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Frequently asked questions

Booking, prices, what a private tour in Paris includes, and how the day actually works. If your question is not answered here, write to us at contact@pepinparis.com.

Booking & payment

The simplest way is the contact form on the Request a Tour page. Tell us who you are, how many people are in your group, and the dates you are in Paris. We reply within 48 hours to confirm availability and send a tailored proposal. Nothing is charged until your tour is confirmed.
The earlier you book, the more say you have over your entry time. Museums release a limited number of timed slots for each day, and the best of them go first: early, before the rooms fill, or late, once the morning crowds have thinned. The Louvre, Versailles and Notre-Dame all work this way, so a few weeks of notice usually means choosing your hour rather than taking what is left. From spring to fall it matters most, when guide availability tightens too. Last minute is obviously possible: let us know and we will give you all the timings still open.
Most Paris museums close one day a week, and it is rarely the same day. The Louvre closes on Tuesday; the Musée d’Orsay, the Rodin and Versailles close on Monday. Every tour page shows the days that tour runs, and the day builder shows the days your sites are open together, and warns you if one is closed on the date you choose. None of this need worry you: there is always something to do in Paris, and a closed museum simply turns the day towards another collection, a neighborhood walk, a monument or a château beyond the city. If your dates are fixed, tell us and we will build the day around what is open.
Payment is requested in advance to confirm your tour. A deposit of 30% secures your date and your guide and is never refunded, though if your plans change you can move the tour or take a voucher instead; the balance is due two months before the tour; if you are booking within two months of your date, the full amount is payable at the time of booking. You pay through a secure Stripe link that we send you: Stripe is one of the payment providers most widely used on the web, which means your card details go straight to them and are never seen or held by us. If it suits your group, we can split the total across several links, so each family or couple settles its own share.
Because from that moment, the date is truly yours, just like a hotel room or a seat on a flight once you have booked it. We are independent guides: once your tour is confirmed, your guide keeps that day for you alone and turns down every other request for it, and a day freed at the last minute is almost impossible to fill. The deposit is what allows us to make that commitment to you, and to start preparing your visit in earnest: entry tickets, timed entry slots, the route. Until then, nothing is charged and your request commits you to nothing. Thank you for understanding.
Not at the moment. We are a small company and have kept things simple, so there is no gift card to buy. If you would like to offer a tour to someone, write to us and we will arrange the booking with you directly.
If you can no longer come on your date, you have three options up to 72 hours before the start: move the tour to another date, take a voucher for what you have paid towards the guided service, valid one year and transferable, or cancel outright. If you cancel outright more than fifteen days before, the 30% deposit is retained and everything above it comes back to you. Between fifteen days and 72 hours, canceling outright costs 50% of the tour price, and moving the date or taking a voucher depends on our guides being free. Within 72 hours, and for no-shows, the tour is non-refundable and neither option is available. Whichever way you go, museum tickets already bought for your original date are lost and have to be bought again. Entry tickets bought in your name ahead of the tour are not refundable once purchased, whatever the date, and their cost is deducted from any refund due. If we have to cancel, you receive a full refund, deposit included, or a new date, your choice. The full policy is in our terms and conditions and restated in every booking confirmation.

Prices & what is included

Per group, not per person. Every tour is private, so the price is built from a base rate that covers two guests, plus a small supplement for each additional guest that varies with the site you visit and with each guest's age, since every venue sets its own admission. Museum entry is always included in the price you are quoted. For a family, this often makes a private guide far better value than it first appears.
The price covers everything needed to enter and follow the tour: entry tickets, the group reservation fee, an audio system where one is required, and a public transport ticket when the itinerary calls for moving between sites. On food tours, the tastings are included. There are no hidden extras and nothing to pay during the visit. A private driver can be arranged on request. Reaching the meeting point is otherwise your own arrangement.
It depends on the site. Many venues keep a dedicated entrance for booked groups, which is what agencies mean when they advertise skip the line, and wherever that exists we include it: your entry is reserved in advance in the group’s name, with a timed slot where the venue uses them. Not every site works that way, and security screening applies to everyone everywhere. We will tell you what applies to the places on your day.
If you particularly enjoyed your tour and wish to leave something for your guide, it is always appreciated, but it is entirely your choice and never assumed.

