In July, I met for the first time two Canadians tourists as we joined Anne-Marie, a guide for the Parisiens d’Un Jour association. This association organizes free guided tour of Paris. I usually review activities I do with my children but both of them were in Bordeaux with their grand-parents and discovering Paris with a guide was too tempting to ignore.
Registering is pretty easy, you just need to go to their their website www.parisiendunjour.fr and fill out their registration form. The website in in French, English, and Italian. You need to register at least two weeks before your preferred day of visit. So as I just said, you send out your request for your preferred days of the week, times, as well as location preference or any important information in one box. Be aware that the more restrictions you give, the more difficult it will be for them to find a guide.
A couple of days after emailing your request, you receive an email to let you know hopefully that the association matched you with a volunteer and then a short exchange of emails finalizes the time and meeting place.
That’s how I met with Anne-Marie, a charming retiree who has been living in the 15eme arrondissement of Paris for 20 years. Her husband is still working and the tours are one of the things she does to keep busy and to share her love for her 'quartier'.
We met at the Rue du Commerce, by the exit of the Commerce metro, in front of the newspapers stand. I was standing in the scorching heat when I heard my name (Did I really look like a lost tourist?) and somebody waving at me from the shade. That was Anne-Marie, my dynamic guide. Within 10 minutes and a lovely chat, a couple of Canadian tourists joined us.
And off we went for more than two hours in the 15eme arrondissement of Paris in the Quartier de Grenelle, discovering hidden passages and streets, beautiful buildings and parks, fun facts (my children would have loved to find out where the poneys from the Eiffel Tower sleep!), learning about Paris history and life along the way. Anne-Marie had divided the walk in three parts and we were free to leave at the end of any tour. But we wanted more! Each part lasted approximately 40 minutes and she was telling us before the start what to expect. The couple of Canadians was really friendly and the four of us shared information on our respective living places, our recent travels, interests. It was really like visiting with long lost friends.
Let me share some photos with you:
Beautiful building along the way. We were able to pick inside the hallway and the entrance hall was simply gorgeous.
Courtyards with red bricks, I never came across some like these in Paris before.
Former City Hall of the city of Grenelle
Park
No comment…. Door hiding the poneys’ barn
I want to add that I would have never picked that area of Paris would I have been given the choice. Because I was alone, I wrote in the comment box that I was really flexible in the visit and that I would accept any visit they would offer me. Being open minded really is the best thing to do when you sign up for Parisien d’un Jour.
What I liked about Anne-Marie and I am pretty sure it will be the same for the guides is that she sincerely love her little area. Nothing can beat passion. And that is what makes the success of Parisien d’un Jour: passion. The volunteers choose to share a part of Paris they feel passionate about, they pick their time and theme so when they are here with you, they are fully available and happy to be there.
Know before you go:
Register at least two weeks before your date. Note that starting in October, last minute requests will be posted on a special screen, allowing the guides to schedule a visit at the last minute.
All communications are done by email. No contacts are ever made by telephone.
The tours are available in several languages: French, English, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Greek, Czech,Swedish, Portuguese, Catalan, Hungarian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, and Hebrew. 60 % of the 160 guides speak English.
Be open to the visit: Paris is a wonderful city. Any visit will be interesting and charming.
You are bringing the children: make sure you bring enough snacks, water, a stroller, walking shoes. Be aware that the visit can be heavily charged in history and architectural details, make sure that your children are interested in such a visit. At some point of our visit with Anne-Marie, we saw a park. My children would have asked to play for 5 minutes, Anne-Marie mentioned to me that she would not have mind stopping and that the tour she would have done with a family with children would have been different than the tour we did. Make sure you write about that in the comment box if you want a more kid friendly tour. Again, it will be more difficult to match you with a guide but it is best so both sides have a nice time.
There is no fee for the visits but you can make a donation on their website.
In conclusion
I encourage you to register for a visit next time you go to Paris, you will definitely enjoy it!
