• Private Tour
• Carbon Neutral

Let's imagine how the liberation of Paris from the WWII must have been. Intrigued? Join me on a historical walking tour and go back in time to this historic day. Visit iconic spots & hear unique war stories as you discover the city!

Destination

Paris, France

Category

City Highlight Tours

Duration

3 hours

Transport mode

Walking tour

Available languages

Français, English

Included

• Private guide

What you can expect

This is the plan

Check out the plan below to see what you'll get up to with your local host. Feel free to personalize this offer with Lucien.

1. Meeting point

   Meet at 2 Place Edmond Rostand - Paris to start your journey

   View on Maps

2. Itinerary

   This is what our experience could look like, but it’s not set in stone! Once you book, you can chat directly with your host to make small tweaks to suit your preferences.

3. Meeting Point

   Greetings in front of the beautiful Luxembourg Garden

4. Stop 1

   Visit the Luxembourg Garden where the Allied tanks fought ferociously the German garrison

5. Stop 2

   Discover the Latin Quarter known as the heart of Parisian universities, which was once the route of the armoured division of the national war hero, General Leclerc

6. Stop 3

   Cross the Seine to the City Island and admire the Notre Dame and hear some of its countless stories

7. Stop 4

   Walk by the grand Hotel de Ville and learn more about the part of Paris which suffered most from the occupation

8. Stop 5

   Stroll down Le Maris' lovely streets and see the contrast from pictures from 1939 and 1940

9. End of Tour

   Goodbyes & more local recommendations

10. Make it yours

    Want to tweak the itinerary? Book directly & chat afterwards with your host to adjust highlights, skip stops, or make small changes to fit your preferences.

    Book risk-free: Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund.

    Need something special? Personalize your experience for more time, alternative locations or a completely tailored plan.

I can personalize this tour for you

• Tell me your preferred date and group size
• Tell me your preferences and wishes so I can customize the tour for you
• Wait for my personal offer in your inbox!

Contact me

Flexible cancellation policy

• Feel confident booking

  Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund. Even up to 7 days before your experience, you’ll receive a refund, minus the service fee.

• Change of plans?

  Reschedule your experience to a date and time that works best for you.

• Loved by travelers worldwide

  Simple and flexible – your plans, your way.

Reviews from guests

daniellespiegel

23 December 2024

David

16 November 2024

It was an incredibly miserable day with rain and cold and Lucien turned it around for us. He was incredibly knowledgeable, funny, charming and the perfect guide. We would highly recommend him.

Leslie🇳🇱 Netherlands

28 October 2024

We really enjoyed our Paris WWII Resistance tour with Lucien. He is clearly passionate and knowledgable about the subject and we enjoyed getting to know him a bit. Fantastic!

Lyn

4 October 2024

We joined Lucien for a 3 hour tour , “The Liberation of Paris” on a cold morning in the Luxembourg Gardens. We enjoyed Lucien’s commentary & insights & found him to be delightful & knowledgeable.A morning with Lucien in Paris

Colleen

3 October 2024

Lucien was very knowledgeable. We had a great time! Only correction: 3 hours was about 30 minutes too long.Liberation and resistance

Annette

1 October 2024

I thought I knew a bit about Mont Marte, having visited a few times before, but Lucien brought so many new perspectives and stories. He obviously likes his job, which comes across in his story telling and enthusiasm for the area. It was really well paced. He is funny, interesting and great at managing a mid to large sized group. I took two initially-resistent teenagers and they loved it. A highlight of our Paris trip. Highly recommend. Please make sure you approach him about payment - he is a bit shy to ask for a tip. Seeing Mont Marte through new eyes

Taylor🇺🇸 United States

19 September 2024

We absolutely loved our tour with Lucien. One of the people in our group was a history buff yet we all found the tour fascinating. Lucien is SO knowledgeable about not only WWII but history in general. We had such a great time and would definitely book with Lucien again.Fascinating tour with a fantastic guide!

