Paris WW2 The German Occupation Small group or Private tour

US family tour

Our guide, Chris, was very knowledgeable about WW2 history in Paris. Great detail. Answered all of our questions.

via Viator

Not a true walking tour

Chris was incredibly knowledgeable and friendly, and it's clear he has a genuine passion for WWII history. He shared a wealth of information and provided interesting historical context throughout the tour. That said, we were disappointed that this was marketed as a walking tour, as the majority of the experience was spent standing in one place listening to explanations rather than actually walking to the sites being discussed. In a few instances, locations being referenced, such as the Opera House, were well within walking distance, yet we remained stationary while Chris pointed them out in the distance. I should have been more diligent in reading previous reviews, as I was expecting a true walking tour rather than a series of lecture-style stops with only short walks in between. One suggestion would be for Chris to invest in a tablet rather than carrying multiple folders filled with maps, photos, and printed quotes. A tablet would make it easier for guests to follow along and would create a more polished presentation. Overall, Chris is extremely knowledgeable, but the pace of the tour felt slow and, at times, dragged on. If you're looking for an in-depth history lesson, you'll likely enjoy it. However, if you're expecting a more active walking tour that takes you from site to site, this may not be the experience you're looking for.

Response from the operator: Hello Marcy and anyine reading this Thank you for your feedback I was happy to be able to spend the time with you "Chris was incredibly knowledgeable and friendly, and it's clear he has a genuine passion for WWII history. He shared a wealth of information and provided interesting historical context throughout the tour". So considering this I musst have done something awful or very bizzare that to warrent only 2 stars and my tour not being a true walking tour , whatever thats Is ,last time I noticed we used our legs to get around and covered around 2 miles in total? Considering the majority of people disagree with you and call my tour the highlight of their trip even and certainly consider It to be a "True walking tour" I think the problem Is as a first time visitor to Paris with little or no knowledge of the occupation, or the size of the city this tour was NOT suitable for you depsite my honest efforts even to adapt It for you You don't understand the subject at all firstly and what It takes to explain It so you are ableunderstand it properly and Instead saw It as like a sight seeing tour which It is not even though we do "see sights" of course They are secondary to the actual HISTORY and the people I talk about So I could genuinely ask then what more do you want from a guide then than this ? It doesn't seem that my lack of a tablet affected my ability to provide a wealth of Information ...Let me ket you Into secret as well Tour guides do not bring tablets to enhance the experience of people on their tour They do not enhance It They bring them for their OWN coneinence to avoid having to carry folders of pictures wth them which are superior but of course take up more space and are heavier I tried using a tablet years ago and found the experience far inferior to having actual full size photos and REAL copies if documents people can see and TOUCH in ALL kind of light and hold for themselves with no problems with aspect ratio or the need to zoom In as tbe tvabet screen is smaller Yes they may LOOK "cooler" but trust me they are there purely for the conveiience of the GUIDE at the cost of an INFERIOR experinece for the people on the tour! So I should actually be applauded maybe instead of criticised by someone who doesn't understand the Issue for putting my OWN convienience aside in favour of yours by bringing 8 folders of photos and documents , even though I do not use all of them on a tour , I bring them never the less just In case I get a question about something I want to show a visual for ! You had never been to Paris before so I think your complaint about not actually visiting the some of the places we talked about on a THREE HOUR walking needs some context and shows an ignorance of size the City and what Is practical on foot Its actually ridiculous to suggest we should hace walked to these places I mean I have lived here 20 years but obviously you understood better the distance between certain landmarks and what is practical in 3 hours? The ironic thing Is I actually changed the Intineary just for YOU because you said it was your first time so I thought It would be nice If you could see some of the most famous monuments from a distance as Its not practical nor does it work for a WW2 Itinerary to walk to them all in a 3 hr tour and I could talk about them during the occupation But apprently this was not In fact enough , you actualy DO think we should have WALKED TO THEM from where we were ?? Are you serious ! Besides the The Opera house which was walkable , thats true , It was a 15 min walk from where we began the tour but it would have taken us completely out of our way and why would we walk all the way up there for absolutely nothing? Its not mentioned as a place we may visit on the tour descrpition so I fail to understand your complaint , its misguided I pointed It out and explained it was under renovation and the entire front was covered and had been for 18 months ! There was therefore absolutely nothing I could not tell you from where we were standing I showed you several photos of it during the occupation and explained its signficance What more did you require? There Is nothing to see except a huge advertising board if we walk uo there ? But now find out that you actualy wanted me to walk you and the other 2 people all the way up there and back, taking 30 mins total for what exactly? Then as we walked through the Louvre and saw the Grand axis of Paris where we could see straight up to Concorde square then the Champs Elysee to the Arc de Triomphe a distance of over 2.5 MILES or a 50 min walk I took the opportunity explain to you the history of the Arc and its significance during the occuppation but apparently you also complain we should have WALKED all the way there even though It was a FIFTY min walk and this was a WW2 tour NOT a general sighsteeing tour We also saw the Tour Eiffel In the distance and I took the chance to again talk about Its significance during the occupation But apparently you also use this to criticise me because again we should have walked THERE too another 50 min walk ??? Are you serious? This is what you do on the BUS tour not a 3hr or so WW2 walking tour ! Never mind the other 2 more elderly people on the GROUP tour , one of whom needed to sit down?? Its a shame because actaully took you to this spot deliberately as it was your first time In Paris and i thought you would appreciatte that you could take in this wonderfull view on the Grand axis and I could also take the opportunity talk specificlly about these monuments during the occupation for you but apparently to quote you below .... "the majority of the experience was spent standing in one place listening to explanations rather than actually walking to the sites being discussed." This Is totally