REVIEW · PARIS
BEST OF Artists in Paris, 3 smartphone audioguided tours
Book on Viator →Operated by REWIND · Bookable on Viator
Paris gives you three very different art walks in this package: village-like Montmartre, bohemian Montparnasse, and the huge murals of the 13th district. Each tour uses your smartphone, with audio that starts automatically as you reach the right place.
I like the hands-free format, since you can listen to stories while looking at the streets instead of staring at a screen. I also like the flexible design: pause for a coffee, stop in a shop, and restart exactly where you left off.
The main consideration is time. At about four and a half hours total, this is not one compact walk. You will need to travel between three parts of Paris and manage the tours across a full day or separate outings.
In This Review
- Key Points at a Glance
- Three Paris Art Walks, One Smartphone Package
- Montmartre Beyond the Basilica
- Montparnasse and the Artists Who Changed Paris
- Street Art in the 13th District
- How the Smartphone Guide Works
- Planning the Three Routes
- Who Will Get the Most From It
- Price, Flexibility, and Overall Value
- What to Know Before You Set Out
- Should You Book These Three Paris Art Walks?
- FAQ
- How many tours are included?
- How long does the full experience take?
- What is the price?
- Where does the Montmartre tour go?
- Which artists are connected with the Montparnasse route?
- Where does the street-art tour take place?
- How does the audio commentary start?
- Can I pause the tour?
- Is this a private activity?
- What happens if I take a wrong turn?
- Is cancellation free?
Key Points at a Glance
- Three art districts for $29: The package covers Montmartre, Montparnasse, and the 13th district street-art area.
- Automatic audio commentary: Stories begin at the locations where they belong, so you can keep your phone in your pocket.
- A flexible four-and-a-half-hour plan: Each walk takes about 90 minutes, and you can pause or resume whenever you like.
- Offbeat Montmartre: The first route includes small passages, old vineyards, historic mills, and Sacré-Coeur.
- Artists of Montparnasse: Follow stories linked to Picasso, Foujita, Modigliani, Man Ray, Symbolism, and Art Deco.
- A giant outdoor gallery: The 13th district route features works connected with DFace, C215, Obey, and Invader.
Three Paris Art Walks, One Smartphone Package
This experience is best understood as three separate self-guided walks rather than one continuous tour. You receive access to Secret Montmartre, Arts in Montparnasse, and Paris Street Art, with a total estimated walking time of four hours and 30 minutes.
At $29, the package gives you three tours for the price of two. That matters if you plan to complete all three routes. The value is less convincing if you only want one neighborhood, since the package works best when you treat it as a themed day or spread the walks across several days.
The setup is simple. A professional guide created each route, and the app uses geolocation to trigger the commentary at the correct places. A map shows where to go, spoken directions help you follow the route, and the system can redirect you if you take a wrong turn.
You are not tied to a group or a fixed departure time. This is a private activity for your own party, which gives you control over the pace. That freedom also means you are responsible for getting between the three starting areas and keeping your phone charged and ready.
A few more Paris tours and experiences worth a look
Montmartre Beyond the Basilica
The Secret Montmartre walk takes about 90 minutes and looks past the most familiar postcard views. Sacré-Coeur is included, but the route also points you toward smaller passages, old vineyards, and the district’s famous mills.
That mix is what makes the walk useful. The basilica draws most first-time visitors uphill, yet Montmartre’s character comes from the smaller streets around it. The route presents the area as a village within Paris, with a bohemian spirit that still shapes how people picture the neighborhood.
The mention of century-old vineyards adds an unusual note. You may not expect to find remnants of vineyard culture in the capital, and this kind of detail helps explain why Montmartre feels different from the grand boulevards farther south.
The automatic commentary should work well here. Instead of stopping at every corner to read a paragraph, you can look at the buildings and streets while the narration supplies the story. One useful feature is the ability to pause the tour at a terrace or shop and resume from the same spot later.
Keep in mind that this route includes Montmartre’s hills and uneven streets. The experience calls for a moderate level of physical fitness, so it may feel tiring if you have difficulty walking uphill or standing for long periods. The reward is a more varied walk than a simple trip to Sacré-Coeur and back.
