Paris tours

anthony, do you mean you wish a private guide just for your family. In that case I have seen a few in Paris referenced on tripadvisor.com forums, note can be very pricey. For eating I strongly suggest reading some restaurant reviews,, its easy to hit some duds in Paris if one is not careful. I have also used the booking site La Fourchette ,, they make the reservation for you and often their offers include some bonus or discount( but not always).. this is a free booking site. There are reviews on the site also.
Tour operators like Cityrama and Parisvisions do offer mini van tours which would be semi private and do hotel pick up for extra charge.

I'm not necessarily set on a private tour. We just want something unique. I guess if I was to describe it...we want to collect unique memories on this trip. We are looking at doing a Vatican tour at night and an Itialian cooking class, but I'm having trouble finding something worthwhile in Paris. Thanks!

You might consider looking into the Paris Greeter program. It's a free (donations accepted, but not required) program to show tourists around the city. On the website you apply, check off your interests, then they match you up with a volunteer. I did this last fall. A very nice guy who grew up in the Marais showed us around that area. Although I had been to the Marais a couple of times before, I learned so much more about the area. He spent about 4 hours with us, tailoring what he showed us to our interests. They are not allowed to accept tips so we took him out for a drink. The 'Greeters' are volunteers who love their city and want to share it with others.

Andrea, I love that idea! I really want a local to walk us down the Rue Cler and show us how to pick out great food and spend a few hours snacking (like a true Parisian)! Please keep sending over ideas. I am continuing to look for great creative tours, but not finding anything! Thanks all!

Check out a website called meetingthefrench. There are some interesting ideas there. Unfortunately, the link for having dinner in a French home seems to be down or no longer available, but there are other ideas there. Also, jimhaynes website might be of interest to you. (Do look into Paris Greeters as well. Used them in New York and it was terrific.)

Hey, Anthony Rick actually does a pretty good job of walking you down Rue Cler, and the shop keepers will do a fantastic job of helping you find what's good. We particularly liked the cheese shop Rick mentioned. Bought cheese, sausage and wine there. There's a great little produce store and an obvious bread store. That's pretty much about all you need for a nice little picnic in the Champs de Mars. At the cheese store, all we had to tell them, in English, was we wanted a fresh chevre (goat cheese), a medium strong cow cheese and a nice dried sausage (saucisson). Then they helped us find a wine to go with them all for a picnic. Very helpful.

The highly entertaining Paris Chocolate Tour is the answer to your prayers! Given by "Paris Walks," they take you around to the premier chocolate emporiums of the Right Bank where you're given samples (included in the price of the tour) of the most delicious chocolates Paris has to offer. You'll all love it! http://www.paris-walks.com/chocolate-walk.html

I also recommend the Paris Walks Chocolate tour. We did it last fall and it was wonderful. The guide, Iris, led us all over and we sampled lots of chocolate from a number of different shops. No need for lunch that day. We will be doing it again our next time in Paris. Have a great trip.

I am working on scheduling the chocolate tour. I am curious how you get in touch with the Paris Greeters Program? Is there a site to contact? A group? Thanks for the help! Any suggestions on how to do the major sites and museums well? I know they are must sees, but I hope to do them more effectively. Keep em coming!

Also check out Oliver Magny and O Chateau for fun wine-tasting classes.

The website for Paris Greeters is parislogue.com.

Hi, Anthony You could also look at Contexttours.com and Parisbymouth.com for more food related tours:chocolate, cheese, pastries, etc. If you are into art, Contexttours give excellent art tours. The tour guides usually have advance degrees in fine arts. We did a Michelangelo seminar when we were in Florence. Not only did she traced his life, but taught us how to look at a sculpture, the point of view of the sculpture. She showed us Davids by other artist for comparision. A little bit more in depth than what you will get from Paris Vision.
In Paris, they offer a Monet seminar, walking tours in Paris, trip to Chartes and Giverny, etc.

Love the Fat Tire Bike Tours!