Tours in Paris

Paris is small for a capital. The twenty arrondissements spiral outwards from the Louvre and the whole centre fits inside about ten kilometres east to west, which is why so much of what people come for can be walked. The Seine cuts it in two and doubles as the orientation line — the Louvre, the Orsay, Notre-Dame on its island and the Eiffel Tower all stand on or near it. Montmartre in the north and the Marais in the east are the two quarters that repay wandering rather than ticking off.

Seventy programmes are listed for the city, in four bands. Self-guided phone routes cost $3-12 and last one to three hours: Le Marais, the Latin Quarter, Montmartre, a wartime occupation walk. Shared guided walks and bike rides run $42-110 for two to three hours. Private city tours are $139-453, rising to $2,063 for a full day with a van and a shopping itinerary. Food is a category of its own here — a group food tour is $140, private pastry, bakery and market walks are $280, and a wine and cheese tasting on a VIP Seine cruise is $1,748. Louvre entry with a guide is $177 in a group and $555 for the longer private version.

Practical notes. A large share of the Paris offer actually leaves Paris: Giverny at $571-792, the champagne houses at $414-1,152, Fontainebleau at $684, the Loire chateaux at $1,387, Mont Saint-Michel at $641 — day trips of six to fourteen hours with a driver. Airport transfers are $111 from Orly, about 45 minutes, or from Charles de Gaulle, about an hour. Museum entry is timed and the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays, while a $21 Seine cruise ticket needs no booking at all.