Kimkim Trip Reviews for France

The SPECTACULAR LOIRE VALLEY!! 5 days and 4 nights in this wonderful section of France. Walking through castles where recorded history occurred sometimes 800 years ago! The people, the gardens, the chateaux, the history and art, the food, the wine, and the cheese made our vacation the perfect escape from the normal stressors of life.

I am an experienced traveler, but this was my first time using a travel agent/tour company. I am so happy that my first experience with a travel agent arranging all the details of a trip was so positive! I gave Lise (our specialist) a budget, a list of places that were a "must see" for us, and some preferences for our trip and she put together an itinerary that we could adjust and tweak. After some back and forth, we landed on an itinerary and price; a trip that we were so looking forward to!! And it did NOT disappoint! All I had to keep track of was a folder of printed vouchers because EVERYTHING was taken care of. Every detail from the TGV, transfer taxi to hotel, hotel, small group guided days (which included the "skip the line" chateaux tours, lunches (or free time to lunch), driver, and winery tours), transfer back to rail station, and TGV back to Paris, was arranged for us--all we had to do was show up and enjoy!

Lise and the Kimkim team remained in contact with us prior to the trip offering guides and suggestions. During the trip, they remained in contact over email and even gave us phone numbers in Europe to call in the event of emergency or inconvenience that might need assistance. We did not need to contact them, but it was reassuring to have just in case.

Our guides Marion, Camilla, and Aurelia each provided wonderful days touring amazing Chateaux, gardens, wineries, and offered little extras (history details, suggestions for how to get the most out of the day, restaurant recommendations, and little known places to check out) that made the trip extra special.

The highlight of the trip was the lunch we were so fortunate to have at Chateau Villesavin. A privately owned chateau where the Madame greeted us and, after a home cooked meal we all enjoyed in an 18th century room, allowed us to roam the grounds and certain rooms of this lesser known, but beautiful, chateau tucked into the gorgeous Loire valley countryside.

If you want to walk the narrow cobblestone streets of medieval towns, tread the paths formerly walked by the Kings and Queens of very old France and Leonardo DaVinci, and encounter the most incredible gardens and flowers we have EVER seen...then the Loire Valley in Spring is for you. To make it all easy, accessible, and affordable---I highly recommend Lise and the kimkim team.

Hotel Review

Hôtel Au Charme Rabelaisien

Amboise

This is a small boutique hotel with the service and amenities of a large hotel, and the charm and personal touch of a bed and breakfast. The breakfast each morning was excellent. The room, amazing view, and large modern bathroom made it the perfect central place to enjoy the Eastern Loire Valley and all of its charms. The staff was so nice and eager to accommodate to ensure comfort and enjoyment.

Authenticity & Character

A modernized and converted 18th century space that is cozy and unique.

Location

Amboise is a perfect little town to be central to so many of the Loire Valley attractions.

Staff

Everyone was quick to greet with a smile and assist any way they could.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private guided tour to Chaumont-sur-Loire & Blois

Amboise

We experienced the Chateau Royal de Blois and Chaumont sur Loire during this privately guided trip and it was a truly unique day!

Quality of Experience

We were lucky to get to see the garden festival at Chaumont sur Loire.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Aurelia did an amazing job taking us through these wonderful castles and helped us get a wonderful lunch at Chaumont sur Loire. She provided lots of background and visual aids to help the figures who make up the centuries of history of these spaces come to life.

Transport

Picked up right at our hotel in a beautiful, clean, comfortable sedan and driven through the french countryside without worry for parking or navigation.

Villandry, Azay-Le-Rideau & Vouvray wine tour - Full Day

France

These Chateaux are incredible. The gardens at Villandry are once-in-a-lifetime amazing. The winery tours were interesting and fun to learn and experience the Vouvray wines of the Loire Valley.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Cami is new to guiding and her enthusiasm and pride for her new profession shone through.

Transport

Small minivan, very comfortable and spacious for 6 people.

Chambord, Chenonceau & Lunch at the Château - Full Day

France

Marion did a wonderful job taking to these sites providing background and history to bring these Chateaux to life. The lunch at Villesavin was so special.

Quality of Experience

Food

The Madame at Villesavin provided an incredible lunch that was really a highlight of the entire trip.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Marion did a great job guiding us and making everyone feel welcome and included.

Transport

Self-guided visit of Le Chateau Clos Lucé (tickets only)

France

Experience the genius of DaVinci in the place where he spent the last years of his life. Marvel at his inventions and artwork that might be previously unknown to you.