Is simply NOT TRUE and ludicrously out of context and disingenious to suggest The MAJORITY of the tour , 3 hrs was NOT spent doing this at all, maybe 30 mins at MOST for THREE sites, thats 10 mis a site ! And the sites in question where the Opera house wich I have already discuseed Arc De Triomphe and Eiffel tower , which you are now complaining we didnt WALK to even though they were both 2.5-3 MILES away? I have had some strange complaints over the years but I have never had this one before , NEVER had First lets get things straight Instead of embelleshing the truth We didn't stand in ONE place , we stood In 3 different placesto doscuss each site seperatey So you are seriously then complaining that we didn't WALK all the way to the Arc De Triomphe and the from there to the Eiffel tower but just stood in one and saw them from a distance? Because these were the only places we You'd never even been to Paris before but you know the layout better than me now and the practicality of getting around it?? And for Information after meeting we stopped at TEN different locations during the tour and talked about different subjects and finshed at place Vendome Yes TEN in total.... SO no we were not in ONE place all the time , that Is ludicrous I just took you to physically VIEW certain things from one place as a gesture that I thought woud be nice as It was your first trip as they are far to far away to walk to! Yet that Is used ludcirously as a criticism becasue we should have actually WALKED to them too ! I guess thats what you mean by a "true walking tour then! Thats why its important to give the context of these sites you talk about us viewing from one place, and WHY we did this ! Its a WW2 WALKING tour and its made clear In the desription the AREA we walk around Its NOT a Private BUS tour I better be careful then in future If I point out the TouR Eiffel in the distance as i could get critisicised for not actually walking all the way to it as well... But this nonsense aside I do think you summed up one important thing quite well though In essence folks ..... If you want a real In depth explanation of the Occupation and also real in depth answers to your questions and If you want to know the TRUTH , not just more of the myths and over simplified narratives you've been told then this tour IS for you As the many reviews from very happy people show But understand this may take time sometimes and entail me having to explain things you have NEVER heard before On the other hand If you DON'T really want this , If instead you don't want an In depth explantion of the subjects or me to actively encourage you to talk to me and ask questions and then take the time to properly answer your questions and Instead just move you on quickly with you leaving the tour having seen maybe a few more things , get some photos , got a few anecdotes but haveing not learnt that much you couldnt find on Wikipediea and certainy NOT having had long standing myths about the subject debunked and learnt the TRUTH the then this tour is NOT for you I repeat this tour is not for people who dont want to Invest a little time in learning the truth Or people who don't consider It a true walking tour they dont walk 50 mins between each site.... Its up to you to choose folks Thats why I thank Marcy for actually giveing a fairly accurate description of what I am about and like as a guide as It allows me to CONTRAST this with the opposite One of the problems that Is clearly arises Is some people misunderstand the nature of this subject that Its not just a simple walk around an with 5-10 mins of Information and the chance to take a photograph of buildings Well we do this, we do walk and we do see buildings of course but also far more , I take the time to fully explain the history and how fits into the WIDER context But because this subject Is not well known and a lot of what people do know Is either grossly over simplified or simply not true then as a teacher of history It is my repsonsibility and duty to not only take time to explain basic background Information to them but to also make clear to people what is the TRUTH and this can mean showing and rtlling people things they have never heard or understand before And guess what, , again this can take time, especially at the beggining of the tour and If questions the arise from people that I also have to answer Should I just skip this? On this particular tour you were on there where other people who had been to Paris multiple times and were more well Informed and had a much deeper understanding and as a result asked me 2 or 3 questions that required some time to answer correctly What should I do? Ignore their questions? Not answer them ? Give them haf the truth ? You though had never been to Paris before and had no knowledge of the city so prehaps a sightseeing tour may have been more suitable for you rather than one on such a complicated historical subject of which you had zero knowledge? And what In fact Is a "True" walking tour if not a series of stops with lecture style Information given? The amount of time between stops is irrelvant, the value if the tour is IN the quality of Information you are given not the distance between the stops The history of the occuoation toll place all over the City there Is no one place you can go to tell the whOle story in a few hours, It Is NOT like visiting a museum with everything laid out In nice chronological order .It would take me a week of taking you on tours to get near to doing this Likewise I cannot control the distance between buildings or sites to suit you As this Is a history tour not a sightseeing tour of tourist attractions then what does iT matter if the sites we vsist are all located within a 2 mile area? Most people appreciatte that we can meet in an area where the locations are all within a short distance of each other and they don't have to walk 50 mins between each place ! ITe irony Is I am certain that If I did tha and understandably then I would be sure to have people complaining about walking too much I really cannot win It feels sometimes ? Again I think you shoud have just taken a sight seeing tour maybe Marcy? And In terms of the tour being Marketed as a walking tour you wlil find that if you look in the tour description we did exactly what It says in terms of the area we visisted and the amount of walking we did ! So folks If you want a "true walking tour" better stay clear of me I wont make you walk 50 mins between sites ... Also at the sites we visit I WILL explain thoroughly the importance of them in the social, political and military context of the occupation I also wont pointlessly walk you 30 mins up and down an Avenue to see a building thats covered in advertising boards as Its being renovated so It waste of time I also won't rush you on without answering your questions' I also will make sure you I explain thouroughly the real reasons behind the German and Nazi Invasion of France and their plans for the country I will do this at the beggining and I will make sure yu understand this even thugh It may mean me having to debunk myths amd tgus may take time I make no apologies for this as I have already explained that I see It as my job to tell you the truth and explain the complicated situation in France during this period rather than just reinforce simplistic untrue narratives Its up to you ! Thanks

