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Rick Steves Gave Me a Personal Tour of Paris — Here’s How You Can Get One, Too

This informative guided tour of Paris might just be Rick Steves Europe's best-kept secret.

Kelsey Fowler

As someone who doesn’t mind spending time alone on vacations, I find some of my favorite travel memories include walking around a city or exploring a museum on my own. On a recent trip to Paris, I wanted to experience the history and atmosphere more than the last time I had set foot in the City of Light, when I was focused on checking off the “must see” tourist attractions.

So, driven by the mindset of traversing the city more as a traveler and not a tourist this time around, I decided that, rather than hiring an expensive personal guide, or hopping along on a packed group walking tour, I would turn to one of the most trusted guides in European travel: Rick Steves . Steves is a renowned travel writer, synonymous with European travel and his philosophy of embracing local culture while abroad. The Rick Steves guidebooks are hugely popular — in fact, I picked up the pocket version of the Rick Steves Paris book specifically for this trip.

While I couldn’t book Steves to guide me personally through Paris, I did have the next-best-thing : his audio tour. As I set out to explore the Left Bank, I had the convenience — and added company — of hearing Steves directly in my ear as I started my walk. Great audio guides allow the listener to explore cities at their own pace without needing to map out an itinerary in advance. Simply download the audio tour, head to the first landmark, and hit play.

Steves spent a lot of his 2022 travels talking to himself, carefully noting updates and changes for his 60 self-guided audio tours. In April 2023, Rick Steves Europe republished updated versions of these tours , with guides in Athens, London, Salzburg, Paris, and more. The walking tours are excerpted from Rick Steves guidebooks, and the free Rick Steves Audio Europe app includes bonus features like a companion map, tips, and the full script of each tour.

I opted for the Historic Paris Walk audio tour , as it covered a lot of the neighborhood near my hotel . The tour is advertised as a three-mile journey, and Steves recommends two hours for walking, and another two hours if you choose to go inside the sights.

Zachary Scott/New York Times Magazine/Courtesy of Rick Steves' Europe

Starting out at Notre-Dame de Paris, I was instantly immersed in the story of Paris that Steves tells, building on the history of the city and religion that led to the construction of the cathedral. Even though the Gothic landmark is still undergoing repairs from the 2019 fire, I was able to listen to a good portion of the tour anyway, as Steves hits on a lot of the history and architecture on the outside.

One of the great things about the audio tour is each chapter of the narration has a separate title and picture, making it easy to navigate forward or backward in the audio to find the right location. Walking through the center of the city, I enjoyed having Steves as a companion, bringing me from spot to spot with enough insight to keep even my jet-lagged self interested. His style of narration is friendly and informative. 

The tour also includes verbalized step-by-step directions, so, if you have a good sense of direction, you can easily follow the turns and head to the next landmark or street without missing a beat. (I did have to pause once or twice to look around and make sure I was headed in the right direction.) But it’s easiest to follow the tour in the order Steves has laid out, as I completed almost a full loop around Île de la Cité, from Notre-Dame, to Pont Neuf, the Left Bank, the Latin Quarter, and Place Saint-Michel.

Of course, when I got to the famous bookstore Shakespeare and Company , I had to pause the guide to go inside. And that wasn't the only time I deviated from the tour: when I reached Sainte-Chapelle, I decided to skip that section as well. Because of Notre-Dame’s closing, this nearby church is even more popular now, and the line was too long for me to wait that day. In the updated tour found in the Rick Steves Audio Europe app, Steves does point out this is the one place to get an advance ticket for.

But as I walked through Paris, it truly felt like I had a personal guide with me. I didn’t feel like a tourist at all — I never had to pull out a map or a guidebook, and it made me appreciate walking through the city while learning its history.

The next day, I went to the Musée d’Orsay , one of Paris’s most popular museums, perhaps best-known for its extensive Impressionist collection with works by Van Gogh and Monet, among many others. Here, I pulled out my pocket-sized Rick Steves Paris guidebook (and quietly read it aloud to a friend as we walked the vibrant maze of Manets and Picassos). Steves also has an audio tour of the museum, and others, like the Louvre, if you’re more inclined to listen rather than read. 

If you — like me — are not an art student, but still want to appreciate these masterful works, Steves’s guides are helpful in pointing out which works are important to stop at, and what to look for once you’re there. I loved hearing more about the art world throughout history in Paris, and Steves is able to compare and contrast differing styles and movement, and build on that knowledge as you progress in time throughout the museum.

The Steves guides allowed me to explore landmarks and places I wouldn’t have otherwise known about, and get a great understanding of the city without any language barrier. Plus, self-guided tours offer flexibility and independence, while still offering a rewarding and informative experience. 

The Rick Steves audio guides are all completely free. Interested travelers can install the Rick Steves Audio Europe app to download the latest versions of the tours.

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Paris & the Heart of France tour experience

Can anyone who has been on the HOF tour this past Spring write a bit about their experiences? High points/low points. Best parts. What you would've skipped or what you wish you'd done? I've been waiting for the reviews on the tour page but nothing from 2022 so far. Thanks a bunch!

I would also like to hear any reports, this is a tour we have been thinking about for spring of 2023.

My husband & I took the tour in April. We loved it! Our leader, Julie, and our tour mates were terrific! We ranged from early 20s to early 80s, I’d guess, with one single, one family of three, one pair of friends, two mother-daughter pairs, and several couples.

We stuck pretty closely to the planned itinerary. My favorites included the gardens at Giverny and morning prayers at Mont St. Michel. On our own in Paris, Musee d’Orsay and the Rodin Museum filled me with joy. My husband’s favorites were the Bayeux tapestry and visiting the small towns/villages. We found Dale Booth, the guide at Normandy, to be one of the best we’ve ever had. He brought the history to life.

This was our third RSE tour and it was the most challenging for us. It was not the number of steps or hills or cobblestones but the hotel changes, bus rides, and less free time that were taxing. Please note it was not unexpected, as the itinerary notes those things clearly, just harder than I thought it would be. But, so worth it to see and experience all we did!

We liked the balance of art, history, city, country, etc. experienced on the tour. The food was amazing and the French people we met were gracious.

Our group stayed in their original seats on the bus and followed the mask guidelines on the bus and group activities except at group meals. The group meals were indoors and we rotated around quite a bit to get to know other people. Our group numbered 24 plus the guide & bus driver (who was amazing in small spaces!)

At least two tour members tested positive for COVID a couple of days after the tour ended. The majority of us tested negative and were back in US or Canada by then. The quarantined couple told me later that they received some guidance & support from RSE, Travelguard, and the Paris hotel, which was comforting to them.

There is nothing I would have skipped and I will treasure the memories I made on this trip! If you go, I hope you have as much fun. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask. Hopefully our tour surveys will be up soon too.

My first post! I'm so happy I can contribute.

My husband and I went on this tour last month, starting Easter weekend. We both loved it and had a great time.

Best parts: I absolutely loved Guedelon Castle and wished we had more time to wander the grounds. The site guide was very informative and made sure we had an opportunity to talk to some of the artisans at work. Monet's garden was beautiful and full of blooms. Mont St Michel was very interesting. The local guide was also excellent. Actually, all the guides were excellent, especially Arnaud, our tour guide. Even the bus time was enjoyable just to see the beautiful countryside and villages.

The food was great. The hotels were well located and nice.

I would not have skipped anything. The only thing I would want to add is a free day in one of the villages. Touring through the chateaux was less enjoyable because of crowds but the gardens surrounding them were gorgeous.

Honestly, it's a great tour and we are so glad we took it.

Welcome RVPatti. You were on the tour just after ours. So glad you loved it too. Yay for first posting! I’m pretty new also. :)

Kacachat and RVPatti - welcome to both of you! I hope you'll continue to contribute!

FWIW, although I did this tour a number of years ago, I completely agree with the assessment on the variety of sights on this tour and particularly on Dale Booth. He is amazing.

