Paris

Paris World War 2 The true story of the Occupation 1940-1944 Small group tour

Paris, France
PARIS UNDER GERMAN OCCUPATION 1940 1944 WORLD WAR 2 WALKING TOURS

From $98.93

Price varies by group size

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

  • 3 to 5 hours (approx.)
  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English

Overview

Learn and experience history on a small group tour learning about Paris during World War II and the true story Occupation of Paris that breaks stereotypes. An expert guide who has lived in Paris for a long time will be your guide and tell you the true histories as you walk through the WW2 battlefield sites.
  • Visit the second largest monumental square in France and learn its history and that of the buildings surrounding it
  • Check out Jeu de Paume Museum, where Nazis hid stolen artworks during the Occupation
  • Visit Rue Rouget de Lisle and the site of the first resistance newspaper at Rue de Rivoli
  • Be led on the tour by a passionate, expert, and experienced tour guide

What's Included

  • Semi Private Bookings limited to 4 separate groups per tour 8-10 people max to maintain high quality
  • Fully Private tours available with personalised itenerary , flexible start times and meeting pointss
  • All small group tours require a minimum of 3 people in total to run

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

  • Tuileries
    75001 Ciripcău, France

    Just inside the Tuileries garden gates next to the Tuileries Metro station on line 1 metro There is only one exit The metro station is located on Rue de Rivoli , about 100 meters West of the Louvre directly opposite Rue du 29 Juillet This meeting point may be changed on request for PRIVATE tours

End points

This activity ends in a different location. See details below:
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What To Expect

Your tour begins right outside the Tuileries metro station, where you’ll meet your guide and the other tour participants (10 people maximum). Head to the Jardins des Tuileries, where your guide will give you an overview of the German occupation of Paris and the events leading to World War II.

The historical discussion continues up Rue de Rivoli and over to Rue de Castiglione, where Nazis requisitioned hotels and resistance fighters were put on trial. Learn about Coco Chanel’s stay at the Ritz and the looted Jewish art stored at Jeu de Paume.

Visit cafés—including the famous Maxim’s—and cinemas taken over by Germans and learn about the only building in Paris destroyed in war over at Place de la Concorde.

Finally, understand the rise of anti-semitism and the Vichy government during a visit to the Jewish Quarter in the Marais district. Tours typically end at the Holocaust memorial, although stops may be shuffled around or replaced on the itinerary.

Jardin des Tuileries

15 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

Rue de Rivoli

25 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

Rue de Castiglione

20 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

Place-Vendome

25 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

Rue Rouget de Lisle

20 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

WH Smith

10 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

Jeu de Paume

15 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

Maxim's de Paris

15 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore

15 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

Hotel de la Marine

15 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

Place de la Concorde

25 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

Eglise Saint-Paul Saint-Louis

20 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

La Rue des Rosiers

1 hour Admission Ticket Free

Memorial De La Shoah

20 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Stroller accessible
  • Service animals allowed
  • Near public transportation
  • Most travelers can participate
  • IMPORTANT ALL WEEKDAY TOURS REQUIRE A MINIMUM OF 3 PEOPLE TO RUN ALL WEEKEND TOURS REQUIRE A MINIMUM OF 4 PEOPLE
  • For this reason bookings made less than 2 weeks before the requetsed date will usually only be accepted if they meet the minimum required number of people OR the tour already has the minimum required number of people already booked
  • Booking request made 2 weeks or more before a tour may be accepted still even if at the time the tour deosn't have enough people to run This Is because there is still reasonable time for more people to join the tour
  • The guide resrves the right to cancel any tour up to 24 hours before if the numbers on the tour fall below the required minimum number owing to LATE CANCELLATIONS by people ThIs is unfortunate but does occur and is Inconvinient to both myself and the other remaining people who may now be effected I am NOT a large tour company who provides LARGE group generic Impersonal tours and to whom even multiple late cancellations have no effect as their tours are so large , I am an Individual expert guide who ONLY works with small groups providing higher quality tours So this means I have a very small margin between having and not having enough people on a tour to run It so please be considerate and AVOID cancelling within 72 hours of a tour unless due to an emergency or medical reason even though a refund Is still available up to 24 hrs before of course
  • The right to cancel a tour that falls below the minimum number of people is exclusive of cancellations due to so called !Acts of God," Force Majeur and Medical or health related reasons for which a tour may be cancelled at any point Obviously this does NOT occur very often
  • All cancellations made for whatever reason by the guide themself ,even within 24 hours of a tour are of course subject to a FULL refund
  • The guide does not take cancelling tours lightly , especially at short notice and will only do so for the reasons listed above However they wil also propose an alternative date when doing so or see if there is a solution to enable the tour to still run if possible
  • If a booking has been accepted more than 2 weeks in advance and by 5-7 days before the minimum number of people has still not been met the guide will contact the guests to notify them and discuss possible solutions If the tour remains below ther minimum number required
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 10 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

