Paris Private Tours

Paris Private Tours with Jean-Manuel Traimond

Discover Paris in a more personal, intelligent, and unforgettable way with customized Paris Private Tours led by Jean-Manuel Traimond. Known for his wit, depth of knowledge, and highly original approach to art, history, museums, neighborhoods, churches, gardens, and monuments, Jean-Manuel offers private tours that are anything but ordinary.

These tours are designed around each client’s interests, schedule, and preferred pace. Whether you want to explore the Louvre after dark, understand Impressionism at the Musée d’Orsay, discover hidden corners of Paris, visit historic churches, walk through famous neighborhoods, or enjoy private cultural day trips outside the city, your experience can be tailored to you.

Jean-Manuel provides guiding only and does not provide transportation. Guests may use taxis, the metro, or private transfers arranged separately. He is especially recommended for adults, families with older children, museum lovers, history enthusiasts, and travelers who want a guide with personality, humor, and exceptional storytelling.

Customized Paris Private Tours

Jean-Manuel can guide almost anywhere in Paris and the surrounding region. His tours are ideal for travelers looking for a more engaging experience than a standard sightseeing tour. Many visits can include treasure hunts, quizzes, games, and lively storytelling, making the experience memorable for both adults and families.

Evening tours are especially recommended when available, particularly at the Louvre and Musée d’Orsay, which offer late openings on select evenings.

Private Louvre Tours

Naughty Louvre

The Louvre is full of romance, pleasure, risqué visual puns, sensuous statues, unexpected details, and stories hidden in plain sight. On this playful private Louvre tour, Jean-Manuel Traimond, author of Guide érotique du Louvre et du musée d’Orsay, reveals the more mischievous side of French art.

This is one of the most unique Paris Private Tours for travelers who want a Louvre experience that is clever, surprising, and memorable. Best during Wednesday and Friday evening openings. Treasure hunts and quizzes are available.

A Gourmet Tour of the Louvre

The French love food, and the Louvre is full of it. This private museum tour explores food, feasts, ingredients, symbols, and stories found throughout the museum’s collections. Discover why oysters, rabbits, mushrooms, tomatoes, and other foods appear in art, history, and myth.

Best during Wednesday and Friday evening openings. Treasure hunts and quizzes are available.

Just Mona

A focused private Louvre tour devoted to the Mona Lisa and the world surrounding Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece. Best on Wednesday and Friday evenings. Not available on Tuesdays.

A Zoo in My Museum

Explore the animals of the Louvre through amusing stories, unexpected comparisons, and fascinating art history. Learn about rhinoceroses, giraffes, bears, pearls, and the surprising role of animals in the museum’s collections.

Best during Wednesday and Friday evening openings. Treasure hunts and quizzes are available.

Here Comes the Sun: The Apollo Gallery at the Louvre

Discover the restored Apollo Gallery, one of the Louvre’s most dazzling spaces. This private tour explores gilding, sculpture, painting, tapestry, architecture, jewelry, and the French Crown Diamonds. Enter a world of solar symbolism, royal splendor, flying figures, recycled crowns, and artistic brilliance.

Not available on Tuesdays. Quiz available.

Mona Lisa Unbound

A more personal Louvre tour in which Jean-Manuel shares some of his favorite works and stories in the museum. A wonderful choice for travelers who want an expert’s personal perspective rather than a standard highlights tour. Best on Friday evenings.

Some Wedding

A private tour centered on Veronese’s magnificent The Wedding at Cana, one of the Louvre’s most spectacular paintings. Not available on Tuesdays.

Vindicating The Da Vinci Code… Or Not?

Follow a witty and tongue-in-cheek trail through the Louvre and Saint-Sulpice Church inspired by The Da Vinci Code. Along the way, you will learn about history, religion, symbolism, myth, fiction, and fact.

Booking is necessary for the Louvre portion. Not available during church services. Treasure hunts and quizzes are available.