Montparnasse and the Artists Who Changed Paris
The Arts in Montparnasse route also lasts about 90 minutes. Its focus is the artistic and intellectual life of Paris after the First World War, a period when Montparnasse became a gathering place for painters, writers, and other creative figures.
The names attached to this walk include Picasso, Foujita, Modigliani, and Man Ray. You will also hear about Symbolist and Art Deco artists connected with the quarter. These references give the route a clear theme: this is not just a walk through attractive streets, but a look at the people and ideas that made Montparnasse important.
I especially like this stop for visitors who want context around Parisian art rather than a list of famous museum objects. The streets themselves become part of the story. You can connect the neighborhood to the artists who worked and socialized there, then continue at your own speed.
The route is also a good counterpoint to Montmartre. Montmartre is presented as a village of passages, mills, and old vineyard traces. Montparnasse deals more directly with the city’s modern artistic identity and the international figures who made Paris a major art center in the first half of the 20th century.
Because the tour is self-guided, you should not expect a live guide answering questions in person. The benefit is privacy and flexibility. The tradeoff is that the experience depends on your phone, the app, and your willingness to follow directions without a person physically leading the way.
Street Art in the 13th District
The Paris Street Art route begins around Place d’Italie and takes about 90 minutes. It explores the 13th district as an open-air gallery filled with large-scale frescoes.
This is the most contemporary of the three walks. The route includes works linked with DFace, C215, Obey, and Invader, giving you a broad look at major names in modern street art. The scale of the murals is part of the appeal. Instead of viewing one painting in a quiet gallery, you encounter art spread across the public face of the city.
The 13th district route also changes the tone of the package. Montmartre and Montparnasse look backward to earlier artistic movements and personalities. Here, the art is part of the present-day streetscape. You can compare styles, colors, and techniques as you move from one fresco to the next.
This walk may suit you best if you want something outside the classic Paris checklist. It does not replace a museum visit, and the route cannot guarantee that every work will look exactly the same on the day you visit. Outdoor art can change over time, but the stated focus on major murals makes this a strong choice for anyone interested in public art.
Place d’Italie is also a useful anchor for planning. It is separate from Montmartre and Montparnasse, so you should allow time to travel between areas. The three routes are thematically linked, not physically joined.
How the Smartphone Guide Works
The technology is the heart of this experience. Audio commentary triggers automatically at the places where the stories happened, so you can put the phone away and pay attention to your surroundings.
That detail received the strongest praise in the available feedback. The experience was described as pleasant because the listener could walk through Paris without keeping their eyes fixed on the screen. The guide supplied both stories and directions, which is exactly what a self-guided walk needs.
The map provides a live route, and geolocation helps correct you if you make a wrong turn. This reduces one of the main problems with app-based sightseeing: losing time while trying to work out which street comes next.
You still need to treat the app as a tool, not magic. A charged smartphone is essential, and you should be comfortable using location services. The supplied details do not specify whether headphones, mobile data, or a particular phone operating system are included, so check the app requirements before setting out.
The pause function is practical. You can take a break at a terrace, browse a shop, or stop for a snack without losing your place. That makes the tour feel more like a personal day out than a strict audio program.
Planning the Three Routes
You can complete all three walks in one long day, but the four-and-a-half-hour estimate refers to the tours themselves. It does not clearly include the time needed to travel from one district to another, take breaks, or deal with delays.
A sensible plan is to choose two routes for one day and save the third for another outing. If you want to complete the full package in one day, start early, keep your breaks short, and allow extra time between Montmartre, Montparnasse, and Place d’Italie.
The listed operating hours are 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Sunday, for the stated booking period. Since the exact meeting details differ by route and are not fully spelled out here, check the directions shown in the app before leaving.
Public transportation is nearby, which is important because these are three separate Paris neighborhoods. You do not need to remain with a group, and the activity is private, but you do need to organize your own movement between the walks.
Who Will Get the Most From It
This package suits independent visitors who like stories but do not want a fixed group schedule. It is also a good match for repeat visitors who have already seen the main monuments and want a more local, art-focused way to walk through Paris.