Quality of Experience

My friend and I used Lise at Kim Kim to plan a 5 day trip through the Loire River Valley. We gave Lise the overview of what we wanted to see during our trip. From there, she filled in the details that included everything from our train ride from Paris to LRV and back, hotel, guided chateau tours, and drivers. She also did a great job of touching base periodically prior to our arrival and during the trip.
We stayed in Amboise at a lovely boutique hotel that was in a great location. The accommodations at the hotel were perfect.
The guided tours were either private (just my friend and I) or small groups (max of 8). The tour guides were knowledgeable and friendly. Because we had tour guides, we were able to skip the lines which proved invaluable. During the tours, we also had time to explore on our own.
My friend and I are from the U.S. and had not been to the LRV before. Lise did a wonderful job of taking the time and stress out of planning a trip in a different country. It was truly a delightful and memorable trip!

Hotel Review

Hôtel Au Charme Rabelaisien

Amboise

Lovely boutique hotel in a wonderful location. It's within walking distance to shops, restaurants, markets, and to most attractions around Amboise. It's also centrally located within the Loire River Valley. The staff at the hotel was super friendly and helpful. The continental breakfast was very good with fresh fruit, cereals, breads, and other light fare. Our room was a good size and very clean. Overall, we were very happy with our experience and would stay at the hotel again.

Authenticity & Character

Vintage boutique hotel with modern conveniences.

Location

Within walking distance to shops, restaurants, and to most attractions around Amboise.

Staff

Very accommodating and friendly staff.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The bed was comfortable and the room and property were very clean.

Activity Review

Chambord, Chenonceau & Lunch at the Château - Full Day

France

Visited several chateaus on our trip and Chenonceau was my favorite. The history of Chenonceau is fascinating and the grounds are beautiful. Chambord was interesting to see because of its grandeur and the double helix staircase but other chateaus have a much richer story. I'm still glad I saw it, however. The most special part of the tour was our delicious and authentically French lunch at the privately-owned Chateau. This really made for a unique and memorable experience.

Quality of Experience

If you're visiting the Loire Valley to see the chateaus, this tour shouldn't be missed.

Food

The private lunch at the Chateau was very special and delicious!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Camilla was a friendly and knowledgeable guide. She did an excellent job of explaining the history of the chateaus and region. She was also a safe driver.

Transport

Using KimKim was a leap of faith. I shared with Valentine a bit about my own experience in France/with French, as well as that of my 15 year old son, and our particular interests and hopes for this short spring break trip together. I mentioned my preference for clean local food and my environmental ethic. Everything was SPOT on, from the “Maison Mere” she sweetly selected for this Mother-son trip that began in Paris, with its peek-a-boo view of the Eiffel Tower, beyond organic and unique restaurant and bar, and an Easter egg hunt in the room for our Easter Eve arrival, to the perfectly curated WWII walking tours, the croissant-making class and the classic Eiffel Tower ascent. The tour guide in Provence was wonderful and made sure we visited one of the open air markets. I would never have known the unique history of Nice, seen the Ville Franche coastline or understood the independent principality that is Monaco if Valentine hadn’t so expertly curated this 8 night whirlwind first-time visit for my son to France. Bravo! I can’t wait to use KimKim again to explore some place I don’t know as well as I do France, because I now trust KimKim implicitly to make the most of my time, money and unique interests and objectives!

I have used KimKim several times and it keeps getting better and better. Clément planned us unique activities that accommodated my friend on her first trip to Paris while also keeping me engaged ,although I had seen many of the places before. The day trip to Reims for the Champagne tour is a must do. We learned so much and had a great time seeing the area with our fantastic guide Xavier. Our food tour in Montmartre with Carol was perfect for anyone looking to learn the culture and history of food in Paris. Carol taught us about eating what is in season, understanding the regions food comes from, and was so passionate about food it was contagious. I would have loved to shop with her and then cook as well. The private shopping was also a highlight. We learned about what shops are up and coming, where to stop for a great coffee or tea, and what to avoid. I could go on and on but the last thing I will mention is the bike tour of Versailles. It was a full day of activity and laughs. Our guide Martin was incredible and helped us shop the Sunday market for picnic supplies as well as educate us on the history of the place and grounds. We did so many things I could write forever but these are the highlights that really stood out. KimKim makes a fully packed trip so easy with all the transfers and tickets pre-booked. Each night we reviewed our itinerary for the next day and we could just enjoy knowing it was all in hand.

