Napoleon III's Paris city tour
- 2 hours
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- 2 languages
- Instant confirmation
Highlights
The tour that deals with the drastic and radical reconstruction that completely changed the city of Paris, by destroying over 70% of it. The most impressive, ambitious, comprehensive yet also destructive and culturally catastrophic urban planning move, possibly of all time - the Haussmannian reconstruction - is the main topic of this tour. We present the pivotal change in the history of the city, where a medieval town, with aspects of renaissance and classical architecture scattered about, became a modern, industrialized capital of the world - in the time span of only 17 years. This is, without a doubt, one of the most interesting tours we offer, as it delves into the very birth of modernity: industrial life, consumerist culture, modern politics, urban living. This tour, like no other, shows us the birth of the world we today live in, and how it came to be in the most important (also, the most beautiful) city in the world, Paris.
Inclusions
What's included
- Private tour
- Professional art historian guide
What's not
- Food and drinks
Itinerary
The architectural and aesthetic model that was used for the reconstruction of Paris done in the second half of the 19th century. The reconstruction in question is the main topic of the tour. This beautiful square from the very end of the 17th century is one of the five royal squares of Paris, and is a marvel to behold in its own right.
The world famous Opéra Garnier, also known as the Palace Garnier, is the focal point of the late 19th century reconstruction of Paris, the main topic of the tour. It is the new center of the new Paris, meant to substitute the old one, cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. Please note - we are not entering the Opera house, as this is a separate tour altogether. We only address it from the outside.
The most beautiful bank in the entire world, bar none - and a true cathedral of wealth. Marvel at the transformation a mundane task (going to the bank) into a truly spiritual experience.
After the most beautiful bank in the world, the most beautiful department store. Shopping is elevated to a spiritual, religious experience in this cathedral of opulence and consumerism.
One of the two (only possible) competitors for the title of the world's most beautiful department store. A true marvel of decadence and luxury.
A detailed account of the boulevard Haussmann as the prime example of a boulevard, the most prominent type of street in the vision of new, industrialized, bourgeois Paris.
An account of the political division that still shook France in the second half of the 19th century, and the attempts to reconcile the differences between ever waring parties of the monarchic aristocrats and the republican bourgeois.
The building that symbolizes the Church and the industrial forces forging a pact; the first church in Paris to be made with extensive use of steel, and a conclusion of the tour.
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Reviews
5.0
- 54
- 40
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- 20
- 10
Ratings come from 4 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- The guide will be standing in front of the entrance to the Ritz hotel, carrying a red canvas tote bag.
- Pickup
- Pickup is offered, or you can meet at the starting point.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Operated by
- Paris in person
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
How it compares in Paris
- Its from-price is 105% above the median of the 640 city tours we list in Paris.
- It is shorter than most of them.
- By number of reviews it ranks 266 of 640.
- The operator lists free cancellation on it.
About Paris
Paris pairs grand boulevards and riverside monuments with café terraces, art collections of global stature and neighbourhoods that feel like villages.
The Seine runs through the heart of the city, past the Île de la Cité with Notre-Dame and the Sainte-Chapelle, the long façade of the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay in its former railway station. Downriver, the Eiffel Tower rises over the Champ de Mars, and the Arc de Triomphe crowns the Champs-Élysées.
Top-ranked sights in Paris: Louvre Museum, Eiffel Tower, 4th Arrondissement.
Special offers in Paris
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
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