A package tour of Paris usually includes round-trip airfare, hotel accommodations, some meals and ground transportation. Package tours don't necessarily include a guide, so think about whether you want an actual escort or are just looking for a better deal by combining airfare, accommodations and some activities. Guided or escorted tours offer a hassle-free holiday. A tour guide greets you upon arrival and accompanies you throughout the trip on a private bus or coach. You'll get a sense of history and background, which helps put all those famous sights in context on a whirlwind tour. One of the biggest guided tour operators in France is Globus Journeys.
Group Voyagers
5301 S. Federal Circle
Littleton, CO 80123
866-755-8581
globusjourneys.com
Day tours include the main Parisian must-sees. By devoting one day of your trip to an escorted tour, you can gaze over the Parisian cityscape from Montmartre, cruise down the Seine or visit Versailles, all in about six hours. Air France Holidays offers the Paris Panorama Tour, a guided minibus tour of Paris attractions like the Champs-Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe, with stops along the way. Once your tour is done, you can continue exploring on your own.
Air France Holidays
3303 Monte Villa Parkway
Suite 200
Bothell, WA 98021
800-237-2623
airfrance-holidays.com
Packages affiliated with famous cooking schools are a hands-on way to get a taste of Parisian culture. The Ritz-Escoffier Ecole de Gastronomie Francaise showcases the techniques of legendary French chef Georges-Auguste Escoffier, and Le Cordon Bleu lets you channel your inner Julia Child, a past student. Options range from one-hour demonstration classes to a 10-week certificate course. Le Cordon Bleu also has day tours that take you into the foodie side of the city with the Paris Market Tour.
Le Cordon Bleu Paris
8 Rue Leon Delhomme
75015 Paris, France
800-457-2433
cordonbleu.edu
Ecole Ritz Escoffier
Ritz Paris
38 Rue Cambon
75001 Paris, France
011-33-01-4316-3050
ritzparis.com
If you want to hone your French, combine your trip with language school. The Lingua Service Worldwide offers a program in Paris with the Ecole de Langue Francaise pour Etrangers. The one-week-minimum course includes accommodations in an 18th-century townhouse in the Ninth District near the Champs-Elysees and Opera, the same building where painter Edgar Degas and writer Emile Zola once lived. For extra French flair, you can add on French cuisine and wine-tasting courses.
Lingua Service Worldwide
14½ Long Ridge Road
West Redding, CT 06896
800-394-5327
linguaserviceworldwide.com
For music lovers, another option is a luxurious multiday tour of musical events with Dailey-Thorp Travel, which offers itineraries that include Parisian performances. Spend a night with the cultural set in Paris at the Bastille Opera, experiencing productions such as "Les Contes d'Hoffmann" and "Die Walkure," or watch a ballet production at the Palais Garnier.
Dailey-Thorp Travel
P. O. Box 670
Big Horn, WY 82833
800-998-4677
daileythorp.com
Discover Paris as a tennis enthusiast and feel what it's like to ace a serve on a Grand Slam court. Tennis packages to Paris include a multiday stay along with a couple of sessions on Center Court at Roland Garros stadium, home of the French Open.
Advantage Tennis Tours
33 White Sail Drive
Suite 100
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
800-341-8687
advantagetennistours.com
