Paris boasts a grand legacy of art, one that it continues into the 21st century.
From the art salons to the great schools for artists, from Architecture to Cuisine to Visual Arts, from museums to Art Galleries, from Rococo to Impressionism, from French artists like Degas and Rodin to creative expatriates found conspiring in a café, you cannot take a step in the City of Lights without walking through a passage of art history.
There is art in the very bricks that make this city. There is art in the air that blows over the Avenue des Champs-Élysées and in the water that flows through the Seine.
That is why, in all eras and in every generation, Paris is the city where the great artists learn their craft and create their finest works. And by birth or by adoption, it becomes their home.
If we take even a brief look into the past, examining only a few threads in the historic tapestry of Art in Paris, we sense the power of this city to enliven the human spirit and bring forward new visionary creators. It’s what inspired the creation of my Walk through Art, a City Introduction Tour in Paris, the best way to engage this fascinating city from the Start.
Let’s take a short stroll through art history in Paris, appreciating a few of the great moments and achievements waiting there — reminding ourselves once again why millions of artists and art lovers around the world make the pilgrimage to Paris every year.
This is a walking city tour to introduce you to the city of Paris through the eyes of a native & local tour guide holding a master in Art History from the Sorbonne University and a License to guide inside the National Museums and Monuments.
The city tour is private and tailor made. It takes 4 hours and starts at 9am to 1pm.
We can do the tour around your Hotel if it is located in Paris Center: le Marais, Saint-Germain des Près, Latin quarter, Montmartre or in the Louvre area. We can start walking from your Hotel gates.
Paris has been the setting for some of the biggest turning points in art history, as well as fertile soil for the seeds of masterpieces.
By looking at only a few of the events in this storied past, we quickly see just how influential this city is to humanity’s never ending desire to create and communicate through color and form. It’s this art which makes up one of the most important endowments we are given at birth, no matter where we are in the world.
Mid-19th century art in France was controlled by the Académie des Beaux-Arts.
This institution was entrusted with the preservation of French painting, and so their traditional tastes became the de facto rules that artists had to follow if they wanted to have any kind of career.
Historical scenes and religious paintings, along with portraits, were prized above all else — as long as it fit into the expected painting style.
But when you give artists rules to follow, they always find a way to break them.
A new generation of painters, including the likes of Claude Monet and Édouard Manet, were interested in painting from life as they knew and lived it. Many of these young artists also loved hiking and painting landscapes en plein air, made more convenient with recent innovations in paint manufacturing.
But these works had no allies in the tradition-bound halls of the Académie. They were rejected en masse from the major exhibits of their time, so they began a revolt against the system. They organized their own society of artists to show their work. When they finally presented their paintings to the public, a critic panned the new style for being a “mere impression” of a painting.
The word stuck, but the judgment did not.
Soon, the world fell in love with these Impressionists. The gentle handling of light, the effervescent strokes of color that gathered into a visual tone poem of a moment, the depiction of life as people actually lived it — these innovations forever changed the trajectory of art.
The generations to come would take these painters as their example, and they went on to invent new forms like cubism, fauvism and abstract art. And all of those tumultuous breakthroughs happened in the same city that inspired the Impressionists to upend centuries of tradition.
See our Louvre & Orsay combo to learn about Painting History of Paris.
The Musée du Louvre stands today as the most-visited and perhaps greatest art museum in the world.
But when construction began in the 12th century under King Philip II, it was meant to be a fortress against attacks coming from the West, not a safe place to keep our precious works of art.
Over the centuries the building began to change, being expanded into a royal residence and renovated to match the French Renaissance style. It was in 1682, after Louis XIV moved to Versailles, that it became the home for artists with the king as their patron.
As French royalty began collecting vast amounts of art, the Louvre seemed the most appropriate place to store them. By the 18th century, the French were calling for a public art museum to be displayed in the halls of the Louvre.
Over the course of the 1700s, it became just that. A museum.
Today, the museum stands as a world treasure, housing a collection of nearly 40,000 objects at any given time.
That collection includes incredible masterpieces like Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, as well as work representing the heights of artistic achievement from around the world.
In the 1920s, a group of mostly American artists and writers began moving to Paris. Drawn by the allure of French society and escaping the culture back home, these creatives forged an identity in the cafés and homes of the Parisian literati.
Known as the Lost Generation, this small group would go on to become some of the most influential and important voices of the 20th century. Their ranks include Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, T.S. Eliot and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Their coterie included other international notables like Salvador Dalí and James Joyce. And French artists like Pablo Picasso and Marcel Duchamp passed through these circles. It was a time unlike any other in the history of art and literature, where the streets and restaurants were filled with painters and novelists, poets and sculptors.
The café Jardin du Luxembourg played host to conversations between them, leading no doubt to some of the most important artistic and literary achievements of the era.
Paris was the perfect setting for this group, for the same reasons it still inspires creatives today.
With a legendary bohemian scene and streets lined with historic architectural achievements, one can’t go anywhere in the city without engaging with new ideas and exhilarating works of art.
Just as artists and art lovers have been called to the city for centuries, so we are called today. We want to walk the same streets as the Famous Artists and understand more about Art History from the French Guide-Conférencier point of view.
Whether we love art or find its appreciation deeply rewarding, we know we must at least go to Paris to find out. The more we learn about the events and personalities from its history, the more Paris spirit shines in our imagination. But it is a real place. And the facts and first hand stories that I will share with you, truly happened here.
We can go there and see many well-preserved hidden beautiful Art.
But in other place, we will find all few layers of history that are stacked on top of each other. I will help you unearth what is hidden — even when it is hiding in plain sight.
