France · SELF-GUIDED TOURS
The 9 best self-guided tours you can book today, with the price, the running time and who each one suits. Number one is first for a reason.
Travel from Paris to Giverny by air-conditioned coach and visit Claude Monet’s house, flower gardens, and famous water-lily pond. Choose a live guide, audio guide, or independent visit. Guides such as Agnes and Alex add useful context, but the five-hour schedule leaves little time for lunch or the village.
“wonderful day out your buses and guide was excellent.”
Travel by comfortable coach from central Paris to Giverny, where you’ll see Monet’s house, Japanese bridge, water-lily pond, gardens, and Japanese prints. Choose a 10-language audio guide or a live art historian, with priority admission and free time to explore.
“Be prepared fair amount of walking, mostly on flat sidewalk-type surfaces. Be prepared to figure out where you need to be at end. We had difficult time finding "meeting spot" and although not late, we were afraid to be left behind. Recommend the tour on a nice-weather day.”
Visit Paris’s underground ossuary with a timed Catacombs ticket and audio guide in English, French, German, or Spanish. Afterward, take a one-hour Bateaux Mouches cruise from Port de la Conférence. You set the pace below ground, then enjoy classic Paris views from the river.
“The Catacombs was very exciting and interesting while the river cruise was OVER crowded for the cost of the ride.”
Ride from central Paris to Versailles with an English-speaking host, then explore the palace at your own pace with an audio guide in 11 languages. See the Hall of Mirrors, royal apartments, chapel, and gardens. The four-hour schedule suits a quick visit, but a full day gives Versailles room to breathe.
“You need to know if you want to see the gardens, and get there on the trolley, it cost around $25 euro. For a family of 4, that is another hundred euro”
Walk 20 meters underground through Paris’s quiet Catacombs with a self-paced audio guide in English, French, Spanish, or German. Add a one-hour Bateaux Parisiens cruise from the Eiffel Tower for recorded commentary and views of the Louvre, Notre-Dame, and the city skyline.
“The catacombs are a MUST see in Paris, one of the best sights I’ve seen while traveling. If you can, book with the actual sight as the tickets are the same but less expensive. However, this is a good last minute option if all official tickets are sold out.”
This 90-minute ParisCityVision tour carries you past the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, Place de la Concorde, Les Invalides, and more. You ride in an air-conditioned double-decker bus with multilingual audio on your own device, plus a hostess and optional interactive Histopad features.
“Efficient and helpful staff when we arrived at the office. Tour bus clean, comfortable and air conditioning perfect temperature. Audio guides clear and informative. Bus driver careful, given heavy traffic at times. We were able to get good views of all the sites.”
Travel from Paris to Bruges by air-conditioned coach, then explore the medieval center with a guide or multilingual audio app. The guided option includes a canal cruise from April through October. Guides such as Steve and Dimitri are praised for clear, entertaining commentary, but the long drive leaves limited time in town.
“We had a wonderful time in Bruges. Just wish the weather was better. Our two tour guides both speak very good English. The whole trip was smooth without incident. The river cruise was a nice experience. The captain was friendly and knowledgeable in history of Bruges.”
Travel from Toulouse to Albi and Cordes-sur-Ciel by coach, then explore both towns independently with a downloadable audio guide in English, French, or Spanish. You get four hours in Albi and about two and a half hours in Cordes-sur-Ciel, but plan for a steep walk up to Cordes.
“A. Excellent trip..enjoyed not having a guided tour… just wandered around”
Enter the Louvre with a timed ticket, audio guide, and access to permanent collections and temporary exhibitions. You can see the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Egyptian antiquities, and seven other departments at your own pace. Tickets arrive through WhatsApp, with admission promised within 30 minutes of your time.
“It was an amazing experience to go inside the louvre and see all the artworks”
Pick a city, a coast or a cellar.
