The leading english language walking tour company in Paris. Founded in 1994

WHO WE ARE

Our team

We have a team of excellent guides, including those whose names appear below, and other guides who work with us from time to time. The guides for our scheduled tours are always native speakers (English or American) speak excellent French, have lived in France for many years and know French culture well.

We aim to make French history accessible so that the tours are informative but also enjoyable.

All our guides are university graduates, knowledgeable, professional and enthusiastic about Paris and its history. They take pleasure in researching their own material.

Christopher Spence grew up in England, (where he acquired his British sense of humour) but has lived in Paris for 20 years.
He is a qualified guide, teacher, writer, performer, singer song-writer, and has a particular interest in geology and palaeontology. He is a dedicated fossil hunter, writes articles for the International Herald Tribune on his special interests, and conducts many of our group tours including Hemingway, the Revolution, the Occupation, the Tempalrs, and special tours of the catacombs and the sewers.
His walks are much appreciated for the way he presents the information in an enjoyable way.

Brad Newfield is a historian, with a doctorate, and a particular interest in Franco-American relations.
He is a qualified local guide, and regularly conducts our Revolution Tours, the Hemingway walk, and the Writers of the Left Bank (which includes Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein and the original Shakespeare and Co).
He has developed special walks on the theme of Jefferson and Franklin, Jewish History, African-American Paris and Paris during the Occupation.
He conducts private tours of the Louvre and Versailles.

Richelle Sheppard is our fashion specialist. She is American, trained in design and fashion and has lived in Paris for many years. Her fashion tours are an enjoyable mixture of history, anecdotes, and fascinating glimpses into the secrets of the industry.  She is a qualified Paris blue badge guide, and regularly conducts our tours of Montmartre, the Islands and the Marais, St Germain, the Marais and our Art Nouveau circuit. She has inspired many families on her tours of the Louvre and Orsay.

Mary-Ellen Manny is from Minnesota. She has lived in Paris for many years where she works as a teacher and a licensed guide. She is enthusiastic about French history and culture, and has specialised in medieval history, the story of Paris during the Occupation, and French food.
She has the honour of being made a judge for the famous Ste Maure goats' cheeses from the Loire Valley and she leads our Chocolate tour, and our Taste of Paris Food Tour in the Les Halles market district.

Cerise Thelwall trained in Art History at the Courtauld Institute in London and the Ecole du Louvre in Paris. She is a qualified Paris guide and leads our regular scheduled walks, our museum tours, and our private tours to Versailles for adults and family groups.
She is particularly good at engaging the interest of young children who enjoy learning about history and art history with her

Jennifer Burdon is English and has been living in Paris for many years. She has a masters degree from Durham University where she specialised in 19th Century French literature. She now guides many of our tours, including The French Revolution, Pere Lachaise Cemetery, African- American Paris, Hemingway's Paris, and our private museum tours. She conducts the tours with charm and a subtle British wit.

James M'Kenzie-Hall is a historian, educated at Durham in England, and at the Sorbonne, with a PhD in art history (19th C illustrated travel books). He is an excellent all rounder and his many interests include antiques, art history, and the two World Wars are his speciality. His CD on the D Day landings can be purchased in museums and cemeteries in Normandy.

Brigitte Young is the epitome of the entente cordiale, as she is half French and half English, grew up and went to University in England and now lives in France. She conducts many of our scheduled and private tours and is one of our food and chocolate specialists, leading both our excellent Chocolate Tasting Tour and our gourmet Taste of Paris Tour. Clients enjoy the appealing way she tells her stories.

Beverley Clay Is British from Scotland with an MA in literature from Durham University, and has been living for several years in Paris where she has worked as a teacher and local guide. She loves books, reading and literature and runs both a reading and writing group in Paris. She conducts in particular our literary tours : Hemingway, Saint Germain, Left bank Writers and tours of other neighbourhoods. She also specialises in our Introduction tour which provides an excellent first taste of the City for couples and families.

Iris Amice (Iris Grossman) studied translation and interpreting in French at Indiana University in Bloomington. She is now settled in Paris where she is a blue badge local guide, and she loves sharing stories about the personalities who have shaped French history.
Iris is one of our family specialists, bringing history alive for young people. She guides our private family tours, and private tours to Versailles. Iris developed our chocolate tour and some delicious food tours.

Malcolm Livesey is British, loves France and French history, has lived in Paris for thirty years, where he has worked as a teacher, translator and guide. He is a classically trained singer with a fine baritone voice which you may be lucky enough to hear on one of the tours when the opportunity arises.
He guides many walks but particularly enjoys tours with musical themes such as the Opera House and the cemetery of Père Lachaise where many musicians have found their final resting place. (Malcolm has recently retired!)

Some compliments from our customers :

Dear Oriel and Peter, We've had a fabulous time in Paris and we've done three of your tours. We had the Private Da Vinci Code Tour with Malcolm, the Montmartre with Mary Ellen, and Marais II with Jonathan. Every tour was truly wonderful and packed with history, funny stories, great illustrations and explanations. We just wanted to let you know how you enhanced our trip. Thank you, and we can't wait to come back and do more of your tours. Sher and Josef from the USA

Thank you so much to our guide for such a delightful tour of Montmartre on a chilly, rainy day - he made it so entertaining that we forgot about the weather! Thank you. Anita from Denver

Greetings Paris Walks, I got back last night after two weeks in France, most of which I spent in Paris. I was able to go on four of your walking tours and wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed them. I did Hemingway's Paris, Montmartre, Marais I, and Ile St. Louis, with different guides. All were fantastic. I learned a lot about history, architecture and literature and of course some scurrilous gossip without which no walking tour would be complete. Also, as a single traveller, I was able to meet other visitors to Paris and have lunch or tea with them after the walk. Martha from Toronto

Thank you so much for enriching my life in Paris with all the wonderful, fascinating and educational walks and visits and courses. I find myself quoting your information every time I show visitors around! You have given me a view of Paris I could not have found otherwise. Jennie, who lived for several years in Paris.

Peter and Oriel Caine

They are qualified guide lecturers. Peter has a degree in History and History of Art, and Oriel has a masters in History, Art History and French literature.
They are English but have both been living in Paris for the last 30 years and set up Paris Walking Tours in January 1994. They have developed about one hundred different themes for visits in and around the city. The tours mix history, art and architecture and provide an opportunity for both local residents and discerning visitors to deepen their knowledge of the city.
While running the company they also regularly guide the tours, in particular the Louvre and Orsay. In 2003 they published the book 'Paris Then and Now' a beautiful record of the city, past and present.