Hiring tour guide in Europe

KNS · 03-30-2015, 08:06 AM

My wife and I are thinking of taking the kids to France this summer. The two of us were there a few years ago but with the kids we'd like to see some of the museums and other highlights.

Of course you can travel with those escorted group tours but that really doesn't appeal to me. Does anyone here have any experience hiring a guide for the day (half day..?) in Paris, Amsterdam, etc.? What about getting tickets for popular museums like the Louvre?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Cajundaddy · Cajundaddy's Garage

I have been to Europe a lot and done the self tour, local guide, and organized tour. I gotta say I have enjoyed our experience with Gate 1 Travel the best. Not having to worry about transportation or accommodations makes for a relaxing trip. A very good way to get introduced to a new country IMO. You could probably hire local city guides through them as well. Worth a look.

Paris Vacation Packages, France Tours, France Vacation Packages - www.gate1travel.com

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

I've never heard of anyone (other than my great grandmother) needing a tour guide in Europe. There's no more pedestrian-friendly real estate in the world than most European cities. Get a Lonely Planet book, do your research and go. Get your tix for the Louvre online in advance unless you want to queue up for an hour or more before the place opens. It's actually one of the best bargains you can find in Paris at 12 Euros per adult (last time I was there in 2010). You certainly don't need a tour guide in the museums. They all have pamphlets telling you where this or that is. And believe me, the Mona Lisa is THE most overrated piece of art in the Louvre, but it's about the extent of most Americans' knowledge of Italian Renaissance painting.

Other highlights in France not to be missed are Versailles, the Bayeux Tapestry, the cathedral at Reims, Strasbourg and along that route are some excellent WWI battlefields, cemeteries and museums. My folks are going to Paris and to tour the Normandy beaches in a few weeks.

PorscheGAL · PorscheGAL's Garage

How old are your kids? We took our son to Rome when he was 10. No tours. I am a extreme planner. Here is my advice:

Europe has some of the easiest streets to walk. Make a plan before leaving the hotel of the direct route. If you have any sense of direction, it doesn't take long before you don't need the map so much.

Narrow down the museums and sites you want to see. Most offer the ability to pre purchase tickets. Do this. You can usually bypass any lines. The Louvre is huge. You could spend all day (which you won't) and not see everything. If the kids need a bite to eat the museum food is pretty good. Choose the exhibit they would most be interested in and hit those.

Allow time mid afternoon for some down time back in the hotel.

Be careful of the street sales and Gypsies. They were much more likely to approach us with my son there. They didn't talk to us. They went straight for my son, asking his name and other things. As a parent can be very concerning.

wdfifteen · wdfifteen's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by KNS

Of course you can travel with those escorted group tours but that really doesn't appeal to me. Does anyone here have any experience hiring a guide for the day (half day..?) in Paris, Amsterdam, etc.? What about getting tickets for popular museums like the Louvre?

Thanks for any suggestions.

It depends on the guide. Some are great, love what they do, and will give you details and anecdotes that you wouldn't get from any other source. We hired a guide in Italy, it was a guy who put together a group of about 10 people. He guided us through Pompeii and Capri and it was great. We did something similar with a woman in Rome and she was awful.
I'm done seeing the "sights." I guess you have to do it once, but now we're looking at renting a small house or apartment near Bordeaux or Florence and just living there for a month. It seems like it would be fun to be around some locals long enough to get to know them. I did this in Mexico and had a great time.

KNS · 03-30-2015, 02:06 PM

Thanks for the replies. My wife and I have been to Europe previously (France and Italy) and both times we just "winged it" on our own and had fun.

The kids are 15 and 17. We're just looking at a few different possibilities and wondering if someone may have hired a local to facilitate things, bringing the kids adds another dimension to planning.

imcarthur · imcarthur's Garage

Kurt

Migrate over to Foders: Europe Forum and ask your question. The "Paris Walks" kind of tours might be the answer.

I self-book, self-guide personally but I can understand your hesitance with teenagers. Do a Catacombs tour. Go on a bicycle tour . . . but the resources from the Fodor's forum crew will point you to what you want.

Ian

stomachmonkey · 03-30-2015, 02:40 PM

Sometimes a personal guide is worth it if as mentioned they are good. How to know whether or not they are good beforehand is the question.

Also depends on where you are going.

Mom was in Israel last year, she and my step dad had a guide / driver / guard.

Also a good idea for unaccompanied females in Turkey which is advice my SIL ignored and found out the hard way she should listen to me.

BE911SC · 03-30-2015, 03:20 PM

We hired a guide for a Flanders all-day tour (Belgium, WWI sites) and it was great. Also hired a guide for a walking tour of Prague old town and then same deal in Vienna. The Prague and Vienna tours were young women and they really knew their stuff. Both were after lunch. The Flanders all-day tour included lunch in Ypres and the guide drove us in his Euro-style minivan and used a headset to set up the day's tour as we drove about 45 minutes from the pick-up point in Brugges down to the WWI sites. My kids were 10 and 12 and at the end of the day they both wanted the tour to go on, it was that good.