Best French Revolution Tour: Paris through a history lens 

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1. US and French Revolution with General Lafayette

Lafayette and Washington at Mount Vernon, painted by Thomas Prichard Rossiter and Louis Rémy Mignot

Are you from the USA? If so, you'll be fascinated by the close links between Paris and Washington during the Revolution. They were friends, foes, and friends again, in a series of political two-steps that would affect the history of both nations.

This is one of the most loved Paris revolutionary tours and is called a "hidden" tour for a reason: it takes to sites that other tours do not normally include, including a private estate that contains a cemetery with several important graves – and a focus on General Lafayette, who played such an important role in both countries.

While much of what you'll see will resonate if you're American, you'll be just as fascinated if, like me, you're a French history buff who wants to go beond the obvious.

For example, you'll learn all about the guillotine, initially designed to be humane but perverted to silence opponents of the Revolution during a period of history known as "La Terreur", the terror, which you'll uncover during your walk.

But I think I'll stop here or you'll have nothing left to learn from the tour!

2. The French Revolution tour of Paris

Liberty leading the people, by Eugène Delacroix

This is a tour for those who want to delve deeply into the French Revolution's history. It's run by a historian who specializes in the Revolution – he even takes professional tour guides around to explain the revolution to them in detail.

This is the perfect tour if you want to go beyond the superficial and explore such historical details as the counterrevolution, the terror, the final flight of the royal family (and their capture)...

The French Revolution isn't as straightforward as it might seem, so having a historian interpret its facts for you is incredibly useful.

The revolution was the culmination of a complex set of events which laid the foundations of France as we know her today. Understanding how the Ancient Regime (monarchy) gave way to popular rule will go a long way towards helping you understand the underlying culture of France.

3. Paris walking tour - the French Revolution

Anonymous illustration of the decapitation of Louis XVI

While both above tours is for history lovers, you don't have to be one to enjoy learning about the French revolution. This tour is for visitors to Paris who are interested in the revolution but don't need all the intricate historical detail.

If you would like to visit revolutionary highlights in Paris and catch an overview of the country's history, this is the perfect tour for you.

You'll visit a number of revolutionary sites, from the Place de la Bastille, where the Bastille Prison once stood (its capture led to the French national holiday we celebrate today), to the Place de la Concorde, where Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette were beheaded.

While the two first tours are historical with sightseeing, consider this one a sightseeing tour with history.

4. Bike the French Revolution in Paris

Place de la Concorde was once the site of many gruesome revolutionary acts - this is a small section of what it looks like today ©OffbeatFrance

Paris is increasingly becoming a cycle-friendly city, and biking tours are popular, serving up the city from a completely different perspective than you would get from a bus or on a walking tour of Paris.

Because you can go further on a bike than on foot, this tour is far-flung and will take you around to a number of sites you might not otherwise see.

This revolutionary biking tour includes a knowledgeable tour guide who will explain the historical significance of what you see. 

This tour will stop in all the usual venues – the Bastille, the Place de la Concorde, the former Tuileries – but also the Place Vendome, today a chic square but once the site of severed heads paraded on posts, and the Cour du Commerce St André, home of the first guillotine.

Along the way, you'll enjoy some of the city's newer cycling paths, and see many of the capital's major landmarks, all the while enjoying the freedom of being on two wheels and taking in the Parisian atmosphere.

5. French Revolution walking tour for teens

Place de la Concorde was once the site of many gruesome revolutionary acts - this is a small section of what it looks like today ©OffbeatFrance

If you're looking at family time and want to entertain your younger family members with a cultural visit that will entertain them and remain a fun memory once they leave Paris, this is the tour for you.

Because it is a private tour, the guide can build it around your children's ages and interests.

What makes this tour interesting for teens is that it's not a long recitation of facts − the storyteller guide brings history alive through the many characters of the French Revolution.

Follow in the footsteps of Robespierre, Marie-Antoinette, Thomas Jefferson and many others who played a role in the Revolution, all in a fun, interactive way that will be anything but boring.

Bonjour! I’m Leyla, born in Paris, I now live in the bucolic mountain foothills of Eastern France. My days are spent exploring my country. 

As a journalist and former diplomat, I spent years living abroad and now, it’s time to rediscover my own back yard.

Passionate about history and culture, I’ve created Offbeat France to seek out my country’s mysteries and legends, less-traveled destinations, with plenty of food stops and many castles – I am French, after all! 
Read more here.

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