via Viator

Great (but long) tour

Interesting tour and very knowledgeable guide. This guy knows his stuff and I learned a lot. Be prepared for a long tour but it was very informative!

Response from the operator: Thanks Meghan for your postive comments I really apreciate your compliments about my knowledge and how much you learnt! Thank you And that you are also prepared to give your honest feedback on the tour length I do state on Viator that it is usually between 3hr to 3.5 but I do have a limit of 3,5hrs because after this I feel both my own ability to teach physically and menatally starting to lag plus the abiity of people to take any more infirmation Inreachs overoad Let me just note that for PRIVATE tours, not GROUP I do run longer tours sometimes up to 4hrs but this will usually include us stopping for a drink of course and a chat So It is neither a negative or a positve thing, It depends on the context and what I I am trying to achieve on the tour in those 3plus hours and what expectations the people taking It may have I have had people turn up onsome occssions telling me they thought the tour was 2 hrs, or 2.5hrs so they obviously haven't read the information on Viator So I now I always mention about this at the beggining so I know if anyone has to be finished by a certain time But most importantaly Im glad you thought the tour was great Hearing this makes me happy as my goal Is to educate people not just show them a list of sites and photo ops with 15 minutes of information you can find in a textbook or Wikipedeia! Or to tell a few stories that just confirm simple cliches and tropes that many tours regurgitate So let me be clear my tour is not a sight seeing tour where you just come to take photos and hear a few new stories that though they are Interesting and new still function just to confirm what you already believed or had been told before My tours are meant to challenge peoples existing perspectives and streotypes whilst also also being a lesson In historyt So usually my tours are between 3-3.5 hrs as stated on the Viator site however this Is not a fixed length, I have some tours that do last less than 3 hrs and some that have lasted longer Let me be clear though , I will never force this on people as so many of my previous guests can testify , I leave open the option of going longer than 3 hrs depending on the level of Interest and crucially the type and depth of questions I am being asked on that tour And I I do tend to get asked lots of questions as well that are not always directly related to the subject I am currently explaining I am in a way a victim of my own knowledge and desire to teach the truth and provide new and different perspectives because when people start to realise that a lot of what they thought was true or had been told Is not the they then become very eager to ask me questions about all sorts of subjects related to the occupation even though I may not the time be talking about them, Whicj is great BUT It does take time to answer them properly and thats one reason I have to have some flexibility in tour length Of course this Is kind of Unique but necessary if I am to achieve my aim So I leave some flexibility unlike many other shorter tours with SET times where everything can be rushed a bit to try to keep within a set time limit I don't do that because my aim Is not to complete a tour as part of a business where people on It are just another group of nubers and take peoples money for It them tick It off but Instead to educate them Amd I wont be satisfied unless people have gone away with their questions answered and having learnt the truth As a result on short 2hr tours people do not have things properly explained to them, Its Impossible assumimg the guide even has the depth of knowledge to do so and do not have the chance to really ask questions and have them answered fully On my tours it is different And we can always go to bar or cafe to get a drink and chat too which I something I do quite often with people So my tours certainly may not be for some people they do go into subjects in far more depth than the 2hr photo op tours and people get to ask questions and have them answered properly I also send my guests a lot of additional after . a book list , a google map of the area we walked in with sites marked and Information I have provided plus links to interesting media information Best wishes Chris

via Viator

Extremely knowledgeable...

Extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the topic. We learned a lot about the war and the French experience during that time.

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Great Historian!

I was very lucky to arrange a private history lesson with Chris. He is amazing. We could have talked for 10 hours! He knows it all!

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