To the OP, I know you wanted info specific to this year and how things were running as tours start back so I hope there are others here on the forum who've taken the tour this spring!

Thanks Kacachat and RVPatti for your reports. You've given me a good idea of what the tour is like. I've been wanting to do it for years but of course I'm apprehensive with the pandemic. I've been to Paris and i can't wait to return but I'm looking forward to seeing the countryside and wonder if the smaller towns are less affected by covid. Thanks!

My husband and I will be on this tour starting June 10 after having been on the waitlist for quite a while. We are very much looking forward to it AND quite apprehensive about traveling right now. I've also been waiting for more current reviews. I'll try to remember to let you know, when we return, how it went! I'm happy to see the positive comments from recent travelers.

Hi, I can agree with everything kacachat reported. I will add that it was quite fast paced and take heed of the RS guide for how strenuous the tour is. It is how they depict it! My advice is be sure to arrive in advance so as to be well rested. We lost our extra first day due to flight issues so in retrospect I would have booked more days prior, not necessarily at first tour hotel (and I loved the hotel!)I would not have skipped anything, but though there’s usually some free time each day, there’s not always the energy to go explore more, especially if it’s evening time. Be prepared for crowds like before the pandemic. As she said, we were masked except at meals, and I’m guessing that will not be the case when you go. Very good walking shoes are a must and the better shape you’re in, the more you’ll enjoy it! I hope this was helpful.😎

I'm taking the Paris & The Heart of France tour at the end of June. Excited about being back in Europe, but nervous about Covid and now the Monkey Pox (?). Curious how people got from CDG Airport into Paris...Did you take train in to city & then Metro or hire a ride? Thank you very much!

I always go to the official taxi rank at the airport and take a cab from there. Don’t go with anyone who comes up to you in the airport. It’s a fixed rate into town, price depends on which bank your hotel is located on 53 to Right, 58 to Left.

Others take the train in to town but I don’t want to mess with my luggage on the train.

I can't stress Pam's advice enough. Every time I fly into CDG, I'm approached by bodyguard looking men in suits and ear pieces asking to help me with my luggage and bring me to a taxi. Ignore them! Follow the signs and arrows on the ground for the taxi queue. I once made the mistake of getting into a fake taxi in South Korea and was let out on the highway after realizing my mistake and telling the guy that I wouldn't pay what he was asking (as I watched his meter skyrocket). Live and learn...

There was a man right at the taxi entrance that tried his best to lead us astray a few weeks ago. Go through the entrance that is labeled TAXI. It will lead you directly outside to the official line.

I just got back from the Paris and HOF tour this week. It was my 2nd RS tour and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Linda was our wonderful guide. At the introduction meeting, she looked at everyone's COVID cards to verify your vaccination status and explained the expectations for the tour, including wearing masks on the bus and reporting if you felt ill so you could get treatment. It was a large group, with 29 people on the tour, mostly married couples but a couple of sets of friends and 3 singles. Everyone was friendly and got along well. The meals provided at the group dinners were very good and gave you the opportunity to taste some French food favorites, like foie gras, duck, lamb, mussels and lots of desserts!

This is a very active tour and there's a lot of walking each day as noted in the published itinerary. Linda provided a few Metro tickets each day in Paris and taught us how to read the station map and ride the train. All of the local guides were great and very knowledgeable. I appreciated that RS provides the Paris Museum pass for you to visit the museums you want to see and makes suggestions, but doesn't try to guide you thru the Louvre, Orsay or any museum. There were far too many huddled masses crowded around guides trying to explain art that made navigating the halls challenging.

We hit horrible traffic leaving Paris which put us behind schedule and made us arrive late at Guedelon so our tour was a little short since we hit the mandatory French lunch hour (the French are serious about their lunch break!). I wish we had a bit more time there but was very impressed by what we saw and learned about the castle. I loved Chateau Chenonceau, also know as the "Ladies Chateau." We arrived early in the morning and were the first group there so it felt like we had the place to ourselves for an hour or so. I also loved the morning prayers at Mont-Saint-Michel and the tour of the Abbey (lots of stairs!) and the D-Day tour. The flowers were in bloom at Giverny making it lovely but it was very crowded and very hot.

There's a good mix of free time and scheduled activities so you can take a break when you need it. Also, you are free to opt out of any activity if you want, just make sure to tell your guide or bus buddy that you're not coming so they don't wait for you. The bus stops about every 2 hours for 15-20 minute breaks so you can use the restrooms and get snacks. We weren't required to keep the same seat on the bus, but most people tended to sit in the same place each day. We stayed at Hotel Le Belle-Vue in Amboise and they will do your laundry for you for 18 euros. Totally worth it to have clean clothes, not hand washed in the shower! If I had to name a negative it would be that there were a couple of hotels we only stayed one night in so you felt like you were packing up a lot, but it was minor in the overall scheme of the trip for the amount of things we got to see and do.

Since our tour arrived back in Paris on Sunday, RS provided a nurse at the hotel to perform COVID tests for anyone flying out on Monday for 20 euros. Thankfully, everyone tested negative.

I loved the whole tour and highly recommend it. If you have any questions, please let me know and I'm happy to share more.

This was our first and favorite tour so far. Here is a link to my scrapbook if you'd like to see some of the daily activities. https://parisandtheheartoffrancetour.weebly.com

Thanks everyone for the helpful information! I look forward to the tour though of course I'm nervous about the covid situation. Tammy, I'm glad to hear that a nurse was provided to do the covid tests when you returned to Paris. That's very convenient. I wonder, does that happen for every HOF tour? Or was it because you returned on a Sunday? Another question I have is making museum reservations. I would like to go to the Centre Pompidou but I don't see how I can buy tickets with a museum pass. There doesn't seem to be that option. Has anyone been able to do this or do you just show up with your pass and hope there's availability? I also would like to go to the Palais Garnier but I don't know which day I'll want to go. Does anyone know if they sell out in advance? Can I buy a ticket the day of?

Our tour ended on a Friday morning and RSE brought in a nurse to test, at a reasonable cash rate, at the tour hotel late Thursday afternoon. It was much appreciated!

I hope someone can assist with your other questions. We didn’t visit your specific places of interest. Maybe next time!

Thanks kacachat! That's great and so convenient!

Thanks, everyone. It's good to know that RS is providing a testing service at the end. It looks like I can cancel the test proctoring appointments I made. Just curious - did you provide your own home-testing kits or was that part of the service provided?

I'm very excited about this tour. Just wish Covid weren't hanging over our heads!

We just finished the Best of Eastern France tour. The guide pointed out pharmacies and we went on our own to test. It was easy and only E17.

To clarify - for our Paris & HOF tour in April, RSE emailed that they were lining up a nurse because of insufficient time to go out on our own to test due to the bus arrival time at the last hotel & the time of the final group dinner.

kerway723 - The nurse provided the tests. We brought the cash. If you haven’t received an email about testing at the hotel for your specific Paris & HOF tour, you could contact RSE before you cancel your proctored test appointment. You don’t have to use the nurse test at hotel option, if it is available, but it was very efficient & easy.

So excited for you travelers who get to experience the France & this terrific tour soon!

kakachat - Thank you for the additional info. I'll definitely make sure there's another option before I cancel the proctored tests. Our tour also ends on a Sunday, and it sounds as though it's harder to get tests that day.

They brought the nurse in to do the Covid tests because we returned to Paris late Sunday afternoon and the Pharmacies were closed. Anyone flying out on Monday needed to get the test done that day so the nurse was provided by RS as a convenience to the tour members. I left a few days later so I just went to the corner Pharmacy and paid them 20 euros and got the test done with results in 20 minutes.

I'm not sure about using the Museum pass at the Centre Pompidou, but I went online to the Orangerie site and had the option to do a free reservation for a time slot. However we walked right in the Orsay by just showing the pass at the door, so not all of them require reservations.

The Palais Garnier is fantastic. I took the guided tour in English which requires a reservation since it's only offered 1 or 2 times a day. If you want to do the self-guided tour, you can just show up whenever you want and buy a ticket at the door.

