21 Best Paris Cultural & History Tours 2020

Great experience exploring Paris catacombs with a local guide

My son and I really enjoyed the tour with our guide Leo (Eleonore). Time went by so quickly, it felt we were down there for few minutes rather the 1.5 hrs. Leo was casual and easy to talk to. She is clearly passionate about the topic and waved in number of stories from the past and current about the 'cataphiles', people who explore co called "negative Paris".
We are glad we choose this group tour. We went inside exactly at the scheduled time vs waiting in the line and Leo's personalized commentary made it very engaging. We also had an access to parts open to groups only.
In conclusion- a bit pricey but we are glad we did it. Great memories.

Reviewed by Vanda • August 31, 2018

Catacombs of Paris Skip-the-Line Guided Tour

Amazing Experience

We had the best time with Léo! She is a fantastic guide with an obvious love for the catacombs and the history. The tour was above and beyond what we expected in terms of information provided and the amount of time. Léo took us into areas that are not accessible to the general public and we did not have to wait in the very long line. If you want a personal tour from a top notch guide this is the tour for you! Léo stayed in constant contact with us and provided updates with our fail. She also went above and beyond with advice on other sights to see and help with directions on the Metro system.

Reviewed by Jessa • October 24, 2018

Catacombs of Paris Skip-the-Line Guided Tour

Amazing experience

When we arrived at the catacombs, the wait was over 2 hours to get in but with Léo, we got right in! Léo was a wonderful & incredibly knowledgeable guide. You can really tell that this is a passion of hers. I’ve already recommended her to family & friends who are planning trips to Paris. The catacombs were incredible, but having Léo as our guide made it 100 times better. We are so glad we found this booking because Léo truly gave us the best experience.

Reviewed by Molly • July 01, 2018

Catacombs of Paris Skip-the-Line Guided Tour

Great tour

Our guide met us at the main entrance to the catacombs. She was very knowledgeable and informative. It was very nice to skip the line,as it stretch around the block when we were able to enter. I would highly recommend this tour and this tour guide. Leo was very nice and willing to assist us with questions regarding the tour or anything in Paris. It was a great experience.

Reviewed by Nancy • April 15, 2018

Catacombs of Paris Skip-the-Line Guided Tour

Thoughtful and enjoyable tour

Eleanore was clearly an expert in her field,, extremely knowledgeable about both the Catacombs and Parisian history. We greatly enjoyed meeting her, learning the history of the Paris and the Catacombs and hearing about her own experiences in the Catacombs. Highly recommend

Reviewed by Ali • September 03, 2019

Catacombs of Paris Skip-the-Line Guided Tour

Excellent Tour

We had an excellent tour with Leo. She has a thorough understanding of the history of the catacombs and entertained us with great stories during our tour. Overall an amazing experience!

Reviewed by Carl • June 09, 2017

Catacombs of Paris Skip-the-Line Guided Tour

Most amazing tour...a real highlight

Always wanted to visit the Paris catacombs and our guide Leo brought this visit to life. She was passionate and knowledgeable and a pleasure to meet.

Reviewed by Anna • September 14, 2016

Catacombs of Paris Skip-the-Line Guided Tour

Amazing tour

Amazing tour with incredibly knowledgeable guide, Leo! She really made the whole experience incredibly interesting.

Reviewed by Eléonore • April 02, 2019

Catacombs of Paris Skip-the-Line Guided Tour

Leo was a great guide!

Fascinating tour. Léo knew so many facts, was very nice. You can tell she lives for this stuff! Thank you!

Reviewed by Kat • November 22, 2018

Catacombs of Paris Skip-the-Line Guided Tour

Great tour

Reviewed by Stefanie • November 23, 2018

Crimes and Legends of Old Paris Walking Tour

C

Fascinating Tour of Paris Catacombs with Leo

Our tour through “likealocalguide”, 16 yr old daughter and dad, to the Paris catacombs this past weekend with Leo (Eléonore) was absolutely fascinating made possible because of Leo. She is amazing and passionate about the catacombs and it shows through her extensive knowledge of the history of the site. One huge note: book this tour (with Leo of course) as the line to get in without “skip the line” was insane. Had to be at least close to a 2 hr wait. She was able to take us, small group of about 12-15, to areas not accessible to the general public. The catacombs is more than just about the bones and Leo explained all of this in clear details with rich antidotes. Amazing 2 hr tour for both of us. Do yourself a huge favor and select likealocalguide as your tour company and choose Leo as your guide.

Things to do in Paris. Photo by Christopher.

Activity in Paris: Catacombs of Paris Skip-the-Line Guided Tour. Photo by Christopher who visited that tour.

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Reviewed by Christopher • July 02, 2018

Catacombs of Paris Skip-the-Line Guided Tour

L

A wonderful day in the Loire

Our tour was with Victor and we got the luck of the draw and no one else booked on our day. The tour opened with a personal pickup complete with croissants and bottles of water. Victor took us to Château Chambord where we explored the castle and gardens at our leisure. Afterward we ate lunch at a fantastic restaurant carved into the face of a hill. The food was fantastically prepared and we got to chat, eat and have several wines of the region. Finally we visited an organic and biodynamic vineyard where we walked among the vines and Victor explained the uniqueness of the terroir. After the gorgeous walk and talk we got to sample several wines from the region and tour the caves with one of vineyard employees. Truly a wonderful day and quite a value.

Reviewed by Lauren M / TripAdvisor • February 19, 2018

Loire Valley Castle & Wine Tour from Paris

C

Leo (aka Eleonore) is amazing!

