Paris · SELF-GUIDED TOURS
The good self-guided tours fill weeks ahead in spring and summer. Below are the 15 to book early, what each includes and how they differ.
Board at Port de la Bourdonnais, beneath the Eiffel Tower, for a one-hour Seine round trip. You’ll pass Les Invalides, Musée d’Orsay, Notre-Dame, the Louvre and more, with a choice of onboard audio guide or smartphone app. The open terraces are best for photos, but bring a charged phone if you plan to use the app.
“Incredible. We're able to see the dazzling Eiffel tower 🗼”
Enter the Musée d’Orsay on your chosen day with a flexible-time ticket, then explore at your own pace. The downloadable audio guide offers commentary on more than 300 works, including art by Monet, Degas, Renoir and Cézanne. There is no live guide, and the app guide may not cover every artwork.
“The Musee D'Orsay is an incredible museum. Having the audio guide made it even more interesting to learn about the artists & their works. It was easy to install the necessary app & download the guide.”
Travel by air-conditioned coach from Paris to Giverny, where Claude Monet lived and painted for 43 years. Choose a live guide, audio guide, or independent visit. Explore the house, flower gardens, and water garden with its lilies and weeping willows. Guides on recent departures have included Agnes, Alex, Alexandra, and Stefan, though names vary.
“Agnes our guide was just fabulous - knowledgeable and totally organised to give us the best experience possible - the House and gardens are just breathtaking!”
Ride from central Paris to Giverny, then explore Monet’s flower gardens, water lily pond, Japanese bridge and restored home. Choose a multilingual audio guide or, for some departures, a licensed art historian. Priority admission, round-trip coach transport and free time at the house are included. Expect crowds in high season and a brisk visit.
“This was a great experience. Our guide was wonderful and so very knowledgeable. We really appreciated her attention to detail and being so approachable. Monet's garden was so beautiful in the autumn light. It made for a perfect afternoon with so many plants and flowers with radiant colors and of course Monet's famous Japanese bridge and waterlilies. A must see for lovers of Impressionist art.”
Explore the Paris Catacombs at a reserved entry time with an audio guide in English, French, German or Spanish, then take a one-hour Bateaux Mouches cruise with audio commentary. There is no live guide or transport between the two sites. The cruise ticket is valid for six months, so you can take it later.
“Great last minute add-on to our last day in Paris. The Catacombs are so interesting and underrated. We ended the trip with a nice boat ride on the Seine, with a convenient open schedule and a grand finale of seeing the Eiffel Tower close up.”
Ride from the Eiffel Tower area with an English-speaking host, then explore Versailles with palace entry and an audio guide in one of 11 languages. See the King’s and Queen’s State Apartments, the Hall of Mirrors and the gardens. Some departures include a Musical Garden or Fountain Show. Four hours covers transport as well as your visit.
“An incredible experience. The guide was very talented, knowledgeable and kind. The transportation to and fro was best.”
Walk through Paris’s underground Catacombs with an audio guide in English, French, Spanish, or German. The route passes bone-lined tunnels, inscriptions, and signs that explain the site’s history. Add an optional one-hour Seine cruise from the Eiffel Tower area, with boat commentary in 14 languages. Expect steep stairs, cool tunnels, and no live guide.
“The activity itself was very good however the staff at the catacombs quite obviously didn’t want to be there …very unhelpful and miserable .”
Ride through central Paris on an air-conditioned double-decker bus, passing the Opéra, Place de la Concorde, the Champs-Élysées, the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower and more. Audio commentary is available in several languages, with an interactive tablet described for the city tour. Bring your own headphones, and expect a fast introduction rather than a hop-on, hop-off day pass.
“Trip was great. Good way if seeing paris within a very short period of time.”
Leave Paris at 7:15 am for a full-day coach trip to Bruges, with a guided walk or downloadable audio tour. The guided option includes a canal cruise from April to October. Expect medieval landmarks, time for lunch and shops, and a long ride each way.
“Dimitri was a great guide. Friendly and knowledgeable. What a quaint and beautiful city. Lots of shops and eateries. Very friendly”
This $66 ticket gives you timed Louvre entry, access to the permanent collection and temporary exhibitions, and an audio guide in English, Spanish, French, or German. You explore on your own for about three hours. A host or greeter is listed, but this is not a guided museum tour, and you must still pass through security.
“Once booked we received tickets via what’s app on the day from Aman ( thankyou ) joined timed queue and were in within 20mins. Can’t fault the pre book option as the “ on the day “ queue was huge and I mean huuuuge so would totally recommend the way we booked via gyg as we were prioritised entry to the extent that they cordoned off the day queue to ensure all the people in the timed queue got in on time! Awesome experience and totally recommend booking this way and Louvre experience was brilliant”
Ride from central Paris to Versailles with a multilingual hostess, then explore the palace, Hall of Mirrors, and gardens on your own. Admission and a phone-based audio experience in 10 languages are included. Bring your own headphones and a charged phone: there is no live guide inside, and your time on the estate is limited.
“Great staff informative and helpful. Was a wonderful experience. Detailed history to and from the palace”
Book timed admission to the Louvre and explore independently for about two to four hours, or longer if your schedule allows. You can seek out the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo, then follow your interest to less familiar works. No guide is included. Check your ticket details promptly: some buyers report QR-code name problems and denied entry.
“Was great however a guided tour would be better. We were able to see most of the highlights. Getting into the Louvre is tricky but the people in blue outfits were very helpful. We were in the no weight line and at our designated time we moveRead more”
Ride from central Paris to Giverny, then explore Monet’s home, studio, flower gardens, Japanese bridge, and water lily pond at your own pace. Entry, round-trip transport, a multilingual host, and an audio guide app in 10 languages are included. Bring your own phone and headphones; there is no Wi-Fi on the coach.
“Great tour and guide. Giverny is beautiful. The gardens are wonderful and the house was interesting too.”
Meet an English-speaking host outside Benlux Duty Free Shop on Rue de Rivoli, enter the Louvre, and use a separate audio guide app on your phone. The host service takes you to the Mona Lisa; you can then explore works including the Venus de Milo and Winged Victory on your own. Bring headphones, arrive early, and do not expect a live guided tour.
“De gids is niet komen opdagen. ik heb ter plekke moeten bellen naar een noodnummer (dus internationaal gesprek) en dan kreeg ik de tickets door via whatsapp. We mochten dan zelf zoeken waar aan te schuiven, op goed geluk. Het betere TUP: trekt uwen plan.”
This three-hour ParisCityVision outing pairs a 1.5-hour coach tour with a one-hour Seine cruise, ending at the Eiffel Tower. You get recorded commentary, an audio-guide app, and digital features such as 3D reconstructions and 360-degree interior views. The main trade-off: the coach and boat may cover some of the same sights.
“Thankfully we had a closed bus for the ride around the city as it was raining and snowing a little. The audio guide skipped a few times and you couldn’t get back to the right section but that was ok. We chose not to do the river cruise yesterday due to the freezing wet weather … we have 12 months in which to do it which is good”
Pick a landmark, a quarter or a table.