Can anyone tell me when they received the notification from RSE that the testing was being made available in the hotel? We leave in 2 1/2 weeks, and I haven't heard anything. Thanks in advance.

kerway723 - We received the information in an email entitled "Get set for your Paris and Heart of France tour" one month before our tour. There was other information (e.g., packing tips, reminders) in the email too.

kacachat - thanks! I haven't noticed that but I'll double-check.

@Peg! I haven't figured out how to quote people. Anyways, I love your trip report. Thanks for sharing. Did you do laundry on the trip? My only hesitation for doing carryon only. I don't want to waste any time dealing with laundry. Did the hotels have onsite laundry? Thanks, Tina

@disneyfreak67-- I'm so glad you enjoyed my trip website! :) On other trips I remember either a hotel or a nearby laundry service did our laundry, but I can't remember what we did on this trip. I'm sure there was the opportunity at some point. And it's worth paying a bit to have it done so you can spend your time sightseeing. Also -- I did bring a bit bigger than a carry-on and so did others on the tour. As long as you can manage it, it's not a problem.

@Peg... Thank you! I'll definitely just bring a bigger bag. I have a feeling I'll want to bring souvenirs home usually olive oil.

Thanks, Tammy, for the info on the Palais Garnier. By the way everyone, there are now reviews from this year's earlier tours on the HOF page. Happy to see all are mostly positive. While I of course look forward to Paris, I'm also looking forward to the countryside and getting away from the bustle of the city. I imagine it's cooler temps and a slower pace (though I know the popular sites will be crowded). How much French will I need outside the city, I wonder? I know the general polite words and can maybe follow a slow, basic conversation but am not sure I can initiate more than, "où sont les toilettes, s'il vous plait?" and hope that I can remember gauche is left and droite is right!

Happy Traveller, the most important thing to know is to start any interaction with "Bonjour." It's the magic word that initiates the conversation. If you start with Bonjour and you make an attempt to try even a little bit of French, most people are friendly and will respond in English. However, forgetting the Bonjour may get you some snippy remarks and rude looks.

Just got back yesterday from this PARIS & HEART OF FRANCE TOUR. Great experience. Wonderful tour guide Patrick Vidal. It's a busy tour, with lots to see, especially once you leave Paris. Lots of great stops and interesting tour guides. France does not require masks anywhere now, even on the Paris Metro they are optional. So you won't see a lot of people wearing masks anywhere. It felt like France pre-covid. The cafes were full and active. RS arranged for a nurse at our hotel the last night before departure. That was easy and results were quick. Lots of the other travelers stayed on so they were heading to pharmacies to do this. You see a lot on this tour. Be prepared to be on the go all day. Beautiful region of France. Very good food and wine. So nice to get out of Paris and see something more. Highly recommended.

This topic has been automatically closed due to a period of inactivity.

Best of Paris in 7 Days Tour

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• Visits to a pair of the world's most significant medieval Gothic churches
• Enjoy guided neighborhood walks through the city's historic heart
• See the world's greatest collection of Impressionist art - almost next door - at the Orsay Museum
• Enjoy a farewell feast together, sharing travel memories

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• Hiking & Walking
• Small Ship Cruise

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• Louvre Museum
• Historic sightseeing
• River cruise
• Wine Tasting

Trip includes

• A small, friendly group of 24–28 people — half the size of most tour groups
• Full-time services of a professional Rick Steves guide and local experts who will make the fascinating history, art, and culture of Paris come alive for you
• All tours and admissions — at no extra cost — covering at least 13 group sightseeing events, 7-day Métro subway and bus transportation pass, Paris bus orientation tour, 6-day Paris Museum Pass, allowing free admission throughout the city, Seine River cruise, Louvre Museum tour, Orangerie Museum tour, Orsay and Cluny Museum introductions, Montmartre walking tour, Historic Paris walking tour, Notre-Dame Cathedral, Sainte-Chapelle, Marais walking tour, Versailles tour… and more
• All group transportation during the week in and around Paris
• 6 nights' accommodations in a memorable, centrally located hotel
• All breakfasts and half your dinners
• All tips for guides and driver
• Rick Steves Travel Store credit to use toward guidebooks for your trip
• Guaranteed tour price, locked in the moment you make your deposit
• Optional single supplements — this tour has a limited number of private rooms for solo travelers for an additional fee
• Tour alum discount of $50 for each tour you've taken prior to 2017
• 50% discount on a consulting appointment with our in-house experts to assist with your pre- or post-tour travel plans
• Flexibility should you need to transfer, or cancel/interrupt your tour
• Fine print: You are responsible for the cost of your drinks and free-time sightseeing

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We'll gather at our hotel in Paris at 3 p.m. for a short meeting and orientation stroll around our neighborhood, followed by a panoramic tour of the City of Light aboard a private bus. Then we'll get acquainted with one another over a delicious "Welcome to Paris" dinner together. Sleep in Paris (6 nights). Bus: 2 hrs. Walking: light.

Breakfast is provided, but there are no group activities today. It's a breeze to reach Paris' airports by taxi, shuttle, or public transportation. Your guide will help you with any post-tour planning, leaving you well prepared for the road ahead. Merci et au revoir!

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The total tour cost includes the tour price (regular or promotional) and the compulsory local payment. The promotional price is subject to change. Check directly with the operator for the latest price offer. The tour operator requires you to pay only the tour price to purchase your travel. The compulsory local payment will be paid when you join the trip. All prices are based on double, twin or triple share occupancy. Solo passengers will be accommodated in a double, twin or triple room according to availability with a passenger(s) of the same gender. Single supplement only needs to be paid if the passenger does not want to share and requests their own room. Discounts can only be applied at the time of booking and cannot be added at a later date, regardless of any changes made to the original booking.

Prices may vary due to local taxes and trip seasonality. Click "Request Info" to inquire directly with the tour operator for the final trip price.

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Our mission is to inspire, inform and equip Americans to have European trips that are fun, affordable and culturally broadening. We value travel as a powerful way to better understand and contribute to the world in which we live. We strive to keep our own travel style, our world outlook and our business practices consistent with these values.

About Rick Steves

Guidebook author and travel TV host Rick Steves is America's most respected authority on European travel. Rick took his first trip to Europe in 1969, visiting piano factories with his father, a piano importer. As an 18-year-old, Rick began traveling on his own, funding his trips by teaching piano lessons. In 1976, he started his business, Rick Steves' Europe, which has grown from a one-man operation to a company with a staff of 80 full-time, well-travelled employees at his headquarters in Washington state. There he produces more than 50 guidebooks on European travel, America's most popular travel series on public television, a weekly hour-long national public radio show, a weekly syndicated column, and free travel information available through his travel center and website. Rick Steves' Europe also runs a successful European tour program. Rick Steves lives and works in his hometown of Edmonds, Washington. His office window overlooks his old junior high school.

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Destination: Paris

The palace of versailles  .

Daily Dose of Europe: A Little Bone Envy

I was just 19, visiting Romania for the first time. A new friend took me inside his home, to the hearth, and introduced me to what was left of his great-grandfather. It was a skull… dry, hollow, and easy to hold in one hand. He told me it was a tradition in the mountains of Transylvania for families to remember long-dead loved ones with this honored spot above the fireplace. I remember feeling a little bone envy.

Even though we’re not visiting Europe right now, I believe that travel dreaming can be good medicine. Last year, I published “For the Love of Europe” — a collection of my favorite stories from a lifetime of European travels — and this is just one of its 100 travel tales.