Greek Myths: The Real McCoy

Greek myths were never originally intended as gentle children’s stories. This private Louvre tour reveals the real drama, humor, violence, desire, and meaning behind classical mythology.

Treasure hunts and quizzes are available.

The Louvre, Palace of French Kings

Before it became the world’s most famous museum, the Louvre was a royal palace. This tour explores the French kings and rulers who shaped the Louvre, from Philippe Auguste to Napoleon III. Best when the Napoleon III Reception Apartments are open.

Mister Osiris, I Presume?

Explore the Egyptian rooms of the Louvre with stories of ancient bread, cats, cows, windows, rituals, symbols, and daily life in ancient Egypt. A quiz and games can be included.

Not available on Tuesdays.

Other Private Louvre Tour Themes

Additional Louvre-focused Paris Private Tours may include French medieval paintings, French Renaissance paintings, French classical paintings, Monsieur Poussin, 18th-century French paintings, Monsieur David, Napoleon in French art, Monsieur Géricault, Monsieur Delacroix, 19th-century French paintings, portraits of French kings, the art of the portrait, French sculpture, Italian art, still life, and how to look at a painting or sculpture.

Availability depends on museum room openings.

Musée d’Orsay Private Tours

Naughty Orsay

The Musée d’Orsay has its own playful, sensual, and surprising side. This private Orsay tour explores unexpected details, stories, and themes within the museum’s collections.

The Musée d’Orsay is closed on Mondays. Treasure hunts and quizzes are available.

Understanding Impressionism

One of Jean-Manuel’s most popular Paris Private Tours, this enlightening visit to the Musée d’Orsay helps guests understand how Impressionism began, why it mattered, and what artists were trying to achieve when they painted.

This tour is ideal for anyone who wants to truly understand Impressionist art rather than simply view famous paintings. Booking is essential. The Musée d’Orsay is closed on Mondays. Treasure hunts and quizzes are available.

Additional Orsay Tour Themes

Other private Orsay tours may include Post-Impressionism, portraiture, and still life.

Pompidou Center Private Tour

A Lettuce a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Explore the Pompidou Center, one of the world’s largest modern art museums, with a private guide who makes contemporary art accessible, funny, and surprising. Because the museum’s collections rotate regularly, each visit can reveal unexpected works such as artistic lettuce, the counting man, the felt piano, and secret boxes.

Afternoon tours only. Treasure hunts and quizzes are highly recommended.

Private Tours of Lesser-Known Paris Museums

Jacquemart-André Museum: What Taste Does to Money

Discover the sumptuous private mansion and art collection created by Monsieur André and Madame Jacquemart. This elegant Paris museum is both a jewel and a jewel box, combining wealth, taste, architecture, and art.

Treasure hunts and quizzes are available.

Nissim de Camondo Museum: Furniture to Furnish Your Mind

Visit one of the finest collections of 18th-century French furniture in Paris, displayed in an elegant historic home. This tour is ideal for travelers interested in decorative arts, interiors, French taste, and aristocratic Paris.

Treasure hunts and quizzes are available.

Picasso Museum: A Man to Love

The Picasso Museum can turn skeptics into admirers and gives Picasso lovers an unforgettable experience. This private tour explores the artist’s genius, personality, evolution, and influence.

Treasure hunts and quizzes are available.

Rodin Museum

A perfect introduction to Auguste Rodin, the sculptor who helped invent modern sculpture. The museum’s setting, including one of the most pleasant gardens in Paris, makes this a beautiful and meaningful private tour.

Treasure hunts and quizzes are available.

Cherchez la Femme: Rodin & Picasso

A very French approach to two great artists and their relationships with women. Compare the lives, works, loves, and muses of Rodin and Picasso through a lively, revealing private museum experience.

Treasure hunts and quizzes are available.

