, after recommendations from both Andrea and Susan, we toured the Marais last week with Jordi. High marks for enthusiasm and knowledge!! Jordi let us through locked gates to see courtyards we would have missed on our own.

Yes, loved it! We had a retired doctor as our greeter. A real "slice of Parisian life" experience.

Susan makes a very good point about being particular about your walk. You aren't required to accept the first thing they offer. Wait until they suggest something you're interested in. When you make the request for your walk you will check from different categories what topics you would like to participate in.

I also had Jordi - wonderful tour of le Marais in the rain. Highly recommend this organization.

Where do you find out about greeters? How do you "hire" them?

Www.parisgreeters.fr

I had an enjoyable walk in Paris last week, touring the Latin Quarter and part of the Marais. The tour lasted almost all day and included a break for lunch at a very nice restaurant picked by my Greeter Pascal, that I would never have discovered on my own. He too went into a lot of open and locked courtyards, to see interesting things, as well as courtyards of several of the grandes ecoles which were very serene (as schools were on vacation last week). (He hadn't heard of Rick Steves though -- but he still gets high marks.