The first Sunday of the month is a wonderful day when many museums wave their entrance fees, so we've added it on to your sojourn as a bonus day. You can choose to explore on your own (we recommend the Musee d'Orsay or the Musee Quai Branly) or go on a guided tour of museums hand selected by your guide to include a collection of her favorite museums within walking distance of each other. 

Guided Tour: Beaubourg & Montorgueil

You’ll start the morning in the upper Marais visiting some of the city’s quirkier museums.  You’ll be able to choose to visit the Picasso Museum at your own pace or visit the surprisingly delightful Museum of Hunting and Nature with your guide and then meet back up with the group to head to a covered market for lunch. After lunch you’ll take a quick peek in a Church that houses an exhibit of early 20th century airplanes and automobiles. Then you’ll stroll along a lively permanent market street where you’ll pop in Paris’s oldest pastry boutique that is still making desserts using recipes once served at the Versailles Palace.  Next, it’s over to one of the most controversial modern architectural constructions in Paris, the Centre Georges Pompidou which houses an extraordinary collection of modern and contemporary art.  You’ll explore the museum at your own pace because you have the rest of the afternoon free.

OPTION (OPPORTUNITY TO SPLURGE): Let us know in advance if you'd like to add on dinner in the fancy museum restaurant "George" with it's panoramic views over the city. We'll make reservations for you to dine on your own. It is a bit pricey but the view is worth it. The museum is open exceptionally late on Sundays so you can enjoy the exhibits late and have a leisurely dinner, lingering to see the sun set over the rooftops (which happens around 10pm in Paris in July).

Notre Dame & the Lower Marais

This outing combines some of the most famous sights of the capital with charming walks and sweeping views along the two islands of Ile de la Cité and Ile Saint-Louis that form the historical and geographical epicenter of Paris.

Long before there was a nation called France, and well before the Roman invasion, there was Gaul. Gaul was populated by various Celtic tribes, including the city’s namesake: the Parisii who inhabited the Ile de la Cité.

In this vicinity it is possible to take a whirlwind tour of more than twelve centuries of early French history starting from one of Paris’ most famous attractions: the Notre Dame Cathedral where visitors will also gain insight into one of the most popular French jokes, that “Paris is the center of the universe” when they compete to see who is the first to find the Point Zéro from which all distances in France are measured.

Then you'll visit the lower part of the "Bohemian Bourgeois"district where you were the previous day. Built on reclaimed swampland (hence the name “marais”, French for swamp), this eclectic area bustling with sightseers, shoppers and locals is the best place to experience what a refined area of Paris would have felt like before the French Revolution. Here you will find delightful narrow streets lined with beautifully preserved 17th-Century aristocratic palaces, elegant boutiques, and exquisite little museums. Your guide will share some of the neighborhood secrets with you that most tourists never see including some medieval wood-frame buildings which are the oldest structures in the city, ducking though overlooked doorways and alleys into secluded courtyards and squares, as well as visits to museums including Victor Hugo's home.  After a laid back late lunch of street food that captures the ethnic spirit of the neighborhood, you will have the afternoon free to continue exploring on your own.

You’ll spend the morning taking in the Mona-Lisa and other highlights of the world-famous Louvre. Later you will  stroll along some nearby local secret spots. The owners of Sojourner Tours rented an apartment here one year and your guide is eager to show you her favorite places which are the early 19th century predecessor to department stores and shopping malls called the Passages Couverts. The inconspicuous entrances to these shopping arcades often go overlooked by tourists (and Parisians!), so you’ll feel like you are slipping into a network of secret passages. From refined mosaic floored paths protected by elegant glass canopies to an unpretentious corridors bursting with shops, each passage has its own unique character.