  • For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
  • If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
  • Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
  • Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
  • This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
  • This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

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Reviews

4.5
75 reviews
Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
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Reviews by Viator travelers.
Showing 1-10 of 75 reviews
Excellent Historical Walking Tour
Leonard_M, May 2024
Chris is very passionate about his work. Super knowledgeable in French history related to the holocaust and French resistance. He explains in detail how the French Government ultimately assisted the Germans in murdering Jews during WW 2. He brings pictures, books, statistics and walks you around the Jewish quarter of Le Marais area. Shows you the actual buildings etc of the victims. If you have any interest in WW 2 or the holocaust this tour is worth the cost.
Be prepared for lots of information
Suzanne_M, May 2024
Chris is a very passionate man when it comes to his knowledge. So much so that the amount of knowledge was neally too much to recall. However he was very good in explaining the various parties including the French themselves. Our only recommendation for Chris is to slow down his talking, as Aussies we coped barely, but the American couple found it difficult.
Response from Host, May 2024
Haha, thank you Suzzane for the compliment on my knowledge and passion and I am very happy I was able to explain clearly so much about some complex subjects that are difficult to unravel in a few hours ! I appreciate the feedback ,about being aware of how quickly I can speak at times because I have so much information in my mind and only a few hours to talk to you Its not actually something I have ever had anyone mention before in the 6 years I have been running these tours but actually I am more surprised they haven't as I know I can talk a lot with so much information to give you ! Also because I enocurage people to ask me qustions during the tour and get involved and I also ask them questions and I will always try answer any of their questions In depth this means that I often have to fit even more information in sometimes in the time we have if I have interesting questions which can take me time to answer and lead to me speaking quicker as I don't want to run out of time ! However I must say I wasn't aware that this was a problem specifically throughout the WHOLE tour for the other couple , it was only at the very beggining they asked if i could speak a little slower and I immediately thanked them for telling met then and not at the end and took it on board and they never mentioned that It was a problem again after this ? I am going to write to them to ask because they never mentioned It again and I asked them to tell me straight away If I did I like to think I am and I am told reatedly that I am very approachable on my tours, they are after all small group In depth tours so I don't understand which they didn't mention It again after and I made a consciuous effort to speak slower so I believed this was just at the very beggining so this suprises me a little ? But regardless thank you for a postive peice of general feedback that I will remember to make sure I follow and remind people to tell me if it occurs at any point throughout a tour ! My tours are not mass group generic or rote learnt, where we just look at a list of buildings every one can be different and I encourage people to get invololved and as I point out before I can easily do a WHOLE tour on each subject Itself that I try to dicsuss within just the ONE general tour ! I always write to people before to explain this Thanks Suzzane , I hope you had a great trip
Lots of information
Laura_S, Apr 2024
Chris was a wealth of information and always answered all of my questions thoroughly. He gave us an in depth view of why the resistance happened
Knowledgeable guide
Michael_W, Apr 2024
Chris was great and went on at great length with his knowledge of Paris leading up to the war, during the war and after the war.
Exceptional and Personal tour with an amazing guide!!!
Nancy_P, Apr 2024
Chris was an amazing tour guide!!! Me and my mom booked this tour for our girls trip to Paris and as history lovers, this tour caught our eyes. Not only did Chris have a wonderful sense of humor and a surplus of knowledge on the German occupancy of WWII Paris, but a passion that made the experience so much more enjoyable and interesting. As someone who has always had an interest in WWII history, Chris provided information and new perspective that really expanded my understanding of the Paris occupation in different context. Highly recommend this tour if you are interested in the History and looking for an engaging experience with a guide who really loves to share his knowledge.
A+ first class tour of World War II History in Paris
mary, Apr 2024
Wow! This tour was even better than I expected! Chris gives generously of his valuable time and his considerable knowledge of World War II History. It is a must for all who are interested in one of the darkest hours in Parisian history.
Chris was exceptional
Todd_S, Apr 2024
Chris was top notch l. So much knowledge and can steer in the direction you are most interested in. If at all interested in this tour I highly recommend him.
Response from Host, Apr 2024