Leo who gave us the tour (appears on this website as Eleonore but goes by Leo) was so great. She was very very knowledgable on the catacombs and not just the history but more current events to do with the catacombs as well. She brings a big binder to show you pictures and maps to give context to the stories she tells you. She points out how to identify different things about the bones and does a really good job of making sure everybody gets a change to see. She also sends out a primer email a bit before the tour so you have a copy of the ticket if you need it, you know where to meet, what shoes to wears, practical information about the museum. Leo probably knows every bone in the catacombs and she is passionate about all of them.

Reviewed by Caroline • October 24, 2018

Catacombs of Paris Skip-the-Line Guided Tour

M

Can only give 5 stars...

Amazing!

The queue was 5 hours long... even their ‘skip the line’ queue was lengthy but this, we got there, met Leo and we were in. Absolutely brilliant!

Leo was a fantastic guide. She was able to accommodate my booking for my wife’s surprise Xmas present at short notice. She was very passionate and knowledgeable and took pride in sharing this with us, answering any questions we had. The rest of the group were great too, it felt as though we were among friends.

We’d recommend seeing the Catacombs to anyone but only if you do it through Leo. The tour time is also longer than the standard tickets. We got about 2 hours exploration time!

A memory that will stay with us forever. Thank you Léo! 💀🌟

Reviewed by Melissa • January 06, 2019

Catacombs of Paris Skip-the-Line Guided Tour

J

Awesome!!!

We did the tour a few days ago with Lèo, who was extremely knowledgeable and familiar with the Catacombs. She knew everyone who worked there and they all seemed very happy to see her. We had our five year old son with us and he was apprehensive about the whole idea and threatened to veto the tour in lieu of a day on the swings in Le Jardin du Luxembourg. Lèo was patient and engaging with him and actually made him want to go down into the Catacombs. We can’t thank her enough. Highly recommended for families with children or for those with time constraints who want to skip-the-lines ( we literally walked past 300+ people waiting and went straight downstairs)

Image by John who visited Catacombs of Paris Skip-the-Line Guided Tour.

Tour in Paris: Catacombs of Paris Skip-the-Line Guided Tour. Photo by John.

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Reviewed by John • July 25, 2019

Catacombs of Paris Skip-the-Line Guided Tour

J

A Must Do In Paris with Leo!

Leo's tour of the Catacombs is fantastic and if you have any interest in seeing them, this is the way to go! She was easy to communicate with when we had questions before booking the tour, with information after booking and on the day of the tour. We met her outside the metro station and she took us right inside - no line! (And the line had to be at least a couple of hours long on a very hot day). Leo spent 2 hours taking us through the catacombs, giving us the history, pointing out the really cool stuff and telling us great stories - she really knows her stuff! Don't hesitate to book this tour - you will love it!

Reviewed by Jason • July 04, 2018

Catacombs of Paris Skip-the-Line Guided Tour

F

Pere LaChaise Cemetery Was Remarkable!

Not only did we get of see a lot of this remarkable, gran old cemetery, we saw many graves of very famous people buried their such as Jim Morrison, Edith Piaff, Heloise and Abelard, Oscar, Widle, Chopin and others. Eleonore, our guide, was fantastic!! She was very knowledgeable of the cemetery - you sepnd hours wondeirng on your own without a guide and never see a famous tomb-- and knew a lot of histroy and had interestingg fact to present about the graves and the cemetery, in general.

This tour was one a the major highughts of a 12-day vacation to London and Paris for my niece and I. I recommend this tour very highly.

Reviewed by Frank • May 18, 2018

Guided Tour of Père Lachaise Cemetery

K

Claudia made the Musee D'Orsay come alive!

My 16 year old daughter and I were fortunate to have Claudia for our 2 hour private tour of the Musee D'Orsay. She was fantastic!! Her passion for art and architecture made the tour interesting for both of us - we didn't want it to end! Claudia's tour kept us interested from beginning to end with the stories of how the museum came to be - sharing her extensive knowledge of French history which was fantastic! It was so much more than just walking around and looking at paintings - we learned about the artists, the art movements they were a part of and what was going on in France at the time. Loved it! Thank you Claudia!

Reviewed by Kristen R / TripAdvisor • April 28, 2017

Private 2h Tour of the Orsay Museum in Paris about Impressionism and modern art

E

Musée d'Orsay guided tour

This was my first guided tour around Musée d'Orsay. I'd visited the museum before but it was SO much more enjoyable to take a tour. The guide was very passionate about art history and clearly explained the chronology of the various works we saw. He had lots of interesting things to tell us about the artists and the stories behind specific paintings and sculptures. I think it would be difficult to take a guided tour with Maurizio without being influenced by his energy, knowledge and love of art. I'd definitely recommend Napoleone Tour to and am looking forward to my next tour with them.

Reviewed by el e / TripAdvisor • April 28, 2017

Private 2h Tour of the Orsay Museum in Paris about Impressionism and modern art

D

Outstanding experience

We met Sophie on a bridge overlooking the Seine on a beautiful morning in late September. We had a wonderful walk along the river, with Sophie explaining some of the history as we headed towards the marketplace. Sophie speaks excellent english, and it was a pleasure being in her company on this venture. The market place at the end of our walk was awesome. Excellent produce, meats, cheeses and bakeries, some of the best in the city. The market also had a fun and interesting flea market. Outstanding experience, highly recommended!

Reviewed by David / Airbnb • September 14, 2019

Historical Paris Walking Tour to Vibrant Food Market