The rest of your day will be devoted to the 19th and 20th century, and particularly the luxury industry, which helped France forge its reputation for refinement. One of the highlights of the day is a stunning example of architecture from the period of Napoleon III’s Second Empire: the Opéra Garnier, an opera house so sumptuous that the French refer to it as a palace. You’ll enjoy the spectacular Art Nouveau architectural features and sweeping rooftop views in two of the oldest and finest French department stores. Then you’ll have some free time to shop there or explore the shops around the Neo-classical Madeleine Church, including some of France’s most legendary luxury food boutiques. 

OPTION (OPPORTUNITY TO SPLURGE): If you'd like to take a guided tour of the opera house during your free time, let us know in advance and we'll make the arrangements.

Eiffel Tower

You’ll begin your morning shopping for the day’s picnic lunch and souvenirs at a weekly traditional open air market located near the Eiffel Tower, the presence of which the vast majority of its visitors ignore. You’ll have lunch at the foot of Eiffel’s masterpiece to really enjoy the monument. Then you'll be free in the afternoon to either ascend the tower or  enjoying it from various attractions, much like turn of the 20th century World Fair visitors would have done. The World Fair exhibits have been replaced by some excellent museums and a large antique market.

Once known for its long gone windmills, today Montmartre is mainly famous for the artists who worked or lived here from the late 19th through early 20th century (including Toulouse-Lautrec, Degas, Matisse, Van Gogh, Renoir, Picasso, Modigliani…). Unfortunately, Montmartre is a victim of its own success. Now fully integrated into Paris, the cobblestoned streets of this old hilltop village are swarming with tourists and dotted with souvenir shops that virtually spoil its charm. However, you will visit the main sights during slow hours and slip away from the crowds to the secluded spots where Parisian families enjoy the pleasure of the area’s authentic original atmosphere. You’ll zigzag in and out of the tourist areas to discover the knoll’s finest spots while avoiding the biggest tourist traps.Fans of the film Amélie will be enchanted by the steep cobblestone labyrinth of narrow café-laden streets. Your day will include shopping at some specialty boutiques including one of France’s finest pastry shops for tomorrow night's picnic dinner. The owners of Sojourner Tours once lived here, so you’ll get a real peek at the Parisian life in this area. You'll have free time in the afternoon to continue to explore Montmartre and its shops or wind your way down to Pigalle, the red light district where you will see the famous Moulin Rouge.  

Today you will discover a side of Paris that  few tourists get to experience. You'll have the morning free and start the tour after lunch today. Paris’s contemporary art scene is nestled in the former industrial neighborhoods of the city’s north east corner. This is a gritty part of the city that your guide positively loves and her affection for this lower class part of town is contagious. You'll discover the bar and restaurant lined street of Oberkampf that Paris's hipsters frequent. You’ll be enthralled by the hip-hop art scene and the edgy urban revival that is unique to the area. You’ll stroll through the rolling emerald hills of the Romantic “English” garden Buttes-Chaumont Park, a favorite picnic spot for locals thanks to its lush scenery and unusual views of the city. You’ll visit the top artist venues where you might get a peek at some spontaneous local music, graffiti and break dancing in renovated former factories and slaughterhouses. You’ll also stroll around the cobblestone banks of the canal and take in the relaxed summer atmosphere. Your evening will end by the canal where you may choose to stay and picnic or eat in on a local bar terrace to take in the local night life. You might also opt to hop in the metro to go one stop back to the Oberkampf district to take in the night life there.

As another bonus on this sojourn, you have a special Saturday treat. Every week-end, a collection of fifteen markets with about 3,000 venders comes to life on the northern outskirts of Paris in St. Ouen.  The stalls range from vintage shops to refined antique boutiques. After a guided introduction to the area, you’ll have free time to explore, shop or enjoy a coffee at your own pace. You’ll enjoy lunch in a hipster-design restaurant.  In the afternoon, you can continue to browse in the markets on your own or take a stroll through the city of St. Ouen.

You will end the day with an elegant evening dinner cruise on the Seine a truly celebratory meal to mark the end of this commemorative sojourn with style.