Hi Todd Thank you so much , I really appreciate you taking the time to leave such a positve review so promptly It was a pleasure to spend the time together despite the somewhat changeable Spring weather, I think we had 4 seasons in One day as the song goes but thankfully we are able to stay out if the showers and get a chance to sit down inside as well to chat There Is SO much to talk about Its always more a case of what do we not have the time to get around to Im just one tour, as I say at the beggining we could meet every day for a week and do a different tour each day just devoted to one single subject like the Resitsance, The German occuopation, the Shoah, Charles De Gaulle, the Liberation etc So as ever my main goal Is to give people a better understanding of the major currents at work that effected the way people behaved and made decisions , the ideological and political , the social, the psychological , the strategic or military and the practical physical hardships And break down the way some of the narratives and stories that became mythologised after the Liberation of France came about and how they often excluded large parts of the real story and large parts of the PEOPLE involved in the real story! Hopefully then you can go away not just having seen a list of buildings and events that occured there but with a deeper understanding as to WHY these things happened and by the end of our time together how chains of events linked together and the nuances involved that will help you in the future read between the lines better and be able to see more clearly the truth I really look foward to seeing you again for a drink and chat if you wish when you return so I can tell you a few more stories we doidn't have time for yesterday so , remember to look me up I'll also send you the reading list and useful links over the next few days Thanks again guys and have a great continuation of your travels ! Chris
A lot of info & v interesting!
Jessica_B, Feb 2024
Had a nice tour this weekend. Even despite the rain and cold was really enthralled with the history and learning about a city we love but didn’t know enough about this part of their history. Chris is a fantastic guide and if there is anything you want to know about, he has the answer! If you’re into WW2 he is the person you want to talk to.
Highly recommend!
Ann_H, Feb 2024
Chris is a wealth of knowledge and taught us SO much we didn’t know about WWII in Paris. Highly recommend!
Excellent
dianne_r, Nov 2023
Chris is so knowledgeable on this subject. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour (despite the cold, which none of us could control). Highly recommended if you have an interest in ww2 history.
Fantastic! A tour for all knowledge levels and ages!
Molly_J, Nov 2023
I booked this tour as my younger, history obsessed brother was visiting me for the first time in Paris. The itinerary couldn’t be more better suited to my brother, and even to me. I’ve lived in Paris for verging on five years now, and I had very limited knowledge surrounding the city and its dark but intense history, until I took this tour. Chris kindly took the time to message me beforehand about himself, further details including meeting points and more insight to what the tour would include. This was incredibly helpful, especially if you are first timer in Paris like my brother. The tour was truly fascinating. And even though it was raining and cold (of course expected for the season!) Chris’ storytelling kept us going as we hung onto every word he said. He has an incredible knowledge of this topic, offered more insight than imaginable and even showed our group some secret spots he had discovered himself. His passion for history is infectious, and as now when I wander around the same spots he showed us in the tour, I can’t help but be reminded of what he taught us, and am eager to learn more. Even after the tour had concluded, he stayed out in the rain to answer further questions we had, delved even deeper into the area we were in and actually took the opportunity to get to know us more, offering to take us on other tours upon my brother’s return to Paris. Chris even managed to personalise a part of the tour towards my brother’s interests in tanks and de Gaulle, and made sure he covered all bases. I have asked my brother to also offer a few words to review Chris and his tour, as it is his fascination with the subject that brought me to booking! “An enlightening journey into the troubling and disturbing past of Paris under the occupation of the Germans during the Second World War, holding no biases in the political spectrum, cherishing the hidden heroes of the resistance forces that liberated the city, challenging the aura of Charles De Gaulle and understanding that it he was built upon the fighters who fought for democracy and for freedom once lost under the Vichy regime. Furthermore, the tour showcases the damage that still remains, arguing that Paris’s darkest moments are still with us and shall be remembered.” So would we recommend Chris’ tour? Absolutely!
AN ABSOLUTE MUST!
Warren_K, Oct 2023
