Touring Paris

Paris is easy to navigate on your own - you just need a good map, a good guidebook, and a carnet of metro tickets (10 discounted tickets that can be shared). Rick's Paris book has several good walking tours as does the Michelin Green Guide (I suggest you get both as the Michelin guide covers some territory that Rick's book doesn't. If you want tours, check out the walking tours - they are inexpensive and several should be listed in any guidebook. I can recommend Paris Greeters which provides free walking tours matched to your interests, and you can probably request a private tour. Guides are volunteers who love Paris and speak English. You book online, giving an idea of your interests, then you are matched to a guide who will contact you directly for more information and to arrange a meeting place. The guides do not accept tips, but might accept a coffee or glass of wine at a cafe. When you book, you are given the opportunity to make a donation - I gave 10 euros.

Would you use a tour company on a visit to Seattle, Washington DC or Boston? If not then you don't need one for Paris. Paris is dead easy to get around on public transport. Get a guidebook; figure out what appeals to you; probably get a museum pass if you are hitting many of those monuments and museums.. And off you go. You might take an evening Seine cruise -- just walk up to any of the docks that offer them and go. Some people like to do a hoho bus overview -- not me -- but lots of people like to just ride around on top of the bus to get an overview of the town. Many guidebooks including Rick Steves offer sample itinerary for varying lengths of stay; you could certainly use one of those as a jumping off place for your planning.

Guessing that those who recommend seeing a city on your own as opposed to a tour have never been on a good tour. They don't know how it can completely enhance your trip.

One has just spent 1000's of dollars getting to Europe, paying for hotels and meals and so it would be kind of silly to scrimp on shelling out a few bucks for a tour. Isn't that why you are here anyway? To see and learn as much as possible in a short period of time? A knowledgeable, passionate tour guide can answer all of your questions, can give you history about places that probably aren't in any guide book, and can make for a much more memorable visit than walking around a city with a guide book in your hand. Plus, they are fun! I go on walking tours in every city I visit and wouldn't think of not doing this. I like chatting with others on the tour, hearing personal anecdotes and interesting stories from the guides, and having the chance to really learn about a place. You cannot get this from a book, or a recording.

In most cities you will find daily tours in English, that run about 12-15 € per person. Recommend reading reviews in Ricks books or reading up to date reviews on Trip Advisor. See which tours match your schedule and offer the sights you want to visit and see. You might see about getting a private guide too, which for 4 people may be very efficient and cost effective for you, especially if you have personal interests that you would like covered.

Yes, I would go on a tour in Seattle if I was there. My hometown has lots of very interesting walking tours to go on and I think most cities do.

Some clarification from the OP would be helpful.....

I don't think there's much disagreement above really. Paris is easy to get around in, a good guidebook is always helpful, and the hop-on-hop-off buses can show you a lot in a limited time. I also agree with Ms. Jo that a good privately hired guide can make a trip much more interesting, and can be affordable for a small group of people for a half day or day. And I'm sure the Rick Steves Paris tour is excellent also, especially for first-time travelers.

Reading the original post carefully, I think smcnown (whoever that is) would be best served by checking out Paris Walks. They offer a lot at a good price and are very easy to use. Just show up with your money and spend a couple of hours learning a lot. If you liked it, do another. And another. And don't forget to spend some time walking around on your own and watching the scene from sidewalk cafes. May is a beautiful time!

It isn't a matter of 'scimping'; it is a matter of doing what you want to do when you want to do it and not be herded about on someone else's agenda. Jedem das Seine.

Some people don't mind being "herded around on somebody else's agenda" but they think of it as being led by a knowledgeable person who will take them to the high spots of the city. Different strokes for different folks.

Thank you all for your input. After further investigation, we have decided to do an all day tour with a private guide the first day. We will then do some walking tours that appeal to us, and a boat tour. Again, thank you for your input.

You can make a guided tour way more interesting just starting a chat instead of being herded around. Some guides really like that. I can remerber well my visit once to St-Denis Basilica and had a question to one of the attendants about a grave. He noticed my interest for history, jumped out of his seat and showed me around and explained about history as much as he could. While talking we walked between the tombs while stepping over the barriers and had a more intense experience than otherwise would have happend. We had a good time with each other, saw and learned things I didn´t know before. For him also interesting as he spend usually his days just sitting there.

So mostly I try to have a talk with a guide and ask questions from the start to get involved in an interesting conversation and if the interest is mutual you can sometimes with a bit of luck get to see things usually not open to public.

So if something really interests you (actually doesn´t really matter what), start the conversation with that and the guide shows interest in you, works mutual. Keep going that the tour can evolve in a amusing and intruiging experience. With a personal guide this is more easily to achieve than in a group guided tour.

I have developed an itinerary of my seven active days in Paris using Rick Steves' guide. Isn't that adequate? His tours (e.g., Montmartre) seem comprehensive.

Patrickreid44 - completely adequate. You should have a great trip. Just be sure to allow plenty of time for cafe sitting and people watching.

Same answer as Carolyn, I would give a "yes" to Patrick's question.

Thanks, all. I have about six hours planned for each of seven days using Rick Steves' timings. I plan on ending my days at a boulangerie or sandwicherie after having having my main meal midday. How late are the boulangeries open? How late are the museums typically open? I don't want to rush the end of my day, which I plan on happening early in the evening.

I second Paris Walks..we used their sister company in London for two walks and discovered areas that I did not know existed and landed up in some awesome neighborhoods. No need to prebook, just look at their schedule and show up with cash in hand. I learned so much, even getting to the meeting place was fun. We plan on doing a couple of these while there For the Marais (circit 1) and the Latin Quarter or Montmarte. I may do some of RS walking tours (I have some downloaded to my phone), but the thought of walking around with my ears plugged or my nose in a book is just not my style. I am going to give it a try though, who knows I may like it.

We are also doing the Eiffel Tower behind the Scenes tour.

While I agree that Paris is easy to navigate one's self, I also understand those that want a little guidance at the beginning of their trip. For those people I recommend www.Paris-trip.com. The company is fabulous. My first time in France I was to start school immediately in the Loire valley, but I had a day in Paris. Thus, I took a 3.5hr tour from Paris trips and went back to Paris to see what I wanted to see later in the month. The best part was that it gave me an orientation of the city and let me jot down some places I was sure I wanted to see after getting a preview. On my tour I also was able to scale the Eiffel Tower and have lunch at the Altitude restaurant (before it was redone). It was also a fantastic way to see Giverny.

A few of the advantages would be the pick-up service offered, they call you to confirm (you don't call them), and the guides are professional.

This way of travelling is not for everyone, but most people who I've met says that Paris-trip sets the standard. I agree with them. I've taken some pretty bad tours, but never from Paris-Trip.