If you know where to look, you can find human bones on display in many corners of Europe. Later, on that same trip, I was in the Paris Catacombs. Deep under the city streets, I was all alone…surrounded by literally millions of bones — tibiae, fibulae, pelvises, and skulls, all stacked along miles of tunnels. I jumped at the opportunity to pick up what, once upon a time, was a human head. As what seemed like two centuries of dust tumbled off the skull, I looked at it…Hamlet-style. Just holding it was a thrill. I tried to get comfortable with it… to get to know it, in a way. I struggled with the temptation to stick it into my day bag. Imagine taking home a head dating back to Napoleonic times. What an incredible souvenir. But I just couldn’t do it. The next year, I returned to those same catacombs, pumped up and determined this time to steal me a skull. It was a different scene. Skulls within easy reach of visitors were now wired together, and signs warned that bags would be checked at the exit.

The Paris Catacombs show off the anonymous bones of six million permanent residents. In 1786, the French government decided to relieve congestion and improve sanitary conditions by emptying the city cemeteries, which had traditionally surrounded churches. They established an official ossuary in an abandoned limestone quarry. With miles of underground tunnels, it was the perfect location. For decades, the priests of Paris led ceremonial processions of black-veiled, bone-laden carts into the quarries, where the bones were stacked into piles five feet high and up to 80 feet deep, behind neat walls of skull-studded tibiae. Each transfer was completed with the placement of a plaque indicating the church and district from which that stack of bones came and the date they arrived.

Today, you can descend a long spiral staircase into this bony underworld (ignoring the sign that announces: “Halt, this is the empire of the dead”) and follow a one-mile subterranean public walk. Along the way, plaques encourage you to reflect upon your destiny: “Happy is he who is forever faced with the hour of his death and prepares himself for the end every day.” Emerging far from where you entered with white limestone-covered toes is a dead giveaway you’ve been underground, gawking at bones.

While I eventually outgrew my desire to steal a skull, in later years, as a tour guide, I’ve discovered I’m not the only one intrigued by human bones. If bones are on your bucket list, you’ve got plenty of options. Throughout Europe, Capuchin monks offer a different bone-venture. The Capuchins made a habit of hanging their dead brothers up to dry and then opening their skeleton-filled crypts to the public. Their mission: to remind us that in a relatively short period of time, we’ll be dead, too — so give some thought to mortality and how we might be spending eternity.

In the Capuchin Crypt in Rome, the bones of 4,000 monks who died between 1528 and 1870 are lined up for the delight — or disgust — of always wide-eyed visitors. A plaque shares their monastic message: “We were what you are…you will become what we are now.”

The Capuchins of Palermo, Sicily, offer an experience skull and shoulders above the rest. Their crypt is a subterranean gallery filled with 8,000 “bodies without souls,” howling silently at their mortality. For centuries, people would thoughtfully choose their niche before they died, and even linger there, getting to know their macabre neighborhood. After death, dressed in their Sunday best, their body (sans soul) would be hung up to dry.

In Kutná Hora, in the Czech Republic, monks take bone decor to an unrivaled extreme. Their ossuary is decorated with the bones of 40,000 people, many of them plague victims. The monks who stacked these bones 400 years ago wanted viewers to remember that the earthly church is a community of both the living and the dead. Later bone-stackers were more into design than theology — creating, for instance, a chandelier made with every bone in the human body.

In Europe, seekers of the macabre can get their fill of human skeletons. And in doing so, they learn that many of these bones — even long after death — still have something to say.

This story appears in my newest book, “For the Love of Europe” — a collection of 100 of my favorite memories from a lifetime of European travel. Please support local businesses in your community by picking up a copy from your favorite bookstore, or you can find it at my online Travel Store .

Stay tuned, travel buddies. Upcoming posts will be sure to carbonate your daily routine — such as a European-festivals bonanza — with running bulls, Euro-Mardi Gras, a crazy horse race, and huge tents filled with dirndls, lederhosen, and giant beers — at our next Monday Night Travel event. So, be sure to stick around, and invite your friends to join us here as well!

Daily Dose of Europe: Monet’s “Water Lilies”

Monet’s “Water Lilies” float serenely in two pond-shaped rooms in a Paris museum. Painted on eight mammoth curved panels, they immerse you in Monet’s world. It’s like taking a stroll in the gardens at Monet’s home at Giverny, enjoying his tranquil pond dotted with colorful water lilies.

Even though we’re not visiting Europe right now, I believe a daily dose of travel dreaming can be good medicine. And for me, one of the great joys of travel is having in-person encounters with great art — which I’ve collected in a book called “Europe’s Top 100 Masterpieces.” Here’s one of my favorites.

Monet shows the pond at different times of day. Panning slowly around the museum’s hall, you can watch the scene turn from predawn darkness to clear morning light to lavender late afternoon to the glorious golden sunset.

Get close to see how Monet worked. Each lily is a tangled Impressionist smudge composed of several different-colored brushstrokes: green, red, white, lavender, blue. Only when you back up do the colors resolve into a single “pink” flower on a “green” lily pad. Monet wanted the vibrant colors to keep firing your synapses.

Now step farther back to take in the whole picture. Only then do you see that the true subject is not really the famous water lilies but the changing reflections on the pond’s surface. The lilies float among sun-kissed clouds and blue sky reflected in the water. It’s the intermingling of the classical elements — earth (the lilies), air (the sky), fire (sunlight), and water — the primordial soup of life.

The canvases at the Orangerie Museum are snapshots of Monet’s garden. In 1883, middle-aged Monet, along with his wife and eight kids, settled into a farmhouse in Giverny, near Paris. He turned Giverny into a garden paradise. Monet landscaped like he painted — filling the “blank canvas” with “brushstrokes” of shrubs and colorful flowers. He planted a garden with rose trellises, built a Japanese bridge, and made an artificial pond stocked with water lilies ( nymphéas in French). Then Monet picked up his brush and painted it all — the bridge, trellises, pond — creating hundreds of canvases that brighten museums around the world. His favorite subject of all was the water lilies.

In 1914, Monet, now in his seventies, began a water-lily project on a massive scale. It would involve huge canvases — up to 6 feet tall and 55 feet long — to hang in purpose-built rooms at the Orangerie. Monet worked at Giverny, in a special studio with skylights and wheeled easels to accommodate the big canvases. He worked on several canvases at once, moving (with the sun) from one to the next to capture the pond at different times of day. For 12 years, Monet labored obsessively, even while he — the greatest “visionary,” literally, of his generation — was slowly going blind.

Like Beethoven did when going deaf, Monet wrote his final symphonies on a monumental scale. Altogether, Monet painted 1,950 square feet of canvas. In the final paintings, he cropped the scene ever closer, until there’s no reference point for the viewer — no shoreline, no horizon, no sense of what’s up or down…leaving you immersed in the experience. The last canvas shows darkness descending on the pond — painted by an 80-year-old man in the twilight of his life.

Monet never lived to see the canvases in their intended space. But in 1927, the “Water Lilies” were hung as Monet had instructed, in this specially built space to enhance the immersive experience. He’d created what many have called the first modern “art installation.”

This art moment — a sampling of how we share our love of art in our tours — is an excerpt from the new, full-color coffee-table book “Europe’s Top 100 Masterpieces” by Rick Steves and Gene Openshaw. Please support local businesses in your community by picking up a copy from your favorite bookstore, or you can find it at my online Travel Store . To enhance your art experience, be sure to check out Rick Steves Classroom Europe , my free collection of 400+ teachable video clips — including a visit to Monet’s garden at Giverny .

Daily Dose of Europe: Paris’ Sainte-Chapelle

Notre-Dame has been on everyone’s mind over the last year. But just a short walk away is another stunning Parisian church, with the best stained glass anywhere.

As America continues to suffer crisis upon crisis, it has never been more important to broaden our perspectives and learn about the people and places that shape our world. And for me, one of the great joys of travel is seeing art masterpieces in person. Learning the stories behind great art can shed new light on our lives today. Here’s one of my favorites.

This tiny jewel of Gothic architecture is a cathedral of glass like none other. It was purpose-built by King Louis IX — the only French king who is also a saint — to house Jesus’ supposed Crown of Thorns.