Wow, our guide Chris knew his history. I have been an amateur student of WW2 military history for most of my adult life having a father who served in WW2 & Korea for the Australian army. Chris dived into the background surrounding the occupation of Paris, setting the scene for a better understanding of the groups of people that were recognized as the French Resistance. How they came to be and what influenced the French people and their collective attitudes to the occupation of Paris. We walked to specific areas and buildings where he was able to thread together stories & information about important figures who influenced actions and are now imbedded in the history of this beautiful city. Chis gave us a better understanding of the people who made up the Resistance and was passionate to ensure we heard stories that honoured these people, a high percentage of them being women. Would I recommend this tour absolutely. What better way to get an appreciation of the city, and how perilously close Paris came to losing their beautiful landmarks if not for the brave actions of people, on both sides of the political spectrum.
German Occupation of Paris
Marnell_L, Oct 2023
The expertise that Chris brought to this tour was amazing. He was able to answer all questions that our group posed, often pulling charts, photos, etc. from his bag to reply. Everyone in the group was engaged and interested. Chris told about the strategies the Nazis used to foment divisions and to get the French to police themselves. Photographs of the same streets we were walking on that were draped with Nazi flags were powerful. Chris used both factual information and interesting anecdotes to inform and entertain. Thanks, Chris!
Not fit for purpose as a tour.
Jacquelynne_W, Oct 2023
The guide confused his role and instead tried to be a history lecturer with long, rambling dissertations that were exhausting and rarely related to the sites. We had to constantly tell him we were interested in the buildings and their places in history. We knew the history and made him aware of that and wanted a guided tour to of the sites. The guide was pleasant and enthusiastic and knew the history however the tour was not what was advertised. If we wanted a lecture we would have sought one. Rather we wanted a guided tour of places in history.
Response from Host, Oct 2023
I just want to start here by being totally honest about how this decietful, dishonest slur and slander of myself and my tour currently makes me feel because I need to , I can't hold It in I also know that often people reading this don't realise the power and negative effects these kind of dishonest reviews can have , practically mentally and emotionally for someone working alone tryng to provide the best service they can and who has great personal investment in the service or product they provide unlike large impersonal tour companies Especially someone like myself who specialiase In providing small group or Private tours of a much higher standard I want you to know so you understand why I have had to write such a long reply , I have to get this off my chest because It makes me feel like quitting , like I cant put up with people being deliberately dishonest and saying such OUTRAGEOUS things that are totally untrue Apart from furious and angry it also makes me feel incredibly upset and depressed that people can be like this . that certain humans can warp the truth so much and be so malicious in their rationalisation to excuse their own behaviour by blaming others It makes me feel quite sick , I mean that . physically this review has made me feel nauseas and extremely stressed so much I just haven't been able to get it off my mind the last 2 days at all Running tours began as my passion, from my love of history, teaching and helping people understand the past so we can better understand the future And just meeting all the wonderful people I have over the years Because of this I take them very seriously , I consistently go out of my way to make them the best they can be and go the extra mile for my guests happily Read all the other reviews , the reasonable, honest ones I strive and CARE deeply that people have the best experience of learning possible and if you read this I'm assuming you will also have read some of the dozens of other honest reviews I have received which reflect this, which I have worked so hard to get which praise me so highly and my tours excellence in complete CONTRADICTION to this dishonest post and present me and my tour in a light so totally different as to make what these people have written seem like a sick joke or someone deliberately being vindictive for the sake of it However this doesn't make it any less hurtful when someone like these people come along and do this , Its actually like a dagger in my chest when I read It to call my tours of which I have worked so hard on and gone out of my way to make the best they can be for people called "NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE" by these arrogant , deceitful , well I cant say what I really want to call them because Its innapropraite on here You won't find big tour companies write with such honesty , but thats becasue they don't care like I do , my tours are like an extension of myself, a part of my passion that makes me who I am and reflects in the kind words so many people have written about them in the past However, I have felt myself increasingly stressed over the last 6 months because of the high standard that I set that I know there are always some people , a small minority, but stll some , who see it as their job to knock me down a few notches , to be deliberatley negative even to the point of blatantly lying about me and my tours I've had a handful , I can count them on one hand of dishonest or just plain weird reviews over the last coupe of years One person for example once gave me a one star review after THEY left ME waiting in the rain ( under shelter let me add) for them to arrive for a tour and they