Chris🇬🇧 United Kingdom

8 September 2024

This guy is brilliant. So energetic, knowledgeable and engaging. We had an incredible three hours. We learnt so much Highly recommended A genuine enthusiast

Peter🇨🇦 Canada

30 April 2024

Lucien is a passionate storyteller who weaves family stories into the modern history of Paris and France during the period of liberation. He is enthusiastic about these topics and a friendly and engaging guide. His English cadence is similar to the rapid French manner of speaking and he might benefit from slowing down a bit…but he has so much to convey in a short time!!! All in all, a good personal tour with a mix of history and some insight into modern French life. Midern History

Patricia 🇺🇸 United States

17 April 2024

We did a WWII French resistance tour with Lucien. His grasp of the history and the specific details were incredible. His deep knowledge and preparation was quite evident. Also, his ability to relay it to us was great. There is no way we could have done this on our own. Definitely a value added tour and worth the money. I give him the highest praise. Lucien was fantastic!

Yen🇺🇸 United States

21 March 2024

Among our family of four, there is a WW2 history nut, a recent college grad (humanities), and a current college student --- we were all pleasantly surprised by the high quality and depth of Lucien's tour. Lucien gave us great background and context as we walked around the sights in Paris relative to WW2. Lucien's English is superb and his enthusiasm is wonderful. Wow! Enthusiastic and super knowledgeable

Rebecca

17 August 2023

My husband and I are big history buffs and love Paris. We were very excited to take Lucien’s tour after reading all his wonderful reviews and we are happy to say, he exceeded all expectations! Do not miss a tour with him! His knowledge of history, his passion for Paris and his family history made the events of the Paris liberation come to life. We enjoyed our discussion of history and his unique Parisian perspective. He offers more than just the liberation, we can’t wait to come back and take all the rest of his tours! Merci, Lucien! Best Tour Ever!

Richard🇺🇸 United States

5 July 2023

Lucian’s obvious love of history made his explanations of the politics and events leading up to the liberation of Paris during WW2 absolutely fascinating. As other reviewers have noted, his knowledge, passion and personal style made for an informative and extremely enjoyable tour of the major landmarks involved in the fight to rid Paris of its German occupiers. I especially appreciated Lucien’s willingness to share his personal opinions about the thinking and motivations behind the decisions & actions taken by the principal players in this drama. It was just my wife and I on the tour so I had the opportunity to pepper Lucien with non-stop questions in what was essentially a three-hour conversation with him. Great tour, wonderful guide and definitely worth the $$.Terrific tour

Stephanie🇨🇦 Canada

23 April 2023

Lucien's passion for French history and politics shines through on this tour. It was very interesting learning about the liberation of Paris during WWII and the politics of the time. Lucien told us interesting stories along the way. We especially enjoyed the photos of the sites during the war as we were standing in the same site today. This wouldn't be suited well for younger children due to the length (2.5 hrs +), but for teens and adults with an interest in WWII and French history, I'd highly recommend!Informative and historic

Mark🇺🇸 United States

31 January 2023

Lucien was knowledgeable and passionate about the sharing the history of the occupation. We enjoyed it.Lucien was excellent

bobbigelow🇺🇸 United States

10 September 2022

Lucien has passion and an in depth knowledge of the subject. Great morning and learned a lot, ThanksGreat tour!

Kathleen🇺🇸 United States

15 August 2022

Our tour began at Luxembourg Garden where Lucien shared pictures and stories of the German occupation of Paris. We then walked through the streets and boulevards and Lucien explained the history of the French resistance leading ultimately the liberation of Paris. His family history adds so much depth to his knowledge of the times. I recommend this tour to anyone interested in the history of WWll

sherene🇺🇸 United States

4 August 2022

We had so much fun with Lucien! My 11 and 9 yr old boys are World War Two addicts! They loved this experience! I also got very into It. We had a great time! Amazing walking tour!