You will probably enjoy it if you:
- Like exploring on foot with a clear route
- Prefer audio stories to reading long notes on a screen
- Want both historic artists and current street art
- Appreciate the freedom to pause and restart
- Are comfortable using a smartphone app
- Can handle a moderate amount of walking
Families and friends may also find the private format easier than joining a group. You can stop when someone needs a break, choose your own pace, and discuss the art as you go.
This is less suitable if you want a museum interior, a live guide, or a single neighborhood with no transit between stops. It is also not the best choice for anyone who wants every detail handled by someone else.
Price, Flexibility, and Overall Value
The $29 price is attractive when you complete all three walks. Since each route takes about 90 minutes, you are paying roughly $9.67 per tour for a total of 4.5 hours of programmed commentary, route guidance, and location-based stories.
The value comes from the combination of content and freedom. A live private guide would offer conversation and personal answers, but this format lets you pause, restart, and move at your own speed without arranging three separate appointments.
The package also avoids the pressure of a standard group tour. You do not have to keep up with strangers or wait while a guide gathers everyone at each stop. On the other hand, you miss the spontaneity of a local guide who can answer questions, change the route, or point out something not built into the app.
The strongest value appears when you use all three tours. One person found the package useful for organizing a full art-themed day, while another had completed only one walk and still had two available. That flexibility is helpful if your Paris schedule changes.
Free cancellation is available if you cancel at least 24 hours before the experience start time. Cancellations within 24 hours are not refunded, and changes during that period are not accepted.
What to Know Before You Set Out
Download or prepare the app before you reach the first neighborhood, and make sure you understand how the map and automatic audio work. The experience depends on your smartphone, so a full battery is a practical priority.
Wear shoes suited to city walking. The supplied information calls for moderate physical fitness, and Montmartre in particular can involve uphill walking. Service animals are allowed, and the activity is near public transportation.
Do not expect a traditional meeting with a named guide. The professional guide’s voice and route instructions are delivered through the smartphone experience. That is the main reason the tour can remain private and flexible.
The package has received a perfect rating from four published responses, with praise focused on the automatic commentary, useful directions, interesting stories, and the ability to walk without staring at a phone. That praise fits the design of the experience, though you should still choose it for the format, not just the score.
Should You Book These Three Paris Art Walks?
Book it if you want a self-guided art day that connects old Montmartre, 20th-century Montparnasse, and present-day street art in the 13th district. The automatic audio and route correction make the experience easy to follow, while the pause function gives you room for coffee, shopping, or a change of plans.
Skip it if you want a live person beside you, a short route in one area, or a museum-centered art experience. For independent walkers who value strong themes and a low price, the three-tour package offers a practical way to see Paris through its artists, streets, and public walls.
FAQ
How many tours are included?
The package includes three smartphone audio tours: Secret Montmartre, Arts in Montparnasse, and Paris Street Art.
How long does the full experience take?
The combined estimated duration is four hours and 30 minutes. Each of the three tours takes about 90 minutes.
What is the price?
The listed price is $29 for the three-tour package.
Where does the Montmartre tour go?
The Secret Montmartre tour includes small passages, century-old vineyards, historic mills, and the Sacré-Coeur Basilica.
Which artists are connected with the Montparnasse route?
The route discusses artists including Picasso, Foujita, Modigliani, and Man Ray. It also covers Symbolist and Art Deco artists linked with Montparnasse.
Where does the street-art tour take place?
The Paris Street Art tour begins around Place d’Italie and explores frescoes in Paris’s 13th district.
How does the audio commentary start?
The audio commentary triggers automatically at the relevant locations as you walk.
Can I pause the tour?
Yes. You can pause for a terrace stop, a shop, or a snack and resume where you stopped.
Is this a private activity?
Yes. Only your group participates in the activity.
What happens if I take a wrong turn?
The integrated geolocation feature helps redirect you, while the map and spoken directions show the route to follow.
Is cancellation free?
You can cancel for a full refund at least 24 hours before the experience start time. Cancellations within 24 hours are not refunded.