never turned up calling me a few minutes before to say THEY didn't want to do it anymore ! They even called me 50 minutes before Just as I was about to get on the train Into Paris to meet them as I live outside to say they were just leaving and ON THEIR WAY Instead of leaving a ONE star review , because they were after a refund they were certainly NOT getting after what theybdid , they should have APOLOGISED to me maybe ?? But No, not a word , they treated me and my time with utter contempt and then I WAS made to suffer for their rudeness by having my 5 star rating reduced becuse of their ONE untruthful , malicious review they were never even entitled to leave Trio advisor refused to take it down ,tanks for the support TA ! How utterly depressing I've had a few others , dishonest , deliberatley malicious and with an obvious agenda to be "The ones " to put me down a few pegs as some people want to do negative for negatives sake I don't want people to think I don't have any valid critiques either, I do , you just don't see them as I write personally to people If i ever feel like I could have done a better job for some reason and have received some great input which I have taken on board But people coming on here and just plain lying I cannot tolerate , it deeply upsets me as I always try to go to such great lengths to help people and be kind and generous I just can't understand WHY poeple do this ? I have actually felt like quitting because of this review Thats how stressed and upset It makes me feel This Is because of the demand for my tours and success yjeu have become my only source of income over the last 2 years so to say this just shows how much it upsets me Something I loved doing so much and sharing so much with people instead becomes a source of intense stress that makes me feel Is it worth it , and can I go out every time I run a tour with the fear of having someone like these people on my tour ? So I hope you understand why I need to write the follwing in repsonse and please excuse me If you want to read through for its length and even If I repeat myself as a result to see the truth of just how rude these people were to me and dishonest in this horrible reveiw You can alternatively I assume already see that this reveiw is utter nonsense just by reading the dozens of reviews underneath tha totally contradict It and make it look obviously suspicious, dishonest and totally out of place So here is my detailed repsonse below Wow, thanks for you pack of lies , but I think the problem here is YOU confused the TOUR you were on and my role and tried to give ME a history lecture In the most arrogant, rude manner I have ever encountered , In fact only EVER encountered wIth YOU in 7 years of running apparently outstanding tours with many people far more qualified and experienced than YOU seemed to think you are as my reviews clearly show???? The truth is YOU had no interest in doing the "TOUR AS ADVERTISED " which is a GENERAL GROUP TOUR covering multiple aspects of the occupation ,don't lie, and which you made abundantly clear when you rudely cut me off at the very beggining and told me YOU WEREN'T INTERESTED when I was explaining the background to Frances occupation, which is PART of every tour I run "AS ADVERTISED" "becasue YOU had a HISTORY DEGREE" , wow, and "knew all this, which Is debatable and just wanted to visit certain SPECICFIC sites that interested YOU !! So the actual truth is unsurprisngly the OPPOSITE of your cognitively dissonant review YOU had no interest in doing the "TOUR AS ADVERTISED " and repeatedly cut me off when I began talking about subjects which are included " ON THE TOUR AS ADVERTISED" because you didn't need to know apparently ( because I guess you have a HISTORY degree right?)and just wanted to see certain sites that interested your sepcific Interests? Even though this was NOT a PRIVATE tour about a SPECICFIC subject but a GENERAL GROUP TOUR !?? Which I then actually took you too , ALL of them actually and ended up binning "The TOUR AS ADVERTISED" to attempt to accomadate you despite your rudeness towards me? And during which you continued to extremely rudely cut me off when I attempted to include subjects very clearly in "THE TOUR AS ADVERTISED " and DECLINED to visit several sites incuded in the "TOUR AS ADVERTISED" because they didn't interest you or you knew It all already I'm guessing right? And then to top off your bunch of lies YOU left to go back to your hotel with an hour remaining because you claimed you were now tired and didn't want to see anything else despite us being next to several important sites "ON THE TOUR AS ADVERTISED " !!! And then you have the utter gall to write this review OUTRAGEOUSLY AND SLANDEROUSLY claiming my tour is NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE and ouright lying that tour was NOT as advertised when on MULTIPLE occassions when I was attempting to conduct the tour AS ADVERTISED YOU cut me off and said what I was talking about didn't interest you !!! What a couple of ............ I am THAT furious I have actually been back to this 3X now o rewrite It after the way you so rudely treated me and talked to me like I was below you Seriously I have NEVER in 7 years been subject to such arrogant, rude, condescending people as you Go chew on that and feel lucky I cant say or call you what I really feel on here ! You really expect people to read what you just wrote about my tour after the previous 50 odd reviews all saying the complete opposite and not think there's something not right here?? Suddenly the tours I am giving are long ramblimg lectures RARELY related to the sites and NOT as advertised and my tour is NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE ? I'm really sorry to anyone reading this, as I know people will, but these people have REALLY gone too far here and I will not take this slander As anyone reading all my other reviews can see this really is OUTRAGEOUS and I am an easy going, accomodating,generous person who will go out of their way to help people on the tour so I hope you understand by how much I have written and my response just how totally abused I feel here and physically upset I think Its fait to say that if my tour was not "fit for purpose" ( I mean what an absolutely arrogant condescending remark) this may have been picked up on by the 50 odd other people before now who have all left such fantastic reviews saying complete;y the OPPOSITE to you and if this REALLY the case and I'd be out of business years ago , don't you think? What outrageous slander and utter nonsense ! I will never accept passively people lying and slandering me so strap In and lets here what REALLY was going on here fromn the moment we met shall we? First lets just just read between the lines here and look at what you say yourselves to see the real problem and contradictions you make In trying to move the goalposts and narrative away from the truth You actually admit the guide "knew the history " (thank your royal history highnesses for throwing this lowly "guide" this scrap of acknwoledgement from your table) but thats not what YOU wanted So you DIDN'T want to hear" the history" ? But hold on then say you WANTED to know the place of the buildings "IN HISTORY " ??? Uh??? Make your minds up maybe?? Your totally contradicting yourselves which is what people always do when they attempt to spin a mistruth and it gets out of control of course as they have to cover their tracks woth more lies You say you KNEW the history but wanted to know the sites place in HISTORY?? So you didn't know "The HISTORY "??? But then when I tried to GIVE you the history of the sites, which to do so you need to know the CONTEXT you accused me of giving "long rambling lectures rarely related to the sites ? Thus just a downright lie If you DONT KNOW the history of the places how do you know that what I am telling you is apparently UNRELATED to the sites PLACE IN HISTORY? Utter nonsense Its a GENERAL GROUP HISTORY tour , thats WHAT YOU BOOKED NOT A PRIVATE TOUR OF CERTAIN BULDINGS related to a SPECICFIC subject ON A LIST YOU MADE ! If you want that then pay the extra and BOOK that with me and notify me IN ADVANCE of your requirements ? So do NOT turn up on a GENERAL GROUP tour and act like its your own PRIVATE tour set to your OWN specific requirements and then complain and slander ME when you get exactly what you paid for and have the ludicrous gall to claim it was not as "advertised " or "fit for purpose" when that was the exact problem , it WAS as advertised but as "advertised" was not what YOU wanted ! A GEENRAL HISTOERY TOUR REQUIRES ME TO TALK ABOUT THE GENERAL HISTORY !! If you are such experts then why book the GENERAL group tour ? What would you do if you were "lumped " with 4 other people who DON'T know the history then? Book a PRIAVTE one instead where I can cater to your every royal history highnesses whim in SPECIFIC detail ? So to say the tour was not as advertise is again a complrte and utter LIE The whole problem was that it was EXACTLY AS ADVERTISED BUT THATS NOT WHAT YOU WANTED and instead acted up like it was YOUR OWN PRIVATE TOUR Tell the truth now shall we? Even worse despite your claims , I STILL took you to EVERY site that was ADVERTISED and told you the HISTORY of each place ! The Meurice, The Inter Continental, The Place Vendome with the Ritz and the Site of the First Spyy network and radio transmitter to London and then Rue Rouget D'Lisle where the French resistance began Thats every site AS ADVERTISED uo to this point This pojnt being 2 hours into the 3 hour tour AS ADVERTISED at which point YOU decided you wanted to go back to your hotel as you were tired and refused to visit the the remaing sites AS ADVERTISED !! So you are lying Trust me If I'd been giving rambling history lectures "rarely related " to the places theres no way we would be at the Jeu de Paume, with an hour left and only 3 sites left to see??? WhIch YOU declined to visit because you had already seen all the sites that had any interest to you !! You got EXACTLY what was "advertised" and what all the reveiws tell you you will get but the real issue is thats not the tour YOU wanted, you considered yourselves too good for it , and contunally treated me extremely rudely and condascendingly, continually cutting me off a few sentences into my narration because "YOU KNEW THE HISTORY" But you didn't actaully, you THOUGHT you did and I repeatedly had to tell you that ,as ADVERTISED , I had to recount the context and history to explain the "Sites places in history" Its is quite clear that this is what I will do !as advertised " and fron the glowing reviews all PRAISING my apparently "long rambling unrelated lectures"?? So in return here is MY review of YOU YOU are NOT fit for purpose with your outrageous rude and self important attitude as guests on any tour and I would strongly warn any guide I knew to reject any booking you made after the experience I had with you which quite frankly was the WORSE I have had in 7 years of running tours ! You were that rude and arrogant and entitled towards me I