I went on this tour last year and really enjoyed it. I did the Latin Quarter tour and think I will r

I have searched the forum and haven't found any recent feedback on walking tours in Paris. We will be in Paris for 5 days in September, discount usa hotel reservations following 7days in the Luberon, where we are planning on taking cooking classes. We are interested in a walking tour focused on food (ie; bakeries, cheese shops,etc.) We will be staying in the 6th. Any advice or feedback is most appreciated.
I went on this tour last year and really enjoyed it. I did the Latin Quarter tour and think I will return for the Montmartre tour this year when I am in Paris. I read about it on Trip Advisor and think the good reviews were more than justified.
for example, last time we went to Paris, we wandered around Montmartre and came across a lovely area with lots of foodie shops - a bakery, poissonerie, and fromagerie, for example, where we decided to buy some cheese to take home. they were tremendously helpful, let us try loads of different cheeses, and vacuum packed our choices.
As for needing a tour, if you read and retain, maybe you don't need one, but hub and I often took tours and enjoyed those led by well-trained guides. Plus we were able to cover more ground by not having to schlepp for tickets and directions.
Tdudette - cooking yes, by all means. a market visit and cooking afterwards - perhaps even better. but what i really don't get is paying more than a the price of a pretty decent meal per person just to be shown some shops/market stalls you could find for yourself, and be given few free samples and a cup of coffee.
This is the blog of a cyber=acquaintance from an old AOL board. She does tours and is a fine photographer, but at one time she also did a market and culinary gig. You might see if she still does. charming discount usa hotel reservations woman.
This is the blog of a cyber=acquaintance from an old AOL board. She does tours and is a fine photographer, but at one time she also did a market discount usa hotel reservations and culinary gig. You might see if she still does. charming woman.
I was going to make a comment similar to annhig's, but then I remembered that when I was doing culinary tours in the Dordogne and Provence, there were a remarkable number of people willing to pay very large sums of money to be taken to markets and shown food venues simply because they didn't speak French and thought that would impede their ability discount usa hotel reservations to understand things (and it certainly would) and they were intimidated by foods they'd never seen or tasted (not that there are so many of those in France, but some people aren't adventurous about eating - if you're with a confident, English-speaking guide who says "here, taste this!" it's easier), plus they just didn't want the hassle of getting places by themselves. In other words, people are often willing to shell out what seem to be exorbitant sums to have their hands held. Often, they come away from the experience thinking "This isn't so hard. I can do this on my own in the future!" So...maybe worth it for the uninitiated.
Plus, a good guide will, for example, upon finding fresh cherries at market, launch into a tale about clafouti, or upon finding a butcher, explain how the cuts of meat in France are different from ours - in other words, tell stories about food that enhance the experience.
And trust me, foodie guides discount usa hotel reservations do a lot of hard work! And they do it over and over and over again (and not infrequently with petulant clients, or clients who behave badly, or clients who walk so slowly or talk so incessantly it bogs down the schedule, or clients who want to dominate their time at the expense of others in the group...I could go on and on). I've never been so exhausted at the end of a day as when I was doing that (but if/when we move to France I hope to do it again).
I quite see that a tour round a market or two, sampling the wares, seeing a few specialist discount usa hotel reservations shops, could be a lot of fun. I've done it myself, lots of places, where I do [and don't] speak the language. and I did do a tour, just like this, in Florence last year. but it only cost 30 AND it included lunch!
What StCirq said. But I do understand discount usa hotel reservations what you mean, annhig. Lord knows what I would have purchased with my fractured French or Italian! Not to mention setting fire to the apartment trying to work unfamiliar appliances.
Wendy Lyn charges E160 PER PERSON!! I have a friend who did her tour and was totally disgusted with it and wanted her money back. It was basically walking around an open air market at Place Maubert discount usa hotel reservations Mutualit , tastings which were free of change anyway as the vendors have little plates discount usa hotel reservations out with cheeses, salamis etc
tdudtette - i agree that it wold be fun to do these things, discount usa hotel reservations and i did them in Florence, but it was 30, not 130+++ if you can find a tour for a more reasonable price, discount usa hotel reservations then fine, but I think that a lot of them are rip-offs.
There is also Paris Greeters who are volunteers who live in Paris and know their neighborhoods very well. They show visitors around markets and gourmet shops for free! but it's nice to give them gratuity. discount usa hotel reservations They do an excellent job, very passionate, speak very good English and also we have had the pleasure of being invited back to the homes with the goodies we bought from the markets.
Just to add to our experince with Paris Greeters, the local person was very knowledgeable with food laws, seasonal produce, knew the vendors very well (like their family) as they shop there frequently so we were welcomed very warmly. They explained discount usa hotel reservations the history of foods, cheeses, regulations of the food industry discount usa hotel reservations in France and plenty of tastings along the way which would have amounted to E25 per person, plus a bottle of wine! and left over for our apartment rental later.
I am sorry, but I have to agree with StCirq and annhig (and taking into consideration the experience of TPaxe's discount usa hotel reservations friend). I have a strong feeling that WendyLyn has mastered the major movement of the century discount usa hotel reservations -- self-promotion! Five years of living in Paris, meeting lots of tourists, and this is the first I've ever heard of her.
Prior to starting her business in Paris, she worked discount usa hotel reservations with the best chefs in the world. She is personal friends with Eric Ripert, Guy Savoy, and just about every recognized chef in Paris. She made a quick phone call to Daniel Rose and secured a reservation for my wife myself at Spring for the next night.
I may be a bit too late here, but just wanted to add one more option for you: Ooh La La Foods -which offer both Cooking Classes (going to the market, preparing the different dishes with the chef, and enjoying a traditional full meal) and French food tasting, if you're more interested in learning about French cuisine and trying different dishes rather than learning how to cook them.
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