Hotel Review

Hôtel Bonsoir Madame

Paris

Perfect location to relax after busy days. The staff couldn’t be better.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Vintage Paris & the St. Ouen Flea Market

Paris

This was on our last day. It was probably just bad timing but we did not find this to be super fun. We were cold and tired so sorting through the cluttered shops was not as appealing. Our guide was so kind and shared a lot of history about the market. I think this was the only poor choice of activity we had on the trip but to no fault of our guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

N/A

Great Bike tour of Versailles

France

Martin is the best! So much fun and laughter.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Art of Pairing Cheese & Wine

Paris

Our teacher Agath was hilarious and so fun. We learned so much about cheese and wine and how to taste it. It really built on our knowledge from our other food tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Murders and Mysteries of the Louvre

Paris

This tour is a bit long and heavy with information but the Louvre is massive. It was crowded which is not our guides fault. We learned so many interesting facts about the art. Our guide was like an encyclopedia of art history and is was mesmerizing to listen.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Key to Parisian Chic: Saint-Honoré

Paris

This was great fun and our guide gave us so many ideas for other things to do in Paris. We shopped with her all morning then went back at the end of our trip to purchase items.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Montmartre Local Gastronomy Tour

Paris

Carol was so passionate and amazing. We learned so much about the history and culture of food in France. This was so much more than a food tour. I wish we could have spent the whole day with Carol, first shopping and then cooking. I highly recommend this with Carol.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

E-bike tour in Champagne region

France

We couldn’t do the bike tour so to rain but go to join the van tour. It was incredible fun. Xavier was a fantastic guide. We wish we could have stayed longer.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Xavier was fun, knowledgeable and a pleasure.

Transport

Mathilde did a phenomenal job of customizing our trip exactly how we envisioned it, especially by getting us hard to get tickets, including the Vermeer exhibit which was nearly a miracle. The pacing of the trip and quality of the stops was perfect no complaints

We wanted to thank KimKim and Amandine for planning such an amazing 11-day itinerary for our first ever family trip to France. We were able to experience the best of both North and South France, from the cooking classes to the biking tours, Bakery tours to dinner cruise, the private guided tours at Versailles and Louvre ( our tour guide- Alexandra, she was the best!!!) and night tour bus. It was all so much fun.
We also wanted to extend our gratitude for the fantastic service provided by your French cooking class chefs, tour guides, pick-up drivers, and hotel choices.They were all knowledgeable, personable, and made the whole experience all the more enjoyable, especially for our kids. And we got to learn so much about France and the French history them. It was a very unique experience for us.

This was our first time planning a trip with kimkim, and we were a little nervous about how everything would turn out. However everything from planning to booking the trip turned out to be so seamless and hassle free.
Both our itineraries in Paris and Nice ( French Riviera side) has been well planned.
We just can't thank Amandine enough for all that she did to make this trip such a memorable experience. We will definitely be planning more trips with kimkim in the future, and we highly recommend their services.
Merci for everything Amandine and Kimkim.

Best regards,
Sachi and Pradeep

Hotel Reviews

Le Rocroy Hôotel & Spa Paris

Paris

We stayed here for 5 days herein Paris. It was conveniently located and was easily accessible to metro and the bus stops. Walkable to Montmarte area. Had so many good cafes and restaurants near. The suite was perfect for our family of four. They had an amazing breakfast included too and a 24 hour coffee and hot chocolate machine. We loved our stay in this cute little parisian hotel.

Authenticity & Character

A sweet little parisian hotel

Location

Everything was just in walking distance

Staff

Very good.

Cleanliness & Comfort

They had their cleaning services everyday.

Palm Hotel

Nice

We loved staying in the suite of Palm hotel Nice. We arrived late and we forgot to call them and update them, thinking they would have a 24 hour reception like we had in Paris. But when we arrived at 9pm, everything was locked. We called the hotel and the Nicola led us in via code and the receptionist was kind enough to leave keys for us , even without a proper check-in. Seeing we had kids traveling with us. The hotel was really in the prime location with everything walkable- cafes, restaurants, the beach. We absolutely loved our stay and we definitely will be coming back!!

Authenticity & Character

Very close to cafes, restaurants, beach

Location

Staff

Friendly staff and guiding us through Nice.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Yes everything was super clean and comfy

Activity Reviews

Market Visit & Cooking Class with Lunch

Nice

This was an amazing culinary experience. The Nissean style of cooking. Which includes a lot of olive oil and veggies and meat with less cheese and butter unlike the Parisian culinary experience we had. We had a market visit and Rosa walked us through how she chooses her produces. She told us how the Italiian Mediterranean influence of Nice has made their culinary a different from.the Northern style of France. The menu was delicious. We had so much of fun experience with Rosa. Thanks to Kimkim for planning this for us .

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Monaco Day Trip via Èze & La Turbie with Optional Beach Time

France

What a trip this was. To see the richness and granduer of Monte Carlo( Monaco) the monarchy, the churches. Just loved it. Thanks to Alex our driver and guide for walking us through the history and life around Monte Carlo. Fraganord perfumery tour at Eze was awesome too. Kids had a blast there knowing how the perfumes around the world are made from here. Loved this beautiful trip :)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Alex was an amazing guide.