Bourdelle Museum

Visit the former studio of sculptor Antoine Bourdelle, a disciple of Rodin and creator of many sculptures in the Trocadéro gardens. This is one of the best places in Paris to understand sculpture.

Treasure hunts and quizzes are available. Free entrance.

Marmottan Museum

A jewel of a museum featuring Monet masterpieces, including Impression, Sunrise, along with works by Berthe Morisot, Empire furniture, and medieval illuminations.

Treasure hunts and quizzes are available.

Musée Maillol

A small but excellent museum filled with talent, character, and charm. This tour is best for small groups due to narrow rooms. Booking is essential.

Musée Carnavalet

A rich and satisfying museum dedicated to the history of Paris, with furniture, French Revolution memorabilia, Paris trivia, and more. This is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy Jean-Manuel’s French approach to French history.

Treasure hunts and quizzes are available. Free entrance.

Museum of the Liberation

A deeply moving museum dedicated to the French Resistance, the Liberation of Paris, and the concentration camps. This tour is not recommended for small children.

Atelier Brancusi

Explore the reconstructed Montparnasse studio of Constantin Brancusi, one of the towering geniuses of modern sculpture. The studio includes masterpieces and original pedestals arranged according to the artist’s vision.

Cluny Museum: The Lady with the Unicorn

Visit the former residence of the head of the Cluny Order and discover medieval treasures, including The Lady with the Unicorn tapestry, the Pope’s Rose, historic objects, combs from the Seine, and unusual stories from medieval life.

Treasure hunts and quizzes are available.

Army Museum

Private tours may focus on the Second World War or Napoleon at the Army Museum.

Paris Neighborhood Walking Tours

Three Mummies in a Boat

A surprising private walking tour of the Cherche-Midi area, ending at the free Musée Bourdelle.

Boats, Books and Barrels

A leisurely walking discovery of the mysterious 12th arrondissement, filled with unexpected stories and neighborhood curiosities.

Nooks & Crannies: Covered Passages of Paris

Discover the covered passages of Paris, where amber, myrrh, unusual books, historic benches, obscure alphabets, and unexpected artifacts can be found. Best in the afternoon. Treasure hunts and quizzes are available.

Sins and Splendors of Monsieur Haussmann

Explore the grand and sometimes sinful world of Haussmann’s Paris and Garnier’s Opéra district. The architectural perspective can also include the Jacquemart-André Museum. Treasure hunts and quizzes are available.

From Latin Quarter to Latin Lover

An impish walking tour through the Latin Quarter and the heart of historic Paris, exploring the wit, spirit, and soul of the city.

No Alligators in That Swamp: Le Marais

Explore Le Marais, one of Paris’s oldest Jewish districts and now one of its most vibrant neighborhoods. This tour connects Gustave Eiffel, Hector Guimard, Charles V, Henri IV, and the layered history of the Marais.

Paris Bizarre: Père-Lachaise Cemetery

Père-Lachaise Cemetery is one of the most fascinating and strangely charming places in Paris. Discover famous graves, uncertain angels, Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, unusual monuments, and countless stories.

Available almost any day and time. Treasure hunts and quizzes are available.

Private Paris Church Tours

Church tours are generally not available on Sundays.

Possible private church tours include Notre-Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, Saint-Sulpice, Saint-Eustache, Saint-Merri, Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais, Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis, Saint-Serge, Saint-Alexandre-Nevski, the Miraculous Medal Chapel, the Lazarist Fathers Chapel, Saint-Séverin, Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre, Saint-Pierre de Montmartre, Sacré-Cœur, and the Paris Mosque.

Saint-Étienne-du-Mont

Discover beautiful stained-glass windows saved from destruction and uniquely set at eye level.

Saint-Sulpice

Made famous by The Da Vinci Code, Saint-Sulpice deserves attention for much more than fiction.

Les Halles Churches

Saint-Eustache and Saint-Merri offer unique architecture, decoration, and dramatic history.

