A lot of times when I travel I have very little time in any one location. I need to see as many things as possible in a very short amount of time. In order to do that I often employ the help of a guide. While in Paris I called my friend Antoinette at Paris Personalized and scheduled 2 half day tours. It turned out to be the best thing I could have done. On the first day we took a walking tour that featured a few of the “highlights” of Paris (Notre Dame Cathedral, The Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Gardens), The Palais-Royal, Place Vendôme). Our guide, Leo, was incredible! She was a wealth of information and even took the time to teach us how to use the Metro.
Paris Personalized is known for putting together unusual and customized tours. My wife is a fashion designer and our second day of touring was centered around her. Antoinette arranged for us to visit Atelier Legeron. Monsieur Legeron’s family has been designing silk flowers for over 100 years and he now supplies some of the world’s most elite and famous couture fashion houses. His workshop is located on the upper floors of a nondescript Parisian building and stepping into his space is like taking a leap back in time. The studio is filled with “antique” equipment, old wooden work tables, and drawer upon drawer of samples from season’s past. They still do things the “old fashioned” way – by hand, and Monsieur Legeron still uses handwritten notes for all his designs (computers can crash, his grandfather’s and father’s notebooks never will). Monsieur Legeron was amazingly gracious and spent almost an hour showing us around his tiny studio and proudly demonstrating the intricacies of his family’s art. My wife was in heaven!
That afternoon we sat down to lunch at La Regalade on rue Saint Honoré (I’d highly recommend this place if you’re into food.) Afterwards we took a jaunt through the Paris catacombs and then Père Lachaise Cemetery. We rounded out the day with a trip to the Eiffel tower, Arc de Triomphe, and a stroll down the Champs-Élysées.
Two and half days, lots to see. We’ll definitely be back!
Andrew Rocchio Travel 