On the day

Your meeting point is decided together, either at your hotel, or in front of the museum or in the neighborhood where the tour begins. It is confirmed in your booking email, and your guide sends precise directions in advance, along with a phone number in case anything is unclear on the day.
Comfortable walking shoes are the main thing, as most tours involve a fair amount of standing and walking. Major sites have security screening, so travel light: large bags and suitcases are not admitted. At Notre-Dame, an active place of worship, modest dress is appreciated. Photography without flash is generally allowed. For outdoor tours such as Montmartre or the gardens at Versailles, dress for the weather.
Let your guide know as soon as you can. The number is in your booking email, and a delay you flag early can often be absorbed. The tour still ends at its scheduled time and is not extended, because both the guide and the museum slot are booked for a fixed window. If you have not reached the meeting point within thirty minutes of the start time and we have heard nothing from you, the tour is treated as a no-show. The detail is in our terms and conditions.
Outdoor and walking tours go ahead in most weather, and Paris under rain has a quality of its own. Bring a coat and an umbrella, and shoes you do not mind wetting. Weather alone is not grounds for a refund, but where conditions create a genuine safety risk your guide will adapt the route or, together with you, propose another date. Museum tours are of course unaffected.
Yes. Full days include a break for lunch, and your guide will point you to good addresses nearby rather than leave you to the first terrace you see. Lunch is on your own, so you are free to choose what suits you, and the timing is agreed on the day around what you are visiting.
Museums occasionally close rooms for restoration, lend a work to another institution, or shut for a special event or a strike. Where we are aware of a closure that affects your tour, we tell you in advance. If something changes on the day, an alternative of equal interest is always proposed. We do not offer refunds for closures outside our control, but the tour will always be worth your time. See our legal notice and terms for more detail.

Your guide and your group

The guide-conférencier is a national qualification issued by the French Ministry of Culture, awarded after university-level training in art history and heritage. By law, only holders of this card may lead guided visits inside France's national museums and historic monuments, the Louvre and Versailles among them. Every Pépin Paris tour is led by a licensed guide-conférencier, which is both a guarantee of training and the legal right to guide inside the rooms themselves.
All tours are conducted in English, and other languages can be arranged on request: we work with a number of guides from different backgrounds, and between them they cover French, Spanish, German and more. Tell us your preference when you book and we will confirm what is possible for your dates.
You can ask, and we will do our best, but we cannot promise it: a guide who is already booked on your date cannot be in two places at once. What we can promise is that it makes no difference to the quality of your day. Every Pépin guide holds the same national qualification and shares the same way of working, educational and friendly, so whoever meets you will have prepared your visit with the same care.
Every tour is private, whatever your number. Each venue sets its own rules for guided groups: some, such as Notre-Dame, ask them to stay small, while others, such as Versailles, allow up to ten. The exact limit is shown on each tour page. In practice this is rarely an obstacle, particularly when you book ahead. On the rare occasion that a group is larger than a site allows, we simply divide it in two and send a second guide, so that the venue’s rules are respected and both halves keep a proper visit rather than a crowded one.
Of course, and we are always glad to have them. Because every tour is private, the guide adapts the pace, the focus and the storytelling to children of any age. Please mention their ages when you book: depending on how young they are, we will suggest a length that keeps the visit a pleasure from beginning to end rather than one that outlasts their attention.
Most venues on the program are wheelchair accessible, including the Louvre, the Orsay, Notre-Dame and the main palace at Versailles, though some routes within them require adaptation. Montmartre is not suitable for wheelchairs due to its steep cobblestone streets. Where a visit is made in a wheelchair we add thirty minutes to the tour, at our own cost and not yours, because elevators, detours and quieter routes take time and the visit deserves not to be rushed for it. Please mention any accessibility requirements when booking and we will confirm exactly what is possible and adapt the itinerary accordingly.

Shaping your day

Most tours run between two and four hours, two being the most common for a single museum. One thing worth knowing about a museum visit: the first twenty to thirty minutes usually go to meeting your guide, passing security, leaving coats and bags at the coat check and a stop at the restrooms, so a two-hour tour is closer to ninety minutes in the galleries themselves. We would rather you knew that in advance than discovered it on the day. The châteaux and the days outside Paris run longer, as a half day or a full day. The exact duration is shown on every tour page, and because the tour is private, the pace within it is yours to set.
Always. Because every tour is private, the pace and emphasis adapt to you, whether you want a broad overview or to linger on a single period or theme. Tell us what draws you when you book, or use the day builder to shape a full day around your interests.
Yes. The day builder lets you combine several sites into one private day, morning, afternoon or evening, and shows which pairings work well together. If you prefer, simply tell us your interests through the contact form and we will design the day for you.
Yes. Beyond Paris we guide across Île-de-France, including Versailles, Giverny and Monet's garden, and Auvers-sur-Oise, where Van Gogh spent his final months. These are full-day experiences, and transport arrangements are discussed and confirmed when you book. Other regions, such as Normandy, the châteaux of the Loire Valley and Champagne, can be arranged on request. They are not listed on the site, as we remain a small company for now.

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