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Find the best guided tour of Paris for you

How do you choose the best guided tour of Paris for you? There are hundreds of ways of finding out all about Paris, some free and some not so free.  You can take a tour whilst walking, running, riding a bike, motorbike or a segway, taking a bus, a tuk tuk, a boat or whilst sitting down in a comfy seat watching a theatre performance to name but a few.

But if you only have an hour or three, here are my Top Choices for having fun and finding your best guided tour of Paris :

I love walking so for me this is the best : A great, and (technically) FREE choice is  www.discoverwalks.com  Take one of 5 trips round the Marais, Montmartre, ‘Parisian Landmarks’ The Left Bank (the South side) or the Islands with a young, bilingual Frenchman or woman, vividly – dressed in pink waistcoats or shirts so you can’t lose them.  These are not history lessons, they are full of facts, very funny anecdotes and stories about current events.  Great fun. Your guides exist on tips.

If you are a lot more energetic you could sign up as for the FREE running tours on Wednesday mornings at 10am.  Your guide is Luke, an Australian, and you can meet him at the pointy end of Ile de La Cité opposite the Statue of Henri IV (right by one of my favourite restaurants, the Taverne Henri IV).   Just turn up or sign up to his Facebook page.   Please don’t think for one moment that I have done this, I have just got some mad friends!

Gorgeous guests Jeff and Laura suggested I tell all of you about the Left Bank Scooters who will take you on a 3 hour journey around Paris; one of you on the back of a motorcycle and the other in a sidecar, helmets etc provided. Both of them are tall but neither of them said they felt crushed and they came back raving, they loved it.  These tours are only offered in the Winter months, from November to the end of March and for the braver, they offer Vespa scooter hire too.

Finally, so many of you have watched and adored the Theatre show “How to become a Parisian in one hour”. It is not a guided tour but it does guide you through how to understand the Parisians, their foibles and how we need to behave to get along in Paris.  It was created and is performed by a Frenchman, Olivier Giraud, in English and has been a smash hit for years.  A laugh a minute tho a little on the blue side perhaps.  The theatre show is every Friday – Monday night and tickets cost from €24 – ask if you want me to book for you.  And it is not far, go to Galeries Lafayette at the bottom of the hill and turn right!

I hope this will give you food for thought as to how to find the best guided tour of Paris for you and your family, whether it is your first trip or not and I look forward to your comments.

If you found this interesting, please take a look at my Handy Guide to Living Like a Local or perhaps you want to know some of my great restaurant choices?

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Holidays News Special Offers

5th of 6000 so here is an August thank you offer

Yeh, I made it to number 5 this week!!    Being ranked 5th on Trip Advisor means being 5th of all +/- 6000 listings in the Vacation Rental section of Trip Advisor Paris.   Just type ‘Paris’ and then list by Traveller Reviews. No other filters needed :-).

I’m so happy I wanted to thank the people who made that happen, my gorgeous guests and all those who have at one time wanted to stay with me.

When I started I had no clue how important Trip Advisor was and even less clue how their algorithms worked.  My first review was a 5 out of 5 so I jumped into the Top 500 ish.    I remember I posted on Facebook just how happy I was to be ranked in the Top 100.

I was over the moon when I got into the Top 50 because that was technically page 1 of Trip Advisor !   That seems ages ago but as I only started in 2012 it can’t be !

Now the B&B has 126 reviews (of which only 9 are 4* peppered with ‘wonderful’ and ‘we will return’ statements).   The apartment is lagging behind in 9th position with only 107 reviews!

So how to celebrate or offer a thank you ?  Here comes the August Special Offer.  Well actually there are 2; an August Special Offer and an August ‘Special’, Special Offer !

AUGUST SPECIAL OFFER : For anyone who wants to come to Paris between now and the 5th September I am offering a 20% discount for a 4+ night stay in either the B&B or the Apartment.  Please share (those funny coloured buttons at the end) if you think your friends may be interested.

Temperatures on the balcony will be 80F/60F   or   26C/15C.   PERFECT.

August is my favourite month in Paris, the French are on holiday so the museums are open and quiet (except for the 15th August public holiday when a lot are closed but for those that are open PLEASE buy a museums pass), the shops are empty, most of the restaurants are open (just the mom and pop ones close) and the roads are EMPTY !

Come and see for yourselves.

The AUGUST ‘SPECIAL’ SPECIAL OFFER is only for my Gorgeous Guests who have already stayed at 52Clichy :

I want to go away for a short trip before September so if anyone wants to stay in the B&B or take both for up to 6 people, you can have the same Special Offer as above PLUS, although you won’t be getting my breakfasts, you will have the place to yourselves.

Just click the link to the B&B  or the Apartment on Trip Advisor and pop in your dates or click on the 52 Clichy website, choose where you want to stay and click on the big purple  “Check Availability”  button.

