Paris & France Travel Guide

France & Paris Tour Guide: the main sights, the famous castles and  fortresses, the best museums, WW1 – WW2 battlefields, the wineries etc. You can see the regions and the cities of France on our historical map below. Our Paris Tour Guide will help you to choose the interesting routes for your trips from Paris for a day or more.

Who is our site made for? We have made our Guide for those who like to travel to Paris and the regions of France, overseas territories and even former colonies and concessions. We post not only modern photographs, but also views of France many years ago, and take you on a virtual journey into the past. Our site is also made for military history lovers, collectors, WW1-WW2 re-enactors from all over the world, for our friends and colleagues. We pay special attention to professional and amateur athletes, posting useful information about winter and summer sports. The entire year 2024 is dedicated to the Olympic Games in France, and this makes our information especially relevant for tourists. A hobby is not only military history and sports; a hobby is a wide variety of different hobbies. We try to post information about different types of hobbies and places associated with them in France.

Attention! The entire Archive and Guide of the Kubinka Tank Museum has been moved here from the Russian domain. New archives have been added, previously unpublished. Archives are in the process of being transferred to the Saumur Tank Museum (until 2014, “friend and brother” of the Kubinka Museum). Check out our new Kubinka Museum Archive and Guide.

Part 1 – Guide to Paris and regions of France. Tourists from different countries have their own travel preferences. For example, tourists from China are very fond of nature and walk a lot. Travelers from the USA love cars, motorcycles and other vehicles, and also prefer comfortable trips. We have 25 years of experience and know what exactly interests tourists from different countries. We ourselves select and describe the best attractions in cities and regions, supplemented by old photographs from our own archive. In accordance with the traditions of tourism, we ourselves study all the routes “with our feet”, and also write our personal travel experiences and reviews about the objects. On our Guide we also post old and modern maps of the area with useful marks.

Part 2 – Guide to Museums and Historical Events. Why do we make reference books and what are they based on? Our team has professional museum staff and historians, which makes the description of French Museums and Sites extensive and advanced. Only an expert can describe exhibitions and artifacts correctly and in detail, as well as take and post the necessary photographs. You can find a description in a special section of the website “Best Museums” or in the region of France where it is located. All French National Military Museums have exhibits related to international history and events in other countries and continents. Brief description and Multimedia tools tell visitors about important events in world history related to the exhibition of the hall or specific objects. In our guide we provide our own descriptions of objects and events based on our collection of artifacts, archives and knowledge. We have already transferred part of our collection to the French National Museums, so our description of the exhibits is the most complete and expanded. Walking around Paris, you can come across Stalingrad Square or Normandy-Niemen Squadron Street. For this reason, we provide our own detailed descriptions of these events and the battle sites themselves, based on our archives and visiting experience. The top part of the “Best Museums” menu item gives links to French museums, forts, castles, and battle sites. The bottom of this page contains a guide to important international events, the World’s largest museums, collections and archives. We pay special attention to the Eastern Front of the First and Second World Wars, where the fate of the whole world was decided. The Cold War, local wars in Southeast Asia, Africa and the Middle East are also associated with the exhibitions of the Museums of France. Please note that some of our collections of documents and photographs on former concessions and French military bases have no analogues and are unique. This part of our site is also constantly updated.

About our team. Our team is a union of professional drivers, licensed guides with education in history and art, museum staff, historians, and former military personnel from the Army of France and Eastern Europe. This allows us to communicate with colleagues and conduct tours in different languages. The team includes both French citizens by birth and emigrants of the first, second and third waves of emigration from Eastern Europe. Once upon a time, emigrants from Europe also founded the USA and made it a Great Country. The Union of Taxi Drivers in Paris and France was founded in 1924 by emigrants from Soviet Russia after the 1917 revolution, former military men and participants in the First World War. France lost many men at this time, and emigrants partially filled the gaps. As a result, former officers and generals began working as taxi drivers and tour guides throughout France, especially in Paris, Nice and the Alps. The children of these emigrants entered the Military School in Saint-Cyr or Saumur and also became officers in the French Army. Emigrants also enlisted in the Foreign Legion and received French citizenship. Members of our team saw still alive officers and sergeants, participants in the First World War, who left us with magnificent memories and unique military archives and museum collections. These first drivers and their children also left us old maps of cities and regions, official and personal photographs of the sights of France, tourist brochures and extensive work experience. Now these taxi veterans of ours sometimes conduct “master tours” for us, showing us interesting places and sharing their experience with us. We place tourist archives in the first part of our website, military archives and collections of artifacts in the second. But our generation of drivers and guides have also been leading tours in Europe, Asia and Africa for over 25 years. We also place photographs and descriptions of our tours to the battlefields of the Eastern Front, Asia and Africa in the second part of our Guide, and photographs of France in the first part, perfectly complementing them with views of more than 100 years ago.