s_hubay🇨🇦 Canada

21 July 2022

We really enjoyed our walk with Lucien. He was extremely knowledgeable about the history of Paris and France in general as well as of course specifically the liberation of Paris at the end of WW2 which was the subject of our walk. He made history come to life! He was full of energy and enthusiastically discussed any aspect of Paris and its past we asked. Highly recommended. A walk thorugh recent french history

Joel🇺🇸 United States

27 May 2022

Passion-the major point of Lucien is his passion for France, Paris and his subjects. We had Lucien for two tours. The 1st was a tour of the Louvre; Lucien showed us the highlights as well as some of his favorite pieces, but the part that stood out was his background in teaching. Our daughter who is 20 is Autistic and is not good with large crowds or noise. Lucien was helpful in finding places that she could sit while we toured and always made sure our route was perfect so she was included, but if she wanted to sit out a step, it didn't interfere with what he was doing. He truly understood what she was going thru and helped us without it reducing our Louvre experience. For that, we are VERY appreciative of Lucien. Our 2nd tour was the Liberation of Paris. The 1st thing with this was Lucien's flexibility. We had to do COVID tests for our return trip to the U.S. We had a minor time conflict with our tests and our tour. Lucien was flexible to push back our time. Additionally, the start of our tour coincided with a thunderstorm, so Lucien found us a Bistro to sit at and he did his "Lecture" part while we enjoyed drinks. If you're a fan of WWII history, this is the tour to take with Lucien. his passion (there's that word again) comes thru as well as his stories, from his own family, regarding the resistance fighters was fantastic. Having us see the Liberation of Paris from that perspective was great. It wasn't just "soldiers" who achieved this, but the citizens of Paris, who took it upon themselves to take care of their homes. All the while, while walking, Lucien is pointing out other Parisian highlights that might not be part of the tour. Anyone would be wise to look for the tours that Lucien provides and work them into your schedule.Full of Knowledge, Energy and Passion

Andrew🇺🇸 United States

5 April 2022

We are avid WWII history buffs. Lucien understood our interest and tailored his tour with great flourish. He provided a great backgrounder in the situation in Paris that led up to the liberation, and then pointed out landmarks on the walk that aligned with the timeline of the Resistance’s actions and the Allied movement into the city. Along the way Lucien shared recommendations and personal reflections of his life in Paris, making for a highly engaging conversation during a morning walk on a sunny but brisk spring day. Bringing history to life

Vicki🇨🇦 Canada

18 March 2022

Lucien gave us an absolutely riveting tour of Paris during the liberation. It was a rainy day and a bit cold but it didn't matter. We enjoyed every minute of it. Lucien is very well prepared, easy to understand and clearly passionate about his subject. He not only answered our questions about Paris during the war but also about other aspects and eras of the cities. We'd give the tour a full ten out of ten!Best tour ever!

Jennifer🇫🇷 France

3 January 2022

Lucien was interesting and you could tell he loved the topic of the tour. Fun guy to spend 3 hours with on a winter day! Recommended Fun tour

Unknown

13 November 2021

Sharon🇮🇱 Israel

8 November 2021

We had a perfect day, weather-wise, and loved our tour with Lucien who shared the history combined with personal stories from his family. Highly recommendedVery interesting tour focused on the Liberation of Paris

Jill🇺🇸 United States

4 November 2021

We enjoyed an excellent walking tour with Lucien about the Liberation of Paris. There is so much focus on Normandy and D-Day as we think about WWII, so it was great to learn the details of the liberation of Paris. Lucien is extremely knowledgeable and engaging. He is passionate about the history and included personal stories about the impacts to his own family. Thanks Lucien!Liberation of Paris

Elisabeth🇺🇸 United States

16 September 2021

Lucien is very knowledgeable and passionate about French history. We had a great walk of the Liberation of Paris. He shared his family’s personal story and showed me many photographs from the events. It was very moving to walk where the events took place and see the scars on the buildings where they were hit by bullets. He has a very nuanced understanding of WWII. I will definitely do more tours with him on my future trips to Paris!Knowledgeable and passionate