3rd August 2014 at the Place de Clichy
3rd August 2014 at the Place de Clichy
15th August 2015 at the Place de Clichy
15th August 2015 at the Place de Clichy
15th August 2015. These poor people didn't buy a Museum Pass so are queuing at Versailles !
15th August 2015. These poor people didn’t buy a Museum Pass so are queuing for an entrance ticket at Versailles !

Looking forward to seeing you or hearing from you soon,

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Want to hear what previous guests have said, CLICK HERE…

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Holidays News Special Offers

Paris photos please, for the Frommer’s Easy Guide to Paris 2017

WOW, I will be in another Frommer’s guidebook, Frommer’s Easy Guide to Paris, to be published in October 2016. Did you know there was a need for so many different guidebooks for Paris ?!

This is what Amazon says about the current Easy Guide to Paris (2016), written by Margie Rynn : ” In 288 pages of dynamic, thoughtful prose, she guides the intelligent visitor to all the storied wonders of a glorious city, stressing her preferences for the best in every category. ”

The big deal for me is that they have asked me for PHOTOS !  Particularly photos with people in them !   I sent her squillions, including the obvious balcony photo, but not many with people in them.

However, I thought I would give you all the chance to relive happy memories, look at your holiday snaps and send me some gorgeous ones of you in my living room, in the apartment, on the balcony, having breakfast but perhaps not tucked up in bed ;-).  This will stop me scrabbling through my iphone on a Friday night !

Alternatively why not send some Parisian iconic scenes.  I know some of you are wonderful photographers, and I always need photos that set the scene so that all you wonderful guests come to visit I can share my vision of this beautiful city.

Just a reminder from my last email, next week I am increasing my prices for July onwards (I have some space in May but June is completely booked).  If you book before the end of May to visit Paris before the end of April 2017, then you can take advantage of my current prices.

This offer also applies to your friends if they mention they were referred by you or better still if they joined my mailing list at the bottom of my website homepage www.52Clichy.com! So do share this with them and have a look at my calendars below the slideshow of both the B&B and Apartment pages of my website.

This offer lasts only for the month of May and I can’t wait to hear from you.

Categories
Holidays News Special Offers

I am in the new Paris Day by Day Guide by Frommer’s

I received an email out of the blue a couple of days ago from a lady saying she was from Frommer’s.  Initially I thought it was a scam but I couldn’t quite think of their angle, so I googled the sender and lo and behold, Meghan Lamb really is the Photo Editor at Frommer’s, the biggest guidebook company.

I was already listed in the Paris Day by Day Guide by Frommer’s, written by Anna E Brooke for 2014.  There was a couple of lines in the half page attributed to B&B’s in Paris – OK, I was the only B&B identified in the book but it was still only a couple of lines.

But this is better, in the revised Paris Day by Day guide by Frommer’s (headline photo), published on 29th March, I am cited twice, and I am still the only B&B listed in the book.  Take a look at what they say below.

Also, if you are coming to Paris in the next couple of years, do get a copy, it is an excellent guide.

Frommers Paris Day By Day Guide 52 Clichy Listing page 149Frommers Paris Day By Day Guide Best Value Lodging

Since January the B&B and the apartment have both been ranked in the Top 10 properties in Paris by Trip Advisor and with this extra exposure I am expecting bookings to increase.

I am planning to increase my prices for July onwards (I have some space in May but June is completely booked) but I just wanted to give you the heads up because you are important to me.

If you were thinking of coming to Paris before April 2017, book before the end of May and take advantage of my current prices.

This offer also applies to your friends if they mention they were referred by you or better still if they got on my mailing list at the bottom of my website homepage www.52Clichy.com!

This offer lasts only for the month of May and I can’t wait to hear from you.

Come and stay at 52 Clichy. BOOK HERE.

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Want to hear what previous guests have said about 52 Clichy ?  CLICK HERE.

 

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Holidays News

Name Change to 52 Clichy

52 Clichy had a name change from B&B Wonderful to 52 Clichy in 2013.   Unfortunately in the Frommers Guide 2013 for Paris printed the old name in their 2013 guide “Paris Day by Day – 23 smart ways to see the city”.  You can still tell from the description it is us, 52 Clichy, under its old Facebook page name, B&B Wonderful.

 

“Try B&B Wonderful, 52 rue de Clichy 9th from €115, a fabulous B&B for two, with a separate flat that sleeps four people.  breakfast is copious; the balcony views over Paris’s steely rooftops picturesque; and the welcome, by expat owner Rosemary, perfect.  She can even give you a makeover (prices on request), as she’s an image consultant by trade.”

 

The Frommers guide ‘Paris Day by Day’ 2014 cited only one B&B in their whole book.  Me!

 

Alastair Sawday’s is also cited, a wonderful, highly reputed and award-winning website who take the time to verify every person / listing accepted on to their site (you can’t pay to go on).  Check them out not only for France but the UK, Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Italy.

Want to read what else people have been saying about 52 Clichy ?   CLICK HERE.

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