As written in my Free Walking Tour of Barcelona, a free walking tour of Paris or any other major city is a great way to explore an iconic city. I hesitate to recommend a specific “Free Walking Tour of Paris” company since the walks are more incumbent on your guide’s knowledge and personality. For that reason, I will recommend the Hidden Gems and Secret Paris Tour conducted by tour guide Maelle.
Maelle brings out the “hidden gems” and the history of Paris in an easy to understand manner and a personality that makes the tour lively and exciting. She took us to places that we wouldn’t have gone to otherwise.
We met Maelle, wearing her bright pink vest, in front of the Louis XIV on Horseback statue in the Louver’s courtyard. The Louis XIV sculpture gives you a perfect view of the Big Wheel at Place de la Concorde.
Art Nouveau Metro Stations
Maelle begins the tour, and we quickly come to a Metro stop. What makes it unique? Only a few of these Art Nouveau stations still exist, marking the metro’s 100th birthday in 2000. The entrance to Place Colette features a contemporary work of art, the Kiosques des Noctambules by Jean-Michel Othoniel. It is a canopy of colorful glass beads formed by a set of spheres.
It is then on to the Palais Royal, formerly a royal palace and now the seat of the Ministry of Culture and the Constitutional Council. The design of the palace began in 1629, with construction starting in 1622 and completion in 1639. It served as the personal residence of Cardinal Richelieu, the Queen Mother Anne of Austria, and the exiled Henrietta Maria and Henrietta Anne Stuart, wife and daughter of the deposed King Charles I of England.
A MENU WITH ONLY A FEW ITEMS IS A GOOD INDICATOR OF FRESH FOOD. A MENU WITH DOZENS OF SELECTIONS POINTS TO FROZEN FOOD.
Talking Tour of Paris Features Galerie Vero-Dodat
The tour will take you to Galerie Vero-Dodat, a Parisian “passage” with an ornate, high-ceiling. The passage is now home to high-end shopping and exclusive stores such as Louboutin shoes. Initially, the covered passage in Paris was built when the horse and carriage station was here. And, well before anyone invented the railway or chemin de fer. It is also the earliest space featuring gas lights.
Place des Victoires
Next up is a view of the Place des Victoires, one of five royal squares in Paris. At the center of the Place des Victoires is an equestrian monument in honor of King Louis XIV. And just a few hundred feet from the royal square were the tax walls leading into Paris. It was not uncommon to see thieves stealing gold from those bringing payment to pay the tax to enter Paris.
Passing by the French Bank, we learn that the Germans, as they overran country after country, immediately went after each country’s gold reserves. The gold is critical to the overall NAZI war plan for conquest and exploitation. When they invaded France in 1940, the French had significant gold reserves, and the NAZIs thought they were going to obtain a real bonanza as they entered Paris. But the French Bank had already moved its gold to locations around the world, leaving the Germans empty-handed when they opened the French Bank gold vault.
Experiencing the Galerie Vivienne on a Walking Tour of Paris
Lastly, we would never have known of the Galerie Vivienne, built in 1823, if not for Maelle. One of the most iconic covered arcades in Paris, Galerie Vivienne sits as an “indoor-street” inside a block of buildings. Featuring all polished wood, glass and wrought iron; plants line their mosaic-inlaid corridors. Even during busy times, it has an air of quiet elegance, making it a pure pleasure to browse the chic boutiques. The Guardian has called it one of Paris’s top ten hidden shopping passages.
This just a snapshot of Maelle’s tour. There is much more, but you will need to experience it for yourself. As with all free walking tours, you pay the guide a voluntary tip at the end of the tour. The 70+ reviews from those who have taken this journey, it gets 4.5 out of 5 stars.
