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Experience Paris YOUR Way

My Genie in Paris founder, Stephane Souquière, discusses sightseeing options with newly-arrived travelers.
My Genie in Paris founder, Stephane Souquière, discusses sightseeing options with newly-arrived travelers. My Genie in Paris

with My Genie in Paris!

A bronze cherub points the way to Paris's Eiffel Tower.
A bronze cherub points the way to Paris’s Eiffel Tower. My Genie in Paris
Paris is a classic tourism city, high on most travelers’ check list, but given limited time and a wealth of high profile as well as little-known attractions, we should all be grateful for the unique counseling service, My Genie in Paris. With a 45-minute meeting in your hotel lounge [and a little energetic polishing of the magic lamp!], your personal counselor will rub the frustration, confusion and missed opportunities right off your itinerary! My Genie in Paris offers Paris-based, English-speaking expertise to set up a tailor-made itinerary for self-guided sightseeing, recommend good value restaurants, activities and events according to your budget and time availability. Online planning fee is €49 [approx. US$57]; meeting with your Paris planning expert in person is €109 [approx. US$127]. This service has received rave reviews from city tourists, business people, families and adventurers alike!

A tourist on a "My Genie in Paris" organized-tour attending a bakery class three floors underground in the top bakery in Paris.
A tourist on a “My Genie in Paris” recommended tour attending a bakery class three floors underground in the top bakery in Paris. Alison Gardner
Created by Stephane Souquière, a financial controller who formerly worked for Walt Disney company and Anne Lesegretain who gained her tourism credentials with Club Med, this service now retains seven counselors, some foreign themselves, all of whom have one thing in common – they are passionate about Paris and know its special features as few others can claim to do. Where possible, a questionnaire in sent out to the client in advance, covering a lot of the basics. At your personal meeting in Paris itself, questions are answered, special seasonal events are flagged for consideration, insider tips are offered, and a printout itinerary based on up-to-the-minute opening and closing times is created on the spot.

Traveling with children? The My Genie in Paris counselor will propose suitable sites and activities like a museum where kids can dress up in typical historic costumes while they tour fabulous museum collections. In Paris on business? The counselor will work around your meeting schedule, recommending afternoon and evening sightseeing activities as well as special restaurants to impress clients or friendly venues to relax with colleagues. For complete information, check out the website www.mygenieinparis.com/en/index.html?

A Personal Report from April Hughes, Canada

I recently traveled from Canada to Paris with my two teenage daughters and one of their girl friends. We are all well seasoned international travelers who have never used tour guides or travel planners before, so it was with some trepidation that we agreed to try out the services of My Genie in Paris. However, after a number of email exchanges with My Genie’s owner, Stephane Souquière, it was evident that here was expertise and planning advice that only a good friend living in Paris could provide. My daughters, on the other hand, needed further assurance on the concept of someone “planning” their week of exploration through the streets of Paris.

April Hughes and her two daughters in Paris.
Image courtesy of April Hughes.

Within a few hours of our arrival in Paris, Stephane and Antoinette came to see us at our hotel at a pre-arranged time. My daughters immediately started to discuss the information forms that we had completed ahead of time and what additional activities were possible. In addition to the museums and tourist destinations, my troop of young women were interested in second-hand stores, markets, and cafés. My interests included exploring Paris neighborhoods and my preference for walking as opposed to using transportation. Antoinette and Stephane asked questions, clarified requests and offered suggestions. They then produced museum floor plans, brochures, transportation schedules and an excellent street map of Paris.

During the chatter, Stephane worked away on his lap top computer and then, with a tiny portable printer, produced a plan for each day of our entire week’s stay. This included the names of destinations, addresses, metro stop, district number, phone number, times, price and brief description of the activity offered. In addition to sites, the plan included restaurants, cafés and shops, presenting the day in progression of activities and breaks that would lead us back towards our hotel. Each day was arranged on a separate page and was realistically laid out based on how much time each activity would take, including the requisite standing in line time.

April Hughes and her two daughters.
Image courtesy of April Hughes.

What a fabulous service this turned out to be! Our week in Paris was a monumental success; we visited every site we wanted to see and managed to walk through most of the city as well. With the burden of planning in the hands of knowledgeable experts, we were effortlessly guided through Paris and left knowing that we had seen and experienced everything we had hoped for in such an amazing city. We are grateful to My Genie in Paris for making our holiday an amazing success. With my eldest daughter currently in Australia, I’ve already heard the comment that she would love to have a “My Genie in Paris” service to assist with plans there!