considered just stopping the tour after an hour because I do not come to run tours to be spoken to in the way you spoke to me This is unheard of and as anyone reading my dozens of fantastic reviews that TOTALLY contradict EVERYTHING you have claimed not just about the tour but about myself must have meant something was VERY out of the ordinary and wrong here ! You cut me off 4 times I believe mid sentence telling me "this wasn't what YOU wanted to hear" or " We don't need to be told this" ! I was shocked ,never have I been spoken to like this even once on a tour let alone repeatedly or by anybody in life In 7 years of running tours to the highest standard I can therefore confidently say you get the gold medal by a country mile for the rudest, most arrogant and self entitled people I have ever encountered It is quite obvious , considering what every one of my other reviews state that the problem here is YOU and YOU alone I pity any guide who has the misfortune of having to endure the same experience I did with you , I truly do Ironically I ran the tour for you as a good will gesture even though It was under numbers and I should have cancelled How I only wish I had cancelled the tour now instead of enduring the nightmare I had with you which has actually continued to effect and stress me in the 48 hours after to the point that I felt physically unwilling to work further this weekend because I was upset that anyone could be so rude I lost my confidence and just felt like I can't face running a tour at the moment Yes I am sensitive and empathetic, and this helps me to be passionate in my story telling and go out of my way to be kind and helpful to my guests So It effects me deeply when someone speaks to me the way you did and also says thing that are just NOT true The tour was EXACTLY as advertised or IT WOULD have been if you'd allowed me to run it or talk without constantly cutting me off A GENERAL history designed for a GROUP of people who may have differing levels of knowledge and want a GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE MAIN SUBJECTS AND ISSUES surrounding the occupation So explain just exactly how it WAS not as advertised ? It was or It would have been if you had let me have been exactly as advertised But the problem was that was NOT what you wanted It became apparent that YOU wanted and expected a tour for some reason tailored to your exact interests with NO divergence onto other subjects that took in a list of certain specicfic sites that you wanted to see linked SOLEY to ONE subject! THE complete OPPOSITE of a GENERAL tour ! So stop being untruthuI to cover up your horrible attitude to me I ATTEMPTED to run the tour AS ADVERTISED but you would not let me You demanded instead that every time I began to talk about any subject to explain the background that was NOT on your specific list , that by the way being excactly what you do on a GENERAL tour , that YOU were not interested in hearing what I had to say This was NOT because it was NOT advertised but because apparenty YOU already knew this so you cut me off mid sentence For example you even did this at one site when I had barely spoken 2 sentences Oh YOU apparently already knew this all already WITHOUT even letting me finish and just wanted to know if there were any other sites on yout list that YOU were specifically interested we could see! Let me remind you YOU booked a GENERAL GROUP TOUR Let me REPEAT a GENERAL tour that is usually and should have conducted in a GROUP and has to cover various subjects in a short space of time You did not book or pay for a PRIVATE tour just for yourselves with a pesonalised itinerary that you hasd REQUESTED in advance and made clear you only wanted to visit certain buildings Yet you seemed to treat It as such Let me break it to you as you don't seem to understand this You do NOT get a personalised itinerary that focuses on a SPECIFIC SUBJECT OR just the ones YOU want on a GENERAL GROUP tour ! You were very lucky no one else was on the tour Or well let me put it another way, anyone ELSE was very lucky they were not on the tour with you Lord knows how that would have worked as you wanted to treat the tour as your OWN PRIVATE party I mean what would have happened if THEY , rightly expecting a GENERAL tour, AS ADVERTISED we had stopped at somewhere you didn't consider as being part of your SPECIFIC interests yet was ON the tour AS ADVERTISED and had been told by you "Well WE have a history degree and WE know about this already so I'm afraid we are going to cut the guide off and tell him we don't want to hear this "??? God forbid what the tour would have been like for any other people on It I guess it would have been a shock for you though to realise the world didn't just revolve around you on the tour and In fact It was NOT a privatised tour but a group one and you were having to hang with people who maybe DIDN'T have your apparent super knowledge of everything ? So please do not be dishonest ''The tour, if you had permitted me to run it would have EXACTLY as avertised Nowhere does it say it is just a " quick guided tour of sites and certainly NOT just sites to do with ONE subject that ONE couple decide THEY want to see It ,makes it quite clear that I will talk about the CONTEXT And the reasons WHY things happened So please do not lie about long rambling dissertations this is NOT true The truth Is you were EXTREMELY rude to me and arrogant ,cutting me off after I was 2 lines into describing the experience of one resistance leader who visited DeGaulle in 1941, Yes 2 