Diane🇨🇦 Canada

2 March 2020

Lucien was an excellent guide and his insight made Paris during Liberation come alive for me. He was easy to understand as he took me thru the streets using historic images to show me how these neighbourhoods looked during the occupation. His collection of newspapers gathered from his Grandparents shows how passionate he is about preserving history and his enthusiasm about the subject was infectious. Highly recommended tour. Terrific & knowledgeable guide

Bruce🇦🇺 Australia

13 January 2020

We thouroughly enjoyed our guided walking tour with Lucien who guided us through the background to and the eventual liberation of Paris after WW2. Lucien's personal family newspapers from the time that he shared with us brought the events of this time into context for those then living in Paris and dealing with the difficulties of the period. A very knowledgeable, engaging and personal person such as Lucien really made us appreciate the things that we were seeing today in context rather than just walking passed them ignorant of there significance. Thanks Lucien for a wonderful afternoon! Tracy and Bruce (Australia)Liberating Paris

Dale

9 November 2019

Lucien was friendly and knew all the little details that made the tour come alive; I felt like I was immersed in history, standing in the exact spot where history was made.History Lesson with Lucien

Judith🇺🇸 United States

5 November 2019

We really enjoyed our tour with Lucien. Although the tour was primarily about WW2, he also gave us some interesting info on other topics. He gave us suggestions on additional points of interest and restaurants. He is very well researched and enthusiastic.Well Done!

Holley🇨🇦 Canada

15 August 2019

When I booked this tour I hadn't realized that this summer was the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Paris. Now that it is so much in the news right now I am very glad we had the opportunity to see so many places and hear so much about this historic event. Lucien was an amazing guide, informative, engaging and clearly passionate about the subject. We would book him as a guide again without hesitation.Great tour

Kelley🇺🇸 United States

2 June 2019

Lucien was a delightful tour guide. He is extremely knowledgeable about World War II, German occupation of Paris and history in general. I would highly recommend his tour.Great experience

Steve🇺🇸 United States

9 May 2019

We had a wonderful tour with Lucien. His knowledge about the occupation and liberation is extensive. Lucien’s stories about his relatives living in Paris during this period made his tour even more interesting. Lucien is a very friendly person, and we would not hesitate to take another of his tours.Liberation of Paris

Gilda🇺🇸 United States

4 May 2019

He had an amazing knowledge the history of the area that he took us to. Took us all over Paris and everywhere he went he would explain where we were and the history behind it. We learnt so much. I would highly recommend this tour with Lucien!Amazing knowledge

Jerry

17 October 2018

I enjoyed my private tour with Lucien. He is very knowledgeable about the history of Paris during WWII. I especially liked his newpapers from 1939 and his "then and now" photos.The Liberation of Paris: A Historical Walking Tour

Christine🇩🇪 Germany

8 October 2018

We've wanted to do a few tours in Paris, but since we've been there so often, we wanted to experience a different kind of tour than your typical tourist sites. So when I found "The Liberation of Paris: A Historic Walking Tour" I knew this was the right tour for us. Learning about the German occupation of Paris, the French resistance and ultimately the liberation of Paris during World War II was amazing. And being able to walk in the footsteps of some of the resistance fighters and see the bullet holes still visible in some of the buildings makes it so real. I love that this was a private tour, so it was just myself, my husband and our tour guide Lucian. We could not have asked for a better guide. He's wonderfully full of historical facts, great stories about Parisian & WWII history from his grandfather (who was in the French army and was captured and sent to a POW camp) and even has original newspapers and magazines from that time to help illustrate the story. He has a real passion for Paris and it's history. He relayed anecdotes about other subjects, buildings and historical events during our tour so I can imagine that the other tours he offers would be just as engaging. If you are looking for a unique tour while in Paris, I can not recommend this enough.Fascinating tour and great guide