Louis came upon the crown in Constantinople while on Crusade. Convinced he’d found the real McCoy, he spent a fortune to build a suitable chapel to hold it — and paid triple that for the precious crown. Today, the supposed Crown of Thorns is not on display, but the church is, along with its star attraction: stained glass.

You enter Sainte-Chapelle on the somber ground floor, wind your way up a tight spiral staircase, and then pop out — wow! — into a cathedral that seems to be made of nothing more than glowing colors and radiant light.

Fiat lux . “Let there be light.” From the first page of the Bible, it’s clear: Light is divine. In Sainte-Chapelle, the sunlight shines through the stained glass like God’s grace shining down to earth. The dazzling glory of Gothic glows brighter here than in any other church.

Gothic architects used new technology to turn dark stone buildings into lanterns of light. Sainte-Chapelle has only the slenderest of structural columns becoming ribs that come together to make pointed arches to hold up the roof, leaving “walls” of glass. Sainte-Chapelle was completed in a mere six years (Notre-Dame, just a few steps away, took 200), creating a harmonious structure that’s the essence of Gothic.

Worshippers are surrounded by 15 big windowpanes, with more than 1,000 different scenes. These cover the entire Christian history of the world, from the Creation to Christ to the end of the world — 6,500 square feet of glass in all. Each individual scene is interesting, and the whole effect is overwhelming.

Craftsmen made the stained glass — which is, essentially, melted sand — using a recipe I call “Stained Glass Supreme”: Melt one part sand with two parts wood ash. Mix in rusty metals to get different colors — iron makes red, cobalt makes blue, copper makes green, and so on. Blow glass into a cylinder shape, cut lengthwise, and lay flat to cool. Cut into pieces. Fit pieces together by drizzling molten strips of lead to hold them in place. The artist might use, say, blue glass for background, green for clothes, brown for hair. More intricate details — like folds in the robes or the line of a mouth — are created by scratching or painting the glass. Put it all together, and — voilà ! — you’ve created a picture. Imagine the painstaking process of making the glass, fitting the pieces together to make a scene…and then multiply it by a thousand.

In Sainte-Chapelle, medieval worshippers could stand immersed in radiant light. They’d gaze upon the crown, ponder Christ’s sacrifice, see the sunlight pouring in like God’s grace as it illuminates Bible lessons in glass…and get a glimpse of the divine.

This art moment — a sampling of how we share our love of art in our tours — is an excerpt from the new, full-color coffee-table book, “Europe’s Top 100 Masterpieces,” by Rick Steves and Gene Openshaw. Please support local businesses in your community by picking up a copy from your favorite bookstore, or you can find it at my online Travel Store . To enhance your art experience, you can find a clip related to this artwork at Rick Steves Classroom Europe; just search for Sainte-Chappelle.

Daily Dose of Europe: Venus de Milo

The Venus de Milo — the goddess of love, sculpted in about 100 BC — sums up all that ancient Greece stood for.

The Venus de Milo created a sensation when it was discovered in 1820, on the Greek island of Milos. Europe was already in the grip of a classical fad, and this statue was a hit. The ancient Greeks pictured their gods in human form — which meant that humans are godlike. Venus’ well-proportioned body embodied the balance and orderliness of the Greek universe.

Split Venus down the middle from nose to toes and see how the two halves balance each other. Venus rests on her right foot (that contrapposto pose so popular with classical sculptors). She then lifts her left leg, setting her whole body in motion. It’s all perfectly realistic: As the left leg rises, her right shoulder droops down. And as her knee points one way, her head turns the other. Despite all this motion, the impression is one of stillness, as Venus orbits slowly around a vertical axis. The twisting pose gives a balanced S-curve to her body. The balance between fleeting motion and timeless stability made beauty.

Other opposites balance as well, like the smooth skin of the upper half of her body that sets off the rough-cut texture of her dress. She’s actually made from two different pieces of stone plugged together at the hips (you can see the seam). The face, while realistic and anatomically accurate, is also idealized — like a goddess, she’s too generic and too perfect. This isn’t any particular woman, but Everywoman — all the idealized features that appealed to the Greeks.

The statue became famous for a number of reasons. Venus’ classic beauty was seen as the ideal of female grace. The statue is a rare Greek original, not a Roman copy. Its sudden discovery (by a humble Greek farmer) made great news copy.

Most of all, Venus brought with her an air of mystery. Who was this beautiful woman? She’s probably Venus, but no one knows for sure. What is she thinking? Her expression is alluring yet aloof. Her dress dangles suggestively; she’s both modestly covering her privates but hinting at more. And what were her arms (which were never found) doing? No one knows. Some say her right arm held her dress, while her left arm was raised. Others think she was hugging a statue of a man or leaning on a column. I say she was picking her navel.

Regardless, though Venus’ arms have been lost over the centuries, her eternal beauty remains intact.

This art moment — a sampling of how we share our love of art in our tours — is an excerpt from the new, full-color coffee-table book, “Europe’s Top 100 Masterpieces,” by Rick Steves and Gene Openshaw. Please support local businesses in your community by picking up a copy from your favorite bookstore, or you can find it at our online Travel Store . To enhance your art experience, you can find a clip related to this artwork at Rick Steves Classroom Europe ; just search for Louvre.

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Disobey Rick Steves in Paris: 4 Day Offbeat Itinerary

Dare to disobey the Rick Steves Paris guide with this itinerary for four days there. Delve deeper than the top sights with this guide for doing Paris in four days. It’s an action-packed Paris itinerary will take you to the popular attractions as well as some cool neighborhoods and offbeat urban locations.

Go Ahead, Disobey the Rick Steves’ Paris Guide

I like the Rick Steves’ travel guides. They offer very practical, budget friendly advice for how to navigate a city and prioritize its various sites. I often use them when in Europe.

But I’m also a well-traveled woman who has learned the hard way that confining yourself to seeing only the “must see” tourist sites is a sure-fire way to miss out on getting to know a place. I have visited and liked most of Paris’ top tourist sites, but they are heavily focused on French history and won’t give you much insight into modern Paris.

The Rick Steves guide to Paris prioritizes the following as must-see sights, using a series of ▲ notations to indicate priority:

▲▲▲ Notre-Dame Cathedral, Sainte-Chapelle, Louvre, d’Orsay Museum, Eiffel Tower, Champs-Elysees and Versailles.

▲▲ Orangerie, Army Museum & Napoleon’s Tomb, Rodin Museum, Marmotton Museum, Cluny Museum, Arc de Triomphe, Jacquemart-Andre Museum, Picasso Museum, Pompidou Center, Sacré-Cœur and Montmartre.

I’m not saying you should ignore those top things to do in Paris, but if you do only them, you miss out on the opportunity to get to know the city at ground level.

It’s great that you are planning to spend more than just two or three days in Paris. Four days will allow you to see some top sights but also have time to explore cool neighborhoods and see some offbeat urban spots, which we’re all about here at Wayfaring Views.

Some people wonder if Paris is overrated , but I don’t think so. You could spend a month in Paris and not get to all of the cool things to do there. So ask yourself what you truly enjoy doing…and what you don’t. If you aren’t into 15th century paintings and sculptures, skip the Louvre. If you are afraid of heights, skip the Eiffel tower. If you already have four gold-plaited toilets in your house, no need to visit Versailles.

I’ve designed the following four days in Paris around themes, and you can gleefully rewrite the Rick Steves’ Paris guide to suite your passions.

Doing Paris in Four Days

This four day Paris itinerary is divided into four distinct sections. It devotes one day to Pretty Paris, the second to Gritty Paris, the third to exploring cool neighborhoods and the fourth to day trips from Paris. Use this handy map to find all of the suggested Paris itinerary spots. Pretty Paris is blue, Gritty Paris is orange and the neighborhoods are in black. Now get going!

Day 1: Pretty Paris

You can hit a lot of the top attractions in Paris on what I call the Pretty Paris tour. This section hews most closely to some of the Rick Steves Paris suggestions. There is only so much that you can do in one day, so I suggest that you pick four things that are of the most interest to you and leave the rest for another trip. 

