SOLD OUT: Our Insider Guide Through Paris Neighborhoods
At a Glance
Starting At
$4,295
Deposit: $500
Trip Description
About this trip
You may think you’ve done Paris, but our delightful guide, Ellen Williams, knows Paris like the back of her hand and takes us into the neighborhoods where locals live and play. You’ll come away with wider knowledge of the terrain and a deeper understanding of what makes Paris arguably the most fascinating city in the world. The co-leader of the trip is writer Lucie Frost.
This trip is sold out, but we’re offering the same trip with both Ellen and Lucie as leaders, Oct. 14-21. Get all the details and sign up here, before the fall trip sells out as well.
Ellen is the author of three guidebooks on Paris and she’ll take us to lush neighborhoods not normally visited by tourists. Read the story about our visit to France in 2022.
We Show You the Vibrant Heart of Paris
The itinerary for this Next Tribe Paris adventure is carefully designed to provide a balance of walking through a variety of particularly lovely quartiers, visiting small, lesser-known museums, exploring specially recommended boutiques, and enjoying a select group of cafés, bistros, and brasseries. While this is not a typical sightseeing trip, notable landmarks, and places of interest will be pointed out on all our outings.
NOTE: NextTribe members receive a $100 discount on price.
We will profit from being in the French capital when there’s daylight until almost 10pm, and when the many gardens we’ll pass through will be in full bloom.
We’re mindful that some of you will want more time on your own to wander, while others are more comfortable sticking with the group. We will happily help you arrange visits to any additional sites of particular interest or with tracking down items you may hope to buy.
We’ll provide you with pre-paid transit cards for all our metro and bus travel within the city. You’ll also receive a special Next Tribe Google map for your phone, so that you can easily locate any of the locations we’ll be visiting or share it later with Paris-bound friends. We’ll help you translate menus and speak with the locals, although many of them speak English. Our goal is to transform any Paris anxiety into Paris excitement. If our last 2 trips are any indication, we’re going to have a terrific time together in one of the best places in the world.
We’ve included a visit on the first afternoon to Monoprix, like a French Target that died and went to heaven. You can stock up here on any Parisian toiletries for your stay, for wonderful snacks for your room, extra socks, whatever.
Photos
Map
Itinerary
TUESDAY, May 14th
We'll meet our guide for the week, Ellen Williams, above. Once we’ve all arrived at the Hotel des Saints-Peres , we’ll gather in the hotel breakfast room for a welcome lunch while we get acquainted and talk a bit about our legendary quarter, St-Germain-des-Près.
We’ll walk to the nearby Faubourg St-Germain, once the neighborhood of choice for the French aristocracy in elegantly grand city mansions, and tour the Rue du Bac, a super-picturesque Left Bank rue commerçante (commercial street) brimming with gourmet food shops, boutiques, and the amazing Le Bon Marché, one of the oldest (and finest) department stores and food halls. For those interested, we can detour to the Musée Rodin, for the scores of blooming rose bushes in the celebrated sculpture garden.
Our first dinner will be at La Cigale, a stylish soufflé restaurant near our hotel.
WEDNESDAY, May 15th
In the morning, we’ll explore the old Les Halles quarter, for centuries the central food market of Paris, where some of the finest culinary stores in the city - prized by chefs and home cooks - continue to operate though the market is long gone. Among other stops, we’ll visit the oldest patisserie in the city, and two places that were favorites of Julia Child, Dehilerin, a historic cookware shop, and Au Pied du Cochon, a Les Halles institution since 1947 where we’ll have lunch.
In the afternoon, we’ll walk through the historic garden of the Palais Royal and visit two of the loveliest 19th-century covered shopping arcades.
That evening, we’ll be treated to a private dinner at Mokonuts, an innovative small gem of a restaurant near the Bastille.
THURSDAY, May 16th
We’ll spend another day on the Right Bank, in the morning touring the winding cobblestone streets of Montmartre, stopping for a lunch of crèpes and hard cider at Breizh Café near the charming Places des Abbesses. Then, it’s on to the mid-19th-century Nouvelles-Athènes quarter that was home to some of the greatest artists, writers, and musicians of the Romantic era and is now a trendy gentrifying area known as SoPi (South of Pigalle). We’ll linger on the lively Rue des Martyrs, one of the most vibrant streets in Paris, and take a coffee break at a garden tea salon in a 19th-century villa.