We will understand the significance of every Art movement in Paris, and get the most out of the many displays of art shows at places like the Louvre and Versailles depending on your interests. To meet the very soul of the city and absorb the full weight of its history in art, you need someone with a wealth of technical knowledge and the presentation skills and the ability to share it with you. You need a storyteller and a historian, someone who loves her native city and the artists who made their name in Paris..
I invite you to join me on a private tour of one of the art world’s capitals, seeing the best Art works, understanding the beautiful architecture, tracing the narratives and chasing the Art movement.
Email : flora.goldenberg@gmail.com
Please share with me your dates and interests in advance so I can plan the perfect tour for you.
Short tour 2 Hours
Half Day or Full Day tour with Lunch
I can come pick you up and start our private tour in your area.
As we will walk together, I will show you where to look for interesting Art History details and symbols, decorating the walls of Paris.
I will tell you the stories about the Artist who lived here and then. I can show you s
Short tour 2 Hours
Half Day or Full Day tour with Lunch
I can come pick you up and start our private tour in your area.
As we will walk together, I will show you where to look for interesting Art History details and symbols, decorating the walls of Paris.
I will tell you the stories about the Artist who lived here and then. I can show you sculptures from Roman mythology and explain the allegories of Paris, as well as wall fresco, outdoor Art (Old to Modern to Contemporary sculptures)
We will see some of Napoleon monuments, Haussmann renovation, Baroque architecture, indoor apartment buildings, the Art Deco, all in details, as we walk next to them.
We will take a peak inside a residential or administrative 17th century building to see the private gardens, the court, the stairs from inside.
Ask me questions during our walk, as you see anything unusual or surprising, I will be happy to help you understand my city's Art and inner workings.
We can take a break together at a nice local or traditional Café of Paris then go back walking on the paved streets away from the crowds.
Included in this private tour: either a stop at d'Orsay to see the impressionists, or a stop at the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa, a stop at L'Orangerie museum to see Monet, or maybe a quick detour to get inside the miraculous Sainte Chapelle.
Depending on your area, we can also include a visit to Picasso Museum, Pompidou Museum, Musée de Montmartre, or Delacroix studio.
You can ask me in advance, by email, to focus on Art, Architecture, Monuments, street art... or to include few tastings or one museum that we can choose depending on your interest in Gourmet food or your favorite type of Art : Old architecture, Gothic, stained glass, Church, Synagogue, Modern Art...
Unfortunately, we can not do all these museums in one tour. The city is big and it depends on where we walk. The museums can take time to get inside and find the Masterpieces.
We will need to choose!
The good news : I can help you pick one or two stops depending on your interests, on the area, on the length of the itinerary and on the opening hours of the museums.
4 hours | 6 people Max
The tour start in your area, at the nearest metro station from your stay or even better, at your Hotel lobby.
In 2023, Paris locals use either bikes or the Metro.
Paris offers many bike routes and safe circuits to see most of Paris monuments. But if you want to see everything, than the Metro or the car are the best op
4 hours | 6 people Max
The tour start in your area, at the nearest metro station from your stay or even better, at your Hotel lobby.
In 2023, Paris locals use either bikes or the Metro.
Paris offers many bike routes and safe circuits to see most of Paris monuments. But if you want to see everything, than the Metro or the car are the best options as Paris has some beautiful hilly quarters such as Montmartre.
In case you want the bike tour, I can rent the equipment for you : manual bike or electric bikes, mandatory helmets and vests.
In case you want the metro tour, the guide will help you understand the Metro system of Paris and will give you tips about how to explore Paris efficiently using the public transports.
This private guided tour is perfect for
a family, a couple,
or a party of 6 Friends max,
looking for a walking tour to see all Paris highlights like a real Local.
For the Metro : We will use the Metro Subway to go around the city and see the monuments of Paris : Eiffel Tower,
We follow a classic itinerary for this tour but you can ask in advance for a stop to get out of the Metro and get inside a Museum or go upstairs to see a local food market, depending on the opening hours.
You are welcome to contact me today to inquire and start planing ahead.
*It is advised to plan ahead with the Metro as we can have national strikes. In this case, we will need to switch options.
4 hours | 5 to 6 persons Max
For the car city tour, we need to hire a tourism-accredited private driver.
Your tour guide will be seating next to you or in front, giving you explanations as you see the monuments around. The guide answers lively your questions as the driver cruises safely around the city stops, following exactly our itinerary
4 hours | 5 to 6 persons Max
For the car city tour, we need to hire a tourism-accredited private driver.
Your tour guide will be seating next to you or in front, giving you explanations as you see the monuments around. The guide answers lively your questions as the driver cruises safely around the city stops, following exactly our itinerary.
This tour is perfect for a couple looking for an extremely comfortable experience in an Elegant & Luxurious car : Class S or Class E, with a private chauffeur to take care of you.
For a group of more than 2, the company offers a roomy AC conditioned Class V Van with a vertical higher ride to see the monuments, the people, the bridges and all the things I want to show you !
We can hop off the car and go inside a museum or a church while the driver is awaiting for us to come back.
*I exclusively work with a hand-picked team of quality drivers that I have trained on my special tours in Paris & Versailles. The drivers in my team are State-accredited English-speaking Parisian chauffeurs, courteous, clean, safe and trusted, trained efficiently on our provision terms and our precise itinerary.
With the expertise available through my team in Paris, you can enjoy the views of the city and learn the stories of art’s history, reliving it every step of the way. With many tour guide, we can offer many tour options.
There is a special guide with a unique experience to match your interest — no matter how specific it can be, I can approach a guide in my Team who can study your request with a lot of attention and dedicate a special research using her talent.
Contact us today to start planning your journey through time and art in Paris.
TOUR GUIDE PARIS - Private tour in Paris
LOUVRE TALES |2011| THE LOUVRE GUIDED TOUR
By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of Google Analytics