Linda🇺🇸 United States

7 October 2018

Lucien gave us a fascinating tour on the left bank about the Occupation of Paris. He is passionate about the subject, which always makes things more interesting. He shared items from his collection of magazine and newspapers from World War II and also had a great book which showed pictures of present-day Paris with photos from World War II superimposed over part of them. He pointed out other places of interest on our walk and was very gracious about answering general questions we had. I would love to take another tour with him.Great Occupation Tour with Lucien

Martine🇨🇦 Canada

2 October 2018

Our time with Lucien was very good Lucien is passionate about history of Paris and will answer all questions He speaks English well I recommend Lucien as a guide, you won’t be disappointed Liberation of Paris with Lucien

Venkiteswaran

12 August 2018

Lucien was friendly, has a keen sense of history and has an almost scholarly level knowledge of the subject - WW2 and the related events that occurred in Paris. Appointment smoothly made over a couple of email exchanges, everything was on time and as expected. Got to know a lot from Lucien about the French side of the war, the impact it had on Paris and Parisians, the buildings and boulevards where the action happened. Truly enriching experience and a well spent afternoon. Informative tour - Highly recommend!

Naomi

21 February 2025

We had a fantastic private tour with Lucien who brought the bloody and brutal history of Paris to life with spell binding stories. He is a passionate story teller who loves his home city and I recommend everyone to take this unique tour. Lucian is a character with a great sense of humour, you will not be disappointed! He is happy to adapt the your to your needs as a group. A wonderful memorable experience for our family! Highly recommended private tour

Erika

8 February 2025

Lucien guided us through Paris from the Louvre to Versailles with ease. He had thought of every detail and made us fall in love with France. He is extremely professional with excellent communication starting from our first message until the end of our tour. He provided recommendations for our entire stay, not just during the tour. We highly recommend Lucien!Lucien was the best part of our visit!

Ning

19 January 2025

The Paris Saint-Oeun flea market can be overwhelming! In fact, my husband and I have bern there many times. Our tour with Lucien made all the difference! He’s smart and interesting as well as flexible. He helped us find a beautiful, hand-carved statue of the Virgin Mary … even though his speciality is a market overview rather than finding specific items. Wonderful tour! Flea Market with Lucien!

Deborah🇫🇷 France

13 January 2025

Great time walking around the flea market with Lucien. He was patient and filull of knowledge. Convivial and enthusiastic

Johann

8 January 2025

Great, fun, informative tourGreat tour of the Louvre

Cheyenne

7 January 2025

I absolutely LOVED my medieval tour with Lucien. He is very knowledgeable and easy to talk to. Felt like I was exploring Paris with a friend. I will 100% book more tours with him in the future. Highly, highly recommend. Lucien was INCREDIBLE

Gina🇭🇰 Hong Kong

5 January 2025

We booked Lucien for our visit to the Lourve, and we definitely found the right person! We were late and Lucien was able to get us in quickly which was amazing! He was very enthusiastic about everything in the Lourve, our 2.5 hours tour was way too short! Lucien gave us a very interesting and informative tour which was exactly what we were looking for! My daughter is 11 years old and she thoroughly enjoyed the tour. Lucien was very easy going, he was happy to show us the sections that we were more interested in (which was not in the itinerary). We highly recommend Lucien and will definitely book another tour with him for our next visit. Merci beaucoup Lucien!Fantastic guide!

Gibran🇺🇸 United States

27 December 2024

Lucien gave my family and I a wonderful tour of the Orsay Museum. He is knowledgeable and makes the tour engaging. Would definitely recommend. Wonderful guide

Sandra Cheryl🇵🇭 Philippines

24 December 2024

We absolutely loved our walking tour with Lucien. He was engaging, thoughtful, accommodating and informative. Christmas Reunion in Paris

Wayne🇳🇿 New Zealand

22 December 2024

Lucien was a fountain of knowledge and catered for our family group of diverse ages by the information he shared. We may have walked over 7kms but it was an easy stroll filled with laughter and sightseeing.Fun and knowledgeable