After returning to St Germain, dinner will be at Ambos, a modern French-Thai fusion restaurant near the Luxembourg Gardens.
FRIDAY, May 17th
Napoleon ordered the Canal St-Martin in the early-19th-century to bring fresh water to the capital. Two-hundred years later, the picturesque area around the canal is lined with cafés and boutiques and is one of the most popular areas of town with Parisians, who gather along the banks to watch barges and other small boats navigate through the locks and pass under graceful cast-iron footbridges. We’ll have lunch at Les Enfants Perdus, a restaurant that specializes in seasonal ingredients. In the afternoon, there will be time to explore the lovely and historic Ile-St-Louis, the more intimate of the two Seine islands, where we will sample the celebrated Berthillon ice cream.
Dinner will be at Chez Dumonet, a traditional vintage Left Bank bistro founded in 1898.
SATURDAY, May 18th
We’ll spend most of the day in a particularly elegant part of the Right Bank, starting with a tour of the Marché President Wilson, a twice-weekly street market with vendors offering gorgeous food, flowers, clothing, accessories and housewares. For those interested, a detour to the designer resale shops in adjacent Passy, one of the poshest residential areas of town, and a stop at the Hermès flagship to admire the coveted silk scarves.
After lunch at La Mascotte café, we’ll go to the Galerie Dior, the fantastic, newly installed homage to the esteemed couture house.
That evening, we’ll walk to the historic Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris, where we’ll board an hour-long cocktail cruise that will glide us past the great monuments along the Seine, followed by dinner at Le Caveau du Palais on the early-17th-century Place Dauphine. Those interested can easily see the spectacular medieval stained-glass windows nearby at St-Chapelle.
SUNDAY, May 19th
In the morning, we’ll head to the Porte de Vanves flea market for vintage collectibles, then take a tram to the Marais, where we’ll break for lunch at La Tartine, an art deco wine bar on the Rue de Rivoli.
We’ll visit the Place des Vosges, a lovely square built in the early-17th century by Henri IV for the French aristocracy, and the wonderful Musée Carnavalet, the recently restored Paris history museum. For those interested, this is one of the most stylish shopping districts in the city.
Dinner will be at Basilic, a quiet Left Bank restaurant with a large leafy terrace.
MONDAY, May 20th
In the morning, we’ll attend a chocolate-making class at one of the oldest chocolatier in Paris, and in the afternoon, a wine-and-cheese tasting in the Latin Quarter. The rest of this final day, you’re free to wander, go to a museum, shop, or return to a place that particularly interested you earlier in the week.
Our farewell dinner will at La Petite Chaise, a short walk from the hotel, where we’ll be served in a private room.
TUESDAY, May 21st
All guests make their way to the airport for flights home.
Bon voyage!
Logistics
What's Included
- 7 nights
At the beautiful Hotel des Saints Peres in St. Germain
- 7 dinners
At some of the city's best restaurants
- 6 lunches
- 7 breakfasts
- Wine with dinner
- Private guide services
From Ellen Williams, a NextTriber who knows Paris as well as anyone born in the city
- Entrance to museums
We'll go to small, hidden gems that most tourists miss
- Paris Flea Market
We'll go to the one with the best deals and most charming merchandise
- Neighborhood tours
Ellen will guide us through neighborhoods like the Marais, Montparnasse, St. Germain, Canal St. Martin
- Visit to Vaux le Vicomte
An excursion to the chateau that was the inspiration for Versailles.
- Shopping Tour
Of favorite shops and boutiques (plus designer consignment shops).
- Local transport
Passes for public transport
What's Not Included
- Airfare
- Airport transfers
- Alcohol not mentioned above
- Tips
Gratuities to local guides, drivers, maids and hotel staff, travel insurance, round trip airfare, passport and visa fees, personal items such as phone calls, laundry, baggage fees and items not expressly listed as included.
Additional Add-Ons
Hotels
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