Paris Walks--how easy to hear?

They don't use any amplification. The guides generally do project well, but don't be shy. My mother uses hearling aids and she just made sure she was near the guide when he/she stopped to talk.

I have h aids. Works fine. My h aids have a couple of different modes that I can switch to as need. One of the modes is for a speaker directly in front.

I agree with trying to be near the front. The group sizes really vary. I’ve been in some as small as maybe 6 and a couple (pre-Covid) that were maybe 25 or 30. One of the walks I dropped out of because the guide was extremely soft spoken, it was in a noisy traffic area and the group huge and I could not hear her.

If there is a walk that you are interested in, I also suggest doing a private tour with them. A friend and I did that a few years ago. It was a bit expensive but so worth it. We’d both wanted to do a particular walk but it’s not one of their regulars and we could never catch it so we just arranged for a private tour. Excellent.

Thanks all for the feedback. I think I'll likely be okay, although Pam, you have me thinking about the private tours.

Frank, I always seem to have mixed success with the various modes to focus the direction, but I do agree it's worth a try!

I haven’t done Paris Walks, but I did a London Walks tour a few years ago, and couldn’t hear the guide at all. (Soft spoken in a noisy area, like Pam’s example). It left me reluctant to try another tour like that.

As for standing close to the guide, it seemed that half the people in the group couldn’t hear the guide either, and it was a bit comical as we all tried our best to stand close - We probably frightened the poor guide as we kept moving closer and closer. Lol. I finally gave up.

The specific walk we wanted was the Knights Templar. Christopher who is one of their regular guides led us for the private walk and we talked about all sorts of stuff, some unrelated ( he’s a fossil hunter, lol and yes, I’d love to do a fossil walk with him!!).

Oriel, one of the owners, is who we did the arrangements with at their regular email address.

I have trouble hearing sometimes so I'm usually close to the tour guide. They will usually herd people into a group near the guide so the street can be left open for people to use.

Just always be near the guide and don't worry about getting close.

My wife and I did a private walk with a Paris Walks guide yesterday morning. It was a great experience. Like having a 2 hour conversation with a friend who is very knowledgeable about your specific area of interest. Well worth the extra cost. You get full attention of the guide and all questions answered, with no concerns about group dynamics.

I appreciate all the thoughts on the private walks, very intriguing. For those that booked those, how much in advance did you arrange it? We're still plotting out day-to-day activities on this trip, but hoping to keep a fair amount of flexibility based on the weather since we'll be balancing museum visits with Giverny, gardens and local walks.

We booked the private tour about 2 weeks in advance. Probably best to book even further in advance during busier times of year.