LINES with the comment , "we dont need a 4 hr lecture on this because we already know" Hardly a "long rambling dissertation? Just YOU being extremely RUDE !!! If you dont want to hear these stories and explanations and think you are so far above everyine with your "suoerior " knowledge then DON'T book the the GENERAL tour and then complain when i try to run it AS ADVERTISED then FALSELY claim it was NOT as advertised It was NOT a private tour There was NOT even any advance request made about the posiibility of visiting certain sites or focusing on one particular subject in which case I woukd have suggested you book a PRIVATE tour So STOP being dishonest The tour I was attempting to run was what YOU booked In Reality though the Tour YOU actually wanted was NOT what you booked so now you blame and bad mouth me You are like someone who goes to a restauraunt and orders a Pizza because Its cheaper than the Steak Then when your Pizza arrives you complain that thats not what you ordered and why don't you have the steak!!??? And then go and abuse the staff and leave a withering review compalining that you didnt get what you ordered ! I have had Pentagon Generals on my tour I have had serving members of the military , from the Marines, 101st and 82nd Airborne I have had members of the security and Intelligence services I have had people whose father served next to Patton Or whose mother was an SOE agent I have had numerous veterans I have had Drs, PHDs, Historians teachers I have had people with all kinds of experiences and amazing stories People I could learn from and was eager to talk to People who I encouraged to share any stories or knowledge thay had with the grouop that I didn't know so that the tour would be as interesting as possible Non of these people were disrespectful or arrogant or self important Non of them , despite having special knowledge themselves, amazing stories cut me off when I spoke , disrespected me , were full of self importance Real life stories and knowledge that went far beyond in value anything the 2 of you had to offer or knew . trust me Yet they were eager to learn new things , they wanted to listen and contribute in humility Non of them though they were better than me because of this or anyone else We had wonderful times And these people all said the same thing about my tour even though If anyone could have judged me they could have had the right I'm sure Then along came you ....... The even sadder thing Is , despite how rude you had been to me I even contacted you the day after and offered FREE of charge to take you on a very specicfic tour next time, you may be here basically a FREE private tour because I wanted to share with you my time and to help you see some places I thought you would really be interested In simply out of my own desire for people to learn as much as they can and kindess I think this says It all really comparing this to your attitude and totally warped and untruthfull comments you obviously rushed out to post on here the moment you had time I feel quite sick and degraded actually reading such lies after all the effort and passion I put into my tours as my dozens of previous reviews ALL confirm and totally contradict EVERY malicious claim you make I am just thankful for all the wonderful people I have had the pleasure of spending time with over the years and knowing that in life we can't account for those few who have such an awful attitude that I encountered with you You are certainly not fit for purpose on any tour with the attitude you showerd towards me Its about time that WE could leave reviews on people and give YOU no star ratings to warn other tour guides !
Enlightening Tour in Paris
Brent_W, Oct 2023
Great tour for those interested in history and impact of WWII occupation on residents of Paris. Chris provides incredible insights into this highly complex topic.
Myth busting tour
Desiree_W, Oct 2023
We enjoyed learning about little-known facts about the French Resistance. I found that there were some things I thought I knew about the resistance were untrue. We liked the small group setting. I would recommend this tour to anyone who has an interest in WWII.
Great understanding of the WWII occupation
Cheryl_P, Oct 2023
Fantastic history. We didn't walk far, did lots of standing and it went quite long, but my husband, the historian, loved it
Learned so much!!
RitaTerri_B, Sep 2023
We learned SO much about the Resistance and France (especially Paris) during WWII. Our guide even stayed over an extra hour to share his vast knowledge on the subject. He is very passionate about the topic. You Need to be "into" WWII history to really appreciate this tour!
Lots of interesting information
Sallie_P, Sep 2023
Our tour guide, Chris, had a lot of interesting little bits of information that I don’t think I could have found in all of the reading I do. It was fun to actually see the places I read about.
Fascinating step back in time
Nathan_C, Sep 2023
Chris was an absolutely pleasure to listen to during our recent tour in Paris. His knowledge and passion for the subject reinvigorated my own interest in this fascinating period of Paris’s history (helped further by his offer to provide a reading guide via email afterwards!). As a guide, Chris was also accommodating of guests as we were touring on a very hot day. His flexible approach meant we all got so much out of the tour. Chris also used photos and other primary sources to great effect. I’ve already recommended the tour to friends!
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