Best Museums. The top of this menu section includes directory links to our descriptions of the best French Museums, Castles, Fortresses, Forts, Memorials and Battlefields. The lower part of the menu section includes descriptions of events, famous battles, museums, archives and private collections from around the world, linked to the exhibitions and objects of the French museums above.
– The best military, historical, technical museums in France & Paris. Our specialists have compiled professional descriptions of museum collections, including the use of our archival materials. Our team is actively involved in the life of the main French museums, for which we received a large number of thanks and the special status of “les amis du musée”, which allows us to make special author’s extended tours for guests and VIP clients. We have compiled a list of the best military and historical museums in France. We present part of this list below, and the entire list can be viewed in the “Best Museums” menu item. In this section we have included the most interesting castles in the Loire Valley and other places, as well as forts and fortresses.

– Louvre, the main collection of paintings and artifacts of all eras and peoples
– Les Invalides and Army Museum  – from Napoleon to Soviet partisans
– Saumur Tank Museum, is one of the 5 world leaders, located in the Loire Valley
– Air and Space museum in Le Bourget – separate and Normandie-Niemen hall
– Reims Automobile museum – Cars, motorcycles, the largest collection, Champagne
– Great War Museum in Meaux – world leader in WWI topics
– “Verdun Citadel” fortress, World War I famous battle and show 1916-2016

You can also find links to descriptions of these museums in the sections of cities and regions of France.

–The most famous WW1 – WW2 Battles and Battlefields. We have compiled our own guide to the history of the First World War, the Second World War, both on the Western Front in France and on the Eastern Front. The menu item ends with a section on the Cold War and modernity. Verdun Citadel and Reims, Champagne and Normandy, the Battle of the Somme and the Marne – you will find all this in this section of the menu or in regions of France.

Paris Attractions. Paris is the capital of France and the most important city for tourists. For this reason, we not only highlighted it with a special menu item, but also included all the useful information in this section. Main attractions and interesting places, shops, transport, useful tips and reviews. We supplemented modern views of the city with old photographs and postcards from our collection.

Airport & Transfer From a practical point of view, the arrival airport is very important for tourists. Depending on the region or part of the country you want to visit, the most popular airports are Charles de Gaulle, Orly and Beauvais for Paris and neighboring regions, Nice for the Cote d’Azur, Lyon-Saint-Exupery or Geneva for the Alps. In this section we describe in detail the main airport Charles de Gaulle with maps, photo galleries and reviews, and also provide links to Orly and Beauvais. How to get to Paris, transfer and taxi – what are the problems and how to solve them. You can also find links to our descriptions of airports in the regions and cities sections.

Private Tours in Paris. In this section of the Guide we provide a list of the most popular sightseeing tours in Paris and the regions. A classic tour from Paris to the Loire Valley is a visit to the Royal Castles and wineries in the surrounding area. We offer our authors private tours to the middle and distant zones of the Loire Valley with visits to historical and military museums in Saumur and Angers. We do combined trips, including sightseeing tours with visits to battle sites and military museums.
– Classic sightseeing private tours in and from Paris.
– Private tours from Paris to WW1-WW2 battlefields in Verdun, Champagne, Somme, Normandy, Calais.

Best private tours in Paris:

– City Sightseeing tours in Paris by a car – acquaintance with the capital with a guide
– Walking tour of Montmartre – favorite place for the  tourists from all over the world
– Best Loire Valley tours from Paris, Castles & Winery – heritage of the ancestors
– Champagne houses in Epernay – museums, cellars and sparkling tasting rooms &
– Champagne, Reims city – the Cathedral where the kings of France were crowned…
– Chartres from Paris – the medieval city of Bourbons coronation and mosaics
– Normandy – Rouen and Jeanne d’ Arc, Trouville, Caen and D-Day landing
– Verdun Citadel fortress, trenches of the 1st World War, performances and shows
– “Evening Paris” – a night trip around Paris for the New Year and Christmas
Note. We conduct our author’s tour for tourists and businessmen of all countries and all nationalities, primarily from USA, Canada, Australia, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Czech Republic, Baltic States. In addition to English-speaking guides, we also use Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian and other languages of the former USSR.

You can find the current list of tours in the menu item “Private tours in Paris” or in the sections “Champagne”, “Normandy”, “Alps” and “Côte d’Azur”.

Normandy & D-Day. In reality, Normandy is a “country within a country” in terms of diversity, an attraction and a wonderful part of France. Formally, for tourists, Normandy is divided into Upper and Lower. There is everything interesting for lovers of nature, history, wine, cheese, and fine iron arts. Fortresses and sandy beaches, Calvados and cider. The D-Day battlefield museums are the most famous in the world. Located on the border of Normandy, the island and fortress of Mont Saint-Michel is also included in this menu item. Hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world visit Normandy every year and then come here again and again.