Churches of the Marais

Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais and Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis surprise visitors with unexpected stained glass, sculptures, and fascinating stories.

Old Russia in Paris

Visit Saint-Serge and Saint-Alexandre-Nevski for a look into Orthodox Paris and Russian religious heritage in the city.

Blue Bones: Saint-Denis Basilica

Explore the burial place of French kings and one of the earliest great Gothic structures, with royal tombs, stained glass, Renaissance influences, and dramatic stories of monarchy.

Musical Paris

This tour combines the giant organ of Saint-Eustache with the stagecraft of the Opéra, exploring music, architecture, acoustics, performance, and theatrical secrets.

Paris Monuments, Parks & Gardens

Luxembourg Gardens

A personal tour and quiz in the Luxembourg Gardens, filled with stories, surprises, statues, politics, and Parisian charm.

Versailles Gardens: True Symbolism Unveiled

Discover the symbolism of the gardens of Versailles, from Neptune’s fountain and the Obelisk Fountain to the Colonnade and the mysteries of the Grandes Eaux.

Available only on Grandes Eaux days. Horse carriage rental is highly recommended.

Paris Botanical Gardens: Birthplace of the Dinosaurs

A strange and fascinating tour of the Jardin des Plantes, followed by encounters with unexpected stories from Paris history.

Paris Sewers: Sewer Power

Explore the Paris sewer system with stories of engineering, lost objects, underground infrastructure, and the 2,100 kilometers of sewers beneath the city.

Closed Thursday and Friday; open 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

Paris Flea Market

Discover the largest flea market in Europe and learn about antiques, church dust, restoration, and how to turn the new into the old.

Available Saturday, Sunday, and Monday only. Treasure hunts and quizzes are highly recommended.

Eiffel Tower Private Tour

Explore the Eiffel Tower through stories of engineering, bolts, elephants, airplanes, hidden machinery, and historic adventures. Special access to machinery and hidden areas may be possible at a higher price.

Treasure hunts and quizzes are available. Wait times may be long on busy days.

Paris Catacombs

Enter the dark and fascinating Catacombs, where millions of Parisians’ bones are arranged beneath the city. This tour requires climbing 83 narrow, steep steps and is not suitable for everyone.

The Panthéon

A humorous tour for history lovers who enjoy great stories, famous figures, and the unexpected fun of the Panthéon.

Bagatelle Gardens

A manicured garden tour in the Bois de Boulogne, especially recommended for rose lovers, with thousands of varieties.

Other Paris Monuments and Gardens

Additional private tours may include the Conciergerie, Invalides, Arc de Triomphe, Grévin Museum, Montparnasse Cemetery, Montmartre Cemetery, the Pet Cemetery of Asnières, Tuileries Gardens, Albert Kahn Gardens, Bercy Park, André Citroën Park, Parc de la Villette, the Paris islands, Montmartre, Canal Saint-Martin, Buttes-Chaumont, and Belleville.

Private Day Trips from Paris

Jean-Manuel can also guide private cultural tours outside Paris, depending on availability and logistics. Possible destinations include La Défense, Versailles, Fontainebleau, Barbizon, Vaux-le-Vicomte, Chantilly, La Malmaison, Giverny, Chartres, Rouen, Chambord, Chenonceau, Cheverny, Villandry, Mont Saint-Michel, the Bayeux Tapestry, the Caen Memorial, Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Arromanches, Lisieux, Nevers, and Reims.

These private day trips from Paris can be arranged around art, history, gardens, architecture, World War II history, royal heritage, wine, or regional culture.

Plan Your Paris Private Tour

Contact us for prices and reservations for customized Paris Private Tours with Jean-Manuel Traimond. Please include your travel dates, number of guests, ages of children, preferred tour themes, and any transportation needs.

Please also specify your first-choice and alternate dates, and let us know whether you would like to meet the guide directly at the Louvre or another location, or if you need a separate transfer arranged to or from your hotel.