Small group - evening visit to Louvre - which night?
We are taking the Normandy, Brittany, Paris and Loire Valley small group land tour in April 2025. At the end, we have two full days in Paris (evening arrival from Giverny, first full day is a city bus tour in the morning and walking tour in the afternoon; second full day offers Musee d'Orsay and a farewell dinner.)
We are repeat visitors to Paris and plan to spend the first full day on our own (opting out of the bus tour and the walking tour). We plan to get tickets to places we want to see and use public transportation or walk.
I've considered a boat ride on the Seine but it was also mentioned that the small group tours are also given an evening tour of the Louvre. I would not want to book a boat tour that conflicts with the Louvre visit. Can any offer insight as to the timing of the Lourve visit? The Tauck agent is not able to help over the phone. The itinerary for this tour does not mention the Louvre visit at all but I know I read it somewhere!
Comments
Per the 2024 & 2025 itineraries posted on Tauck's website and in my 2025 color catalog, they don't include the Louvre after hours visit anymore. I believe they had some issues with the museum canceling on them and have dropped that activity. You could call Tauck to double check. It's too bad as it was a highlight of the tour for us.
We are going on this trip this fall. An after hours tour is not included on our itinerary. We have scheduled a morning tour on our own the first full day in Paris rather than taking the bus tour.
When we did this tour in 2023, not all tours (small group or otherwise) visited the Louvre. The only way to tell was to call Tauck. I did and found out our tour would not visit the Louvre. So, we booked a private guide who we met after the Tauck bus tour. We had time to visit Sainte Chapel, the Conciergerie, and the Louvre with her. The Louvre was very crowded and we only had a little over two hours to spend there- from what we heard it was about the same amount of time Tauck typically spent there. Our guide knew right where they were located and the best route to get there, so we saw many of the biggies.
The next day we departed the group after the Musee D'Orsay visit and walked to the Roden museum and then to the Eiffel Tower before walking back to the hotel, Le Meurice. We had a little time to rest and freshen up before the farewell at Fouquets. We purchased tickets for everything in Versailles and Paris in the months and weeks before our tour.
These are awesome pictures, thanks. Brings back good memories
Yes, the Tauck afterhours tour wasn't long. Mostly the guide focuses on Venus de Milo, Winged Victory, Mona Lisa and 1 other painting I don't remember. The main advantage was no crowds.
Thanks everyone for the info and awesome pictures! We have been to Paris before so trying to figure out what to squeeze into our time while the group might be doing something we aren't interested in like a bus tour of the city. I will call Tauck regarding the Lourve tour.
Surgie,
We enjoy the Montmartre area (highest point in Paris). The little train/trolley is fun to take as it goes up and up the hill. You would need several hours, however.
Another option would be to explore the Marais District—the old Jewish quarter in the 4th arrondissement. It's a great place to stroll and have a scrumptious falafel.
If interested, your hotel's concierge can assist with transportation options.
Thank you for those suggestions kfnknfzk. I called Tauck and the agent said the small group Louvre tour did not happen at all in 2024, she suspects due to the Olympics and preparation. Tauck has submitted date requests for 2025 but they have not heard anything back yet so I will wait a couple months and check back.
You are most welcome. I do hope you can experience the after-hours Louvre tour. Good luck to you.
AlanS you have put together a good description of your trip to Normandy, Brittany, Paris & Loire Valley in 2023. Do you have a copy of your Tauck Tour Director's itinerary given to you on the trip? it would be helpful. Thanks
ricwig
Thanks.
Well, I looked- I save everything, from every trip- I have every ticket, stub, attraction brochure, map, menu, etc, etc. from this trip, enough to fill an accordion folder, but can not find a TD itinerary! My wife says she doesn't think we got one, which would be unusual. I don't remember, but, in any case, we unfortunately do not have one. Sorry.
This is our first Tauck trip, which we are looking forward to. It seemed that Tauck encourages people to "dress" for dinner. This is a fine idea, but do people really do it? Thanks.
It depends on the group you get. With only one suitcase allowed, it can also be an absolute pain to pack stuff you barely wear for a couple of hours.
I will say that some do and others don't, I would just go for the welcome and farewell dinners, for the rest unless you are going to a castle I wouldn't worry, also look at how many dinners you have on your own.
We just returned from the Normandy, Brittany, Paris, etc. we were encouraged to "dress" for the welcome dinner and dinner at Le Meurice Hotel (not the Farewell dinner) Le Meurice dinner is a 3 Micheline star restaurant in a gorgeous dining room. Tables are for 2 or 4, so it is appropriate to dress up. That said,most of our group were seniors and the men wore sport jackets, but you are on your own...just don't wear jeans! The Farewell dinner is at Fouquets which is an upscale old-fashioned brasserie, so business casual is perfect. Other group dinners were mostly nice but casual attire. Our group did not get to do the chateau dinner with the hounds (for which Tauck has apologized) so that might be more dress up. If you have more questions about this trip in particular send my a private message by accessing the link at the above right corner of this page. (PS, we had one large bag each and 2 carryons...Tauck never complained)