Loire Valley & Castles. The Loire Valley is a huge part of France, but tourists only know the immediate area, where the Royal Castles of Amboise, Chenonceau and Blois are located. Three castles in one day is a classic form of initial acquaintance for tourists in the Loire Valley. But there are dozens of other castles and medieval towns with ancient houses, narrow streets and various museums. Look carefully at this section and you will find interesting Museums, for example “Cooperations of Craftsmen”. Craftsmen and the history of the Freemasons, medieval household items, clothing, shoes – everything is in this wonderful Museum in the city of Tours. In Breze you will find an underground fortress and learn more about the basements of castles. Saumur is home to one of the 5 largest tank museums in the world. Fans of the battlefields of the tours will be very surprised when they learn that during the Defense of France in 1940 there were strong battles here. In Angers you can visit the Museum of Engineers and Fortification. The Isle of Machines in Nantes is the world’s largest entertainment technology park based on the fantasies of Jules Verne. Tourists who know a lot about wine can spend their entire vacation in the Loire Valley tasting different varieties and types of wines. Our team explores every town and village in the Loire Valley and constantly finds new interesting places.

Champagne & WW1 Battlefields. Champagne is also one of the most visited tourist regions in France. The kings of France were crowned in the Cathedral of Reims. Reims is also home to the world’s largest automobile museum. Epernay is the world capital of sparkling wines. Everything in the wine cellars has been preserved as it was 100 years ago. Bottles in sand, barrels, corks and labels. Excellent wine museums of the famous brands de Castellane and Mercier. Fort Pompelle will open its doors and casemates for fans of the battle site tour. Memorials and monuments of the First World War are found in many places in Champagne.

Alps & Ski Resorts. French mountain resorts are considered the oldest and best in the world. Using a cable car, you can travel tens of kilometers while sitting. Ski slopes are available for both beginners and professionals. But the Alps are good not only in winter, but in all seasons of the year. Summer holidays in the mountains are a fairy tale for children and adults. Hiking and cycling, swimming in lakes and pools, Nordic walking and even helicopter flights, evening discos. Few people know, but at some resorts you can ski in the summer too. The funicular will take you from summer to winter in less than an hour. But the Alps also have beautiful old towns and fortresses. Visit Grenoble and its Fort Bastille! There is a whole amusement park here. Museum of the history of skiing and ropeways for professional athletes and beginners. Fans of WW2 battlefields will find an excellent military museum of mountain riflemen here and learn about the resistance movement. There are also forts and fortresses located throughout the mountains, which can be visited by booking a taxi or a private tour. In our directory we also show information about the Mountain Front of the First World War in Italy and Austria, military museums and battle sites. How to get from the airport of Geneva or Grenoble, transfer and of course, a taxi with a driver who speaks your language.

Cote d’Azur & Riviera. This part of France is traditionally considered a beach holiday destination. There are excellent beaches for every taste. Prices for services vary from moderate to very expensive. Boat trips are offered in every city. Cannes hosts an annual film festival. There are numerous museums, coastal forts and mountain forts. The Cote d’Azur has the most beautiful ancient villages. There is no clear border of the Cote d’Azur, so Toulon and Marseille can be included here. These cities are great tourist destinations with excellent museums and forts. Everyone has read Alexandre Dumas and knows about the prison on the Isle of If. Of course, the Count of Monte Cristo is a fictional character, but many tourists want to visit the real Château d’If. The history of the Allied landings in World War II is as interesting as D-Day in Normandy. Military museums in the south of France await fans of WW2 battle sites and tours. Traditional French cuisine, seafood and wine from all regions will make your holiday enjoyable. In this guide we also show views of the Cote d’Azur using vintage postcards from our collection.

Nice & Cannes Trips. Sightseeing tours in Nice and Cannes have existed for more than a hundred years and are in great demand among tourists. In addition to classic tours, we also offer various historical and battlefield trips covering various eras from Napoleon Bonaparte to the Second World War. Below we provide examples of the most popular private tours from Nice and Cannes.
– Sightseeing tour of Nice, walking and driving
– Cannes, a trip from any city on the Côte d’Azur with a guide
– The whole Riviera in one day, overview of all interesting places
— Principality of Monaco, Monte Carlo and its legendary casino
– One day trip to Italy, acquaintance and bazaars, San-Remo
– Provence, Nimes and Avignon, Toulon and the port city of Marseille, Château d’If
— Napoleon’s Road, perfume — excursions to Grasse and the Alps
– Author’s guide to the Cote d’Azur, Cannes and Nice.
We offer a complete current list of tours in the menu section.