Hitting the top sights in the first day will also optimize your two-day Museum Pass (more on that below). I recommend the following places to visit in Paris because they are both popular and conveniently located within walking distance of one another.

Visit The Louvre

The Louvre’s painting collection is one of the richest in the world and will take you up to the time of the revolution in 1848. In addition to the Mona Lisa, they have treasures like Winged Victory, Psyche Revived, the Venus de Milo, the Raft of Medusa and much, much more. In fact, too much more. The museum is huge and can be overwhelming. Trying to see the Mona Lisa is like diving into the middle of a rugby scrum. Give yourself at least 2.5 hours and strategize your visit by checking out their catalog in advance.

Tips for visiting : To avoid crowds, be lined up before they open 9am or go for their late evenings (until 9:45pm) on Wednesdays and Fridays. If you don’t purchase the Paris Museum Pass, then buy an advance ticket to save wait time.

Go Blind at Sainte-Chappelle

This gothic jewelbox got a major window cleaning a few years ago and my-oh-my do those windows shine. As I walked into the chapel from the stairway, a loud “WOW” flew out of my mouth. It will happen to you too, because the graceful arches and delicate stained glass are not something that you’ll find in other cathedrals.

Tips for visiting : Go first thing in the morning or later in the afternoon. The chapel is designed so that the windows shine the brightest when the light is low.

Cry at the Musee d’Orsay

The d’Orsay houses art dating from 1848 to 1914. They have a particularly good Impressionism collection. Even though you can also see Impressionism at the Orangerie and the Marmottan Monet, if you like the genre, you should visit the d’Orsay. They also have a painting from Van Gogh’s, Starry Night series. Dang, I love that series. I stood in front of the painting, listening to the Don Mclean’s song of the same title. His poignant lyrics about Van Gogh’s fragile hold on sanity made me cry. And that’s why I like the d’Orsay, because a good art museum will make you cry.

Tips for visiting : Go up to the top floor cafeteria and out the side door to find a small patio with fantastic views of the Louvre. Also, be sure to research these great ways to get tickets and skip the line to the d’Orsay .

Find Literary Ghosts at Shakespeare & Co Bookstore

The original Shakespeare & Co was founded in 1919 and was a gathering place for literary bad boys like Joyce, Hemmingway and Fitzgerald. In fact, the store was the original publisher of Joyce’s Ulysses, which was promptly banned in Ireland and the US. I do love a bookstore that bucks the censors! The current incarnation of the store was booted up in 1951 and was a hangout for Ginsberg, Burroughs, Nin and Miller. For a book nerd like me, visiting Shakespeare & Co is actually more important than going to the Louvre.

The founder of the store “built each room like a chapter” and you can get lost in the rabbit warren. Troll the shelves, plop down in one of their easy chairs or buy a pile of books to read in the attached coffee shop.

Tips for visiting : They are open everyday from 10a-10p and the store is a good rest stop after visiting all of the above museums.

If you are the kind of book-lover who likes to read before you go, check out this list of books about Paris .

Day 2: Gritty Paris

Sometimes the best way to get to know a city is by visiting it’s dark underbelly. I’m not suggesting that you fall in with a gang of Parisian thieves, but you can learn a lot about Parisian modern culture if you are willing to get your hands dirty.

Sniff Out The Sewers of Paris Museum (or Musée des Égouts)

A woman recently asked me what to see in Paris that is unusual and I immediately suggested this museum. She was delighted because it squares with her interest in urban infrastructure. The woman standing next to her wrinkled her nose in a sign of dissent. I swear, it doesn’t smell as bad as you might think…for a sewer.

This subterranean cesspool of a museum offers a self-guided tour with explanatory panels giving a history of Paris’ water, sewer and electrical infrastructure from the dark ages through today. There is a certain amount of cheek to their displays and they even have adorable rat and bacteria murals festooning the (somewhat moist) walls. Have I sold you on it?

Tips for Visiting : It’s a bit wet in there. Don proper footwear so that you don’t slip. Maybe also take a wet wipe with you. The museum wasn’t designed by IM Pei so there isn’t a gigantic glass pyramid pointing to the front door. Find it on the south side of Pont de l’Alma and purchase your ticket at the tiny kiosk perched above the Seine.

Read More : Did this tickle your fancy? If so, then you’ll love these weird things to do in Reykjavik (Penis museum anyone?), offbeat San Francisco (a Yoda statue, they have), and Berlin (Animatronic monsters and abandoned cold war sites)

Take a Street Art Tour

For those of you who have visited here before, you know that I’m crackers for street art . For those of you who are new, welcome!

I have a thorough guide that suggests four cool neighborhoods for exploring Parisian street art . If you just have a few hours and want to go guided, then take a tour in the Belleville with Street Art Paris . The murals in that neighborhood are very guerilla in nature and they are always evolving. This isn’t a pretty “big walls” kind of project like Upfest in Bristol . It’s more like the down and dirty street art that you might find in Shoreditch London .

Tips for Visiting : Bring your energy because because exploring street art requires a lot of walking.

Creep Around the Pere-Lachaise Cemetery

I went, because even though I like to keep death at arm’s length, historical cemeteries always tell a visceral story. The story line I got from Pere-Lachaise was like an epic historical novel; a conflicted mix of love, loss, neglect and nature.

Wandering around the cemetery, you’ll find a mix of carefully kept graves and broken down crypts. Look hard and you’ll even find the gravesite of musician Jim Morrison (which was surprisingly modest). Book nerds can also check out the grave of Oscar Wilde. That Wilde, he was quite a rule breaker in his own day. His own grave site departs from the usual gargoyle and cherub festooned stereotype with an angular, modern gravestone.

After a long day of tromping around Paris, I found the park-like grounds to be restful and oddly restorative.

Tips for Visiting : Don’t get off at the Pere-Lachaise metro stop, the Philippe Auguste stop is much closer to the main entrance. They have a detailed map at the entrance, take a picture of it so that you can find particular grave sites.

And if you like cemeteries, check out our itinerary for Key West , which includes a cool cemetery with hilarious headstones or our dark and twisty guide for New Orleans .

Day 3: Neighborhood Exploration

If you spend all four days in Paris dogmatically following the Rick Steves regimen from one museum and attraction to the next, you will miss something very essential about the city.

There is a term in French called “ flaneuring “, which means being an urban stroller. Baudelaire had it right when he said “For the perfect flaneur, for the passionate spectator, it is an immense joy to set up house in the heart of the multitude, amid the ebb and flow of movement, in the midst of the fugitive and the infinite.”

Follow Baudelaire’s advice and devote at least one day of your four day trip to Paris strolling one of its iconic neighborhoods. I’m not going to give you a strict itinerary for this because that would defeat the whole point of flaneuring. However, I will suggest two great stroll-worthy neighborhoods and a few ideas for fun things to do and eat in each.

Go Flaneuring in The Marais

Le Marais literally means “the swamp” and it earned its nickname in the middle ages because of the tiny narrow houses, tight lanes and irrigated fields. It hit its architectural heyday in the 17th century and has also been an historic Jewish quarter and LGBT district. So, there’s a lot of history to walk through while you stroll. A few highlights in the district include the following:

• Place des Vosges : A lovely French garden where you can lounge on the grass.
• Victor Hugo House : This little museum shares the story of his Parisian residency and has great views of the Place des Vosges.
• Picasso Museum : This Picasso museum is far superior to the one in Barcelona and they have very thought provoking special exhibitions.
• Le Village St. Paul : This is an adorable little enclave of quirky stores and cafes.
• rue des Francs Bourgeois : Do some window shopping all along this main drag that bisects The Marais.
• Marché aux Enfants Rouges : Paris’ oldest covered market which is full of food stalls, making it a great place for lunch.

If you’d like a little more structure to your exploration of the Marais, consider taking one of these tours

• A private tour of the Marais by a local which they will customize to your interests.
• A walking tour of the secret Marais led by a local, featuring hidden courtyards and pastry shops.
• A secret food tour featuring croissant, baguette, cheese, chocolates and more.

