News
from: Meeting the French
www.meetingthefrench.com
Written by: Durant Imboden, Europeforvisitors.com
Published: January, 2009

ABOVE: Claude Esnault, proprietor of the oldest bakery in Paris, demonstrates his baguette-slashing technique.

'Meeting the Parisians at Work' offers behind-the-scenes tours for as little as €6

JANUARY, 2009 - For several years, Meeting the French, www.meetingthefrench.com, has offered a year-round schedule of inexpensive behind-the-scenes visits to bakeries, pastry shops, musical-instrument makers, fashion studios, and other businesses in Paris.

The tour program, called "Meeting the Parisians at Work," is a joint venture of Meeting the French and the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau. Most tours last about 45 to 60 minutes, are conducted in French and English, and cost only 6 to 10 euros per person. (Group sizes are limited, which makes for an intimate, up-close-and-personal experience.)

Meeting the French has just announced its "Meeting the Parisians at Work" calendar for 2009, which includes visits to locations such as:

• Gérard Mulot, a renowned chocolatier and pastry maker.

• Balcaen, a high-end French furniture workshop.

• Au Grand Richelieu, the oldest bakery in Paris (see our Au Grand Richelieu article at Paris for Visitors).

• Boulangerie Veronique Mauclerc, the only bakery in France to have both a female proprietor and a wood-burning oven (see our Boulangerie Veronique Mauclerc article at Paris for Visitors).

• La Coupole, an historic (and a famous) Parisian restaurant.

• Phonogalery, a shop, exhibition space, and conservation studio for  vintage gramophones, 78-rpm records, and recorded cylinders.

• Ets. Légeron, which has made finery from artificial flowers and feathers since 1717.

• Jacques Gauthier, a studio that makes and restores fine leather articles.

Different tours are offered each week, and many tours are available several times per month. For a schedule of visits through July, see the tour calendar at Meetingthefrench.com.

Editor's note: Meeting the French also offers gastronomic tours and meet-the-locals dinner opportunities in private homes. Laurence Monclard and her staff have our highest personal recommendation. For more about the company and what it offers, visit www.meetingthefrench.com.

Back to Travel News

To European Cruise News

 

Copyright © 1996-2009 Durant and Cheryl Imboden and their licensors.
All rights reserved.