Go Flaneuring in Saint-Germain de Pres & the 6th Arrondessment

This neighborhood on the left bank houses one of the oldest churches in Paris and was home to the existential intelligentsia of Camus’ day. The boulevard Saint-Germain runs down the center of it, but it’s worth getting off the main street and wandering around the narrower lanes. A few highlights in the district includes the following:

• Marche St. Germain : Shop for picnic supplies at this classic food market and be sure to hit up the Maison Mulot on the corner for some killer pastry and macarons (@ Rue de Seine).
• Luxembourg Garden : This large city park has a palace, museum and playgrounds with grassy gardens for eating your picnic.
• Eglise Saint Sulpice : This recently refurbished church was built in the 1646 and is featured in the DaVinci Code.
• Le Bon Marche : Go shopping in this classical Parisian department store.

This neighborhood isn’t huge so flaneuring it won’t take all day. It’s an easy 15 minute bus ride west to the Eiffel Tower where you can do both the tower and ride the Eiffel carousel. Because, you can’t spend four days in Paris without riding at least one carousel. You can also consider taking one of these tours of Saint-Germain:

• Secret Food Tour of Saint-Germain . This tour is expensive but well worth it because it involves a full walking tour whichculminates in a four course meal with wine.
• Macaron tour of Saint-Germain covering five separate stops and a history of France’s most colorful cookie.

Day 4: Day Trips from Paris

If you hustle on your first three days in Paris, then you’ll have time to explore some cool things outside of the city. Here two additional spots that I visited on my most recent trip:

Visit Luxembourg

It may sound counter-intuitive to visit a whole other country during a four day Paris itinerary but Luxembourg it worth it. Spend two short hours on the TGV and you’ll be able to bag a whole new country. Luxembourg City has a UNESCO designed old town with defensive fortifications and cool museums located on a fairy tale setting overlooking two rivers. If you get on a train by 7am and come back at 7pm, you’ll have time for most of the major sights.

If you are skeptical, read this piece on why Luxembourg is worth visiting . If you are interested, then check out this itinerary for Luxembourg .

Tips for visiting : Book your TVG tickets well in advance because the closer you are to the date of departure, the more expensive the tickets get. Once there, you can easily walk to the major sights.

Smell the Roses at Giverny

If you love Impressionism, then you are going to love Giverny, especially in the spring or summer. Monet built his home there and his expansive gardens provided the inspiration for so many of his paintings. There are two ways to do it, depending upon your time and inclination.

DIY Tour of Giverny

Take the Paris intercity train from the St. Lazare station to Vernon, then rent bikes or take the shuttle bus to Giverny. The whole trip takes about an hour of active travel time. DON’T buy the train tickets in advance. Just go to the station and buy a ticket with an open return, that way you can come back whenever you wish. DO buy the Monet’s Garden tickets in advance because that way you’ll avoid a slow ticket line. Beware however, that their online ticket system is clunky.

Once there, don’t go to the main ticket line, use the side entrance which is in a (not well marked) alleyway to the west. They open 9:30am and if you get there early, you can avoid the tour buses.

Getting an early start also means that you can get back to Paris in time to visit the Orangerie. This museum is focused entirely on Impressionism and post-Impressionism. They devoted two huge oval rooms to house Monet’s water lily series. Seeing the lilies in his garden and then seeing the lilies through his mind’s eye at the Orangerie is a whole other level of art appreciation. You can get into the Orangerie as late as 5:15 every day but Tuesday.

Versailles & Giverny Guided Tour

If you don’t want to do DIY and/or if you also want to go to Versailles, you can book an all day tour that goes to both. This tour includes skip the line entrance, a full tour and lunch. It lasts ten hours and you can  book the tour here .

Should You Get a City Pass?

There are two different kinds of city passes, the Paris Pass and the Paris Museum Pass . The Paris Museum pass includes free entry and skip the line privileges to fifty museums and attractions. The Paris Pass includes the Paris Museum Pass along with a metro travel card, 1-day hop on hop off bus ticket, a paper guidebook and discounts on tours.

Should You Get the Paris Pass?

No . It costs over 2x what you would pay for the Paris Museum pass and the extra features are not worth the money.

Should You Get the Paris Museum Pass?

Yes . I’m not a fan of city passes because they often leave out important sights, but the Paris Museum Pass is pretty thorough. It includes all of the historic sights and museums that I’ve listed here, except for the Eiffel Tower, Giverny Gardens and the Victor Hugo Museum. Nor does it include the food, street art and walking tours mentioned here.

If you were to pay a la carte for the Louvre, Sewer Museum, Orangerie, d’Orsay, Picasso Museum and Sainte-Chappele, you would pay €62.70. The 4-day adult pass is €62. Saving €0.7 cents isn’t a great bargain but having the pass also saves you a lot of time waiting to buy tickets for the individual sights. If you can cram the above sites into two days, then you will only pay €48 for the pass, which will save you €14.

Please be aware that “skip the line” privileges only means that you don’t have to wait in line to buy a ticket. However, you still may have to queue up to get into the museum along with all of the other passholders.

Where to Buy the Paris Museum Pass

It’s best to buy the pass once you get to Paris. You can purchase it online but then they’ll have to ship it to you. Find the pass at all of the major attractions and at Gare du Nord, which houses the trains coming in from Charles de Gaulle airport.

Additional Resources for Paris

Here are a few additional resources to help you plan your trip

• Master your budget with this resource for budgeting a trip to Paris .
• Plan you logistics and explore cool neighborhoods with this curated list of 18 Paris travel guides .
• Find awesome street art in Paris .
• Get inspired to visit Paris with these 32 books set there .
• Up your Instagram game with these 15 photogenic spots in Paris.

If you’d like to take a classic guide book with you, check out the Lonely Planet Paris Guide . The digital version is free with an Amazon Kindle Unlimited account. If you don’t have an Kindle Unlimited, you can get a 30-day free trial HERE .

There are so many things to do in Paris in four days that you’ll have some hard choices to make when designing your itinerary. But being brave and redesigning the Rick Steves Paris itinerary is worth it if you want to really see the city. I hope that you have found this trip planner useful. Be sure to leave space in your trip to experience serendipity…and don’t forget to eat plenty of chocolate! Bon Voyage.

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GSE Solutions

Thursday 17th of January 2019

Great guide Carol! Very detailed and helpful. Keep up the good work.

Friday 12th of October 2018

I want to follow this itinerary so I can take pictures of the same things you did. Except not sure about the smelly tour :)

Carol Guttery

Tuesday 16th of October 2018

The smelly tour was fascinating...I pinky swear.

• Travel Guides
• Tips and Hacks

Rick Steves Says To Always Do These Things Before Traveling

Packing your suitcase, creating an itinerary, tidying the house — travelers are all too familiar with the basics of pre-trip preparation. Still, you can easily neglect those not-so-obvious tasks due to a lack of time or memory. Preparing for a trip is often an intricate process that requires careful and timely planning. Not sure where to start? Thankfully, we have travel expert Rick Steves in our corner.

As a travel show host, founder of "Rick Steves' Europe," and seasoned traveler, Steves brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the industry. On numerous occasions, he's shared extensive tips about the ins and outs of travel preparation. Steves is particularly well-versed in international travel, as he told Forbes , "Except for two years of pandemic, I've spent 100 days a year exploring Europe every year since the mid 1970s." Planning for international travel is a different beast, and Steves has highlighted the non-negotiables of preparing for a trip abroad, too. Without further ado, let's unpack Steves' checklist essentials.

Handle health-related matters and medical needs

Unsurprisingly, according to  Rick Steves' website , getting health-related matters squared away is one of his must-do pre-travel tips . Whether a routine check-up or dental procedure, it's crucial to fit in necessary medical appointments before traveling. Additionally, make sure you have enough of your prescription medications. It's a good idea to bring the actual prescription on your trip, too.

Steves shared with The Denver Post  that international travelers should ask their health insurance provider about their coverage plan. He also advised considering  travel insurance . "This can minimize the financial risks of a vacation," he explained. Weigh the pros and cons of insurance for your particular set of circumstances. "Your potential loss varies, depending on factors such as your health, how much of your trip is prepaid, the refundability of your air ticket, and what coverage you already have (through your medical, homeowners', or renters' insurance, and/or credit card)," Steves added. The host highlighted trip cancellation and interruption insurance as his top picks.

Verify travel documents and payment cards

Rick Steves has emphasized the importance of verifying travel documents on his website. Are you renting a car on vacation? Renew your driver's license if necessary. You should also renew passports set to expire within six months of your return date. Per The Denver Post, Steves said, "You may be denied entry into certain countries if your passport will expire within three to six months of your ticketed date of return." The renewal process can take up to eight weeks, so plan accordingly. In addition, Steves advises travelers to have backup copies of travel documents as a security net. Consider bringing one passport copy and leaving one copy behind with someone trusted and reliable.

Traveling abroad comes with its own agenda, especially regarding those wallet essentials. If you're headed to another country, Steves suggests smoothing out details with your debit and credit card companies. "This will ensure that they don't decline foreign transactions. While you have them on the line, confirm your debit card's daily withdrawal limit, request an increase if you want, and ask about fees for international transactions," Steves told The Denver Post.

Make reservations to avoid long lines

While throngs of tourists can sometimes be unavoidable, pre-planning certain activities should improve sightseeing experiences. Rick Steves shared with  Travel + Leisure that he is a big proponent of booking reservations for popular sights, as this can significantly cut down wait times for travelers . If you're going to Amsterdam, for example, make reservations for the  Anne Frank House and the  Van Gogh Museum well in advance, said Steves. As he suggests on his website , a museum pass could be economical. Do you plan to visit the Paris Museum a few times? A pass should come in handy for beating lines and staying on budget.

Numerous hot spots now provide timed reservations, allowing visitors to skip standard lines. Steves told Business Insider , "Take advantage of this fast and easy alternative to standing in needless lines." Further minimize waiting by following "any good up-to-date guidebook," he added. These manuals include shifts in reservation systems and current visiting hours, making them useful for many reasons. Steves wrote on his website about trips in Europe, "Guidebooks are $20 tools for $3,000 experiences. Saving money by not buying one is penny-wise and pound-foolish."

Complete your travel tech checklist

When traveling with technology, it's best to prepare for the worst. On his website, Rick Steves encourages travelers to create a detailed list of valuable electronic devices they intend to pack. Along with photos of these devices, record serial numbers, models, and makes. In the unfortunate case of theft, this information will be crucial when filing an insurance claim or communicating with authorities.

There are several other technology-centered travel tasks to check off your to-do list. What's your move regarding Wi-Fi? Steves told The Denver Post, "If you plan to use your U.S. mobile phone in Europe, consider signing up for an international calling, text, and/or data plan, and confirm voice- and data-roaming fees." With or without service, you'll want to arrive prepared. Before your trip, download essential tools and apps like maps, transit schedules, and translators. Of course, don't forget to download your go-to entertainment programs, too.

Do some creative exploring beforehand

Beyond logistical recommendations about travel preparation, Rick Steves believes in exploring creatively to enhance your trip. When it comes to viewing artistic and cultural sights, Steves is all for getting a headstart. He recommends doing relevant research beforehand to  get the most out of museum visits . He told The Seattle Times , "I can't get you into the Prado Museum cheaper than anybody else, but if you know a little bit about art history when you go to the Prado, it's going to be much more rewarding."

As far as booking your accommodations, Steves has some sound advice. In an interview with Business Insider, the travel host relayed the value of choosing local lodging instead of big-name hotels. Not only will a unique locale give your trip an authentic feel, but it could also keep your budget in check. Steves told Forbes, "Stay in cozy local-style mom & pop accommodations (family-run guest houses, B&Bs, small simple hotels)." That extra forethought could significantly elevate your trip!

Recommended

This Bustling Street Full Of Shops And Eateries Is One Of Rick Steves' Favorites In France

Y ou've heard of the iconic, trendsetting charcuterie board that's revolutionized the concept of international snacking. While throwing a dash of that and a pinch of this onto a wooden cutting board has become the American version of a lazy night in, a street in Paris is the ultimate charcuterie board brought to life. According to European travel guru Rick Steves , Rue Cler is the place to be when sourcing your kitchen staples. Brimming with boulangeries, fromageries, and specialty food shops, Rue Cler is arguably the most aesthetic street in Paris. Much like a Saturday morning farmer's market, Rue Cler is a Parisian local outdoor grocery market and a must-see in the city  — picture supermarket aisles replaced by flower carts and small cottage-like shops with the windows flung open to welcome a fresh spring breeze. Together, this curated montage resembles what a typical Parisian weekly grocery run can look like.

Rather than putting all their eggs in one basket (literally), Parisians prefer to shop by specialty, selecting in-harvest veggies from the produce shop before sourcing their daily supply of cylinder-shaped cheese from the next-door fromagerie. Many French household amenities, such as refrigerators, aren't the oversized coolers Americans are used to. Instead, locals in Paris shop daily, emptying the remnants of their fridges before restocking with a fresh supply of goods. More importantly, market runs are about more than just food — they're a chance to socialize with friends and family and keep tabs on the latest scoop in the neighborhood. 

Read more: 28 Bucket List Destinations That Everyone Needs To Experience At Least Once

A Vibrant Montage Of Garden Goods

Located in the 7th arrondissement, this bustling market street is open daily, with the exception of Mondays. A popular outing for Sunday brunch, sourcing a fresh bag of greens, refreshing flower vases, and more, you can find just about everything on the picturesque street of Rue Cler. Parisian restaurants, gourmet food stores, adorable ice cream parlors, and wine shops comprise the majority of Rue Cler, stretching from La Motte Picquet to Rue de Grenelle. According to Steves, the rhythm of Rue Cler is a finely tuned ritual. Locals slowly make their way from shop to shop, gathering a fruitful harvest of essentials, a concept he coined "picnic shopping."

The local produce shops are one of Steves' favorites, freshly stocked with a shining seasonal supply of green, orange, and yellow delicacies. Rue Cler boasts two separate grocery stores, Franprix and Leader Price, on the west and east sides of the street. With high standards for food, it's not uncommon to see locals sniffing out the freshest finds in the produce sections of Rue Cler. According to Steves, Parisians cycle their food with the seasons and often don't purchase items sourced outside France, sticking instead to locally sourced items from inside the nation — listing the country of origin for each item displayed is mandatory. Flanked by pâtisseries, cozy book shops, floral stalls, and brasseries, produce stalls are just the beginning of a well-spent day on Rue Cler.

Designing A Pinterest-Worthy Charcuterie Board

It would be all too easy to spend hours upon hours getting lost in the wonder of each market stall's divine spread of goodies. If you only have one day in Paris , there are a few spots that should never be missed. As an essential part of Parisian culture, a day without cheese is practically unheard of. Filled with every size, color, and mold of cheese imaginable, the fromagerie is a must-not-miss on Rue Cler, and this indulgent cheese shop also sells a delicious spread of butter, yogurt, and farm-fresh eggs. A fresh baguette naturally goes hand in hand with a serving of Brie or Beaufort, so don't forget to pick one up.

The only thing missing from this elevated picnic spread is some protein-rich deli meat from the charcuterie. According to Steves, it's common for local Parisians to rely on ready-to-use deli goods rather than uncooked meats, given the small size of their kitchens. All the market shopping is bound to make you tired and desperately need a place to rest your feet. Cafe du Marché is a gorgeous corner cafe and an excellent place to watch the world pass by the window. Known for its seafood, it's always worth taking a look at the specials on the hand-scrawled menu. 

Read the original article on Explore