Transport

A Day Trip from Nice to Cannes, Grasse, Gourdon & Saint Paul de Vence

Nice

We loved this whole day trip. It was such a beautiful drive along the French Riviera. Our driver and guide Xavier was really really awesome. He told us so many things about Nice and how was it to live around there. We loved the perfume factory tour and The Antibes medieval village. The drive was amazing. We absolutely loved it!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Xavier was amazing!! We had the best experience. Big shout to Xavier

Transport

Boat Tour on the Coast

Nice

It was a beautiful one hour tour. Just make sure to be there like 15 - 30 minutes before the trip. They are very much strict on time. We missed it by two minutes on our first day because of lack of sleep. They didn't wait for us. But thanks to Amandine and kimkim they got it rescheduled for us :)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Paris Night Tour

Paris

Just magical to see the city of love lit in the dark hours. Eiffle tower was so majestic . This is a must go ..to see Paris in the night felt so beautiful. J'adore Pareee.....

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Louvre Museum Treasure Hunt

Paris

Louvre experience was Outstanding and it was just because of our private guide Alexandra!! She just made our trip so fun, especially keeping the kids entertained as well as informative. It's a huge museum and it can be tiring for kids and adults. To be honest there's a lot of brain power that takes off in consuming all these majestic artworks. Alexandra picked out just the major and important attractions for us and had rhe kids solve a puzzle along the tour. We were blown away by the amount of knowledge she has and her passion to talk endlessly about the history and art of Louvre.

Quality of Experience

WE LOVED IT.. BIG SHOUT TO ALEXANDRA OUR PRIVATE GUIDE. THANK YOU KIMKIM FOR GETTING HER FOR US.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Orsay Museum: Entrance Tickets & Audioguide

Paris

This was an audio guided tour. We were bown away by the art that we witnessed through our eyes. We enjoyed every bit of it.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Notre-Dame & Sainte-Chapelle Visit

Paris

It was a wonderful experience. Elle our tour guide walked us through outside of Notre Dame ( Notre Dame isn't yet open after the fire that happened in 2019 it is still under construction) but there's a virtual reality of how it will be just in front of it. Saint Chapelle was amazing . The interiors and the art work of the chappele. Just mind blown with the feel of it. Our tour guide took us around the Latin quarter and to floral markets around. It was a beautiful walk for two hours.

Quality of Experience

Elle was really amazing. She walked around depending on kids energy level. She told us lots about how the church and the Chappells worked in those days. She was very informative.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half-Day Private Palace of Versailles Experience

Paris

Our tour guide Alexandra ( Family focus tour company) she was the best. She made this four hour tour so much enjoyable for kids. I mean if it was without a private tour we would have just got lost or kids would have got bored for sure. But Alexandra made sure from the garden tour to inside the palace she kept telling these stories in such a simplified way , that we all got so information about king Louis 14th to the French revolution, the interiors of the palace. I mean hands down Alexandra , she made sure the kids had a good time knowing about the palace.

Quality of Experience

Alexandra's knowledge and her love for telling these stories to the kids. She just made our trip such an amazing experience.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tour guide Alexxandra - Big shout for her!!

Transport

Toni took care of everything so good!!

Private Family Bike Trip

Paris

This was the highlight of pur Paris trip. We LOVED biking around Paris , just like the Parisiens do it. Our guide Tibou from Bluefox travel was the best we could ask for. He talked so much about the cities history and made it exciting for kids with asking them to spot things around while we stopped, talked about french history and made a photo stop on the iconoc points in Paris. He always watched for kids safety while we biked around. Can't thank enough. Thank you Tibou for making our biking ride so special for us.

Quality of Experience

Everything was wonderful.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

French Bakery Visit

Paris

We visited a traditional French Bakery - Le grenier a pain. Meeting their owner, going into the bakery behind scenes- meeting the baker, patisserie chef and watching them making these baguette , bread and croissants. Cheese pudding etc. It was such a great experience knowing how much time and effort and the details they need to watch for. We got to try freshly baked bread and baguettes too. Our guide was really awesome too.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Skip the line Eiffel Tower Tickets - 2nd floor with audioguide

Paris

We missed going inside due to the strike that happened. But Eiffel tower from outside was beautiful:)

French Cooking Class & Market Visit

Paris

Chef Miriyam was such a joy to be around. The excitement she shared while talking about the farmed produces in France to the cheese to introducing to us the French culinary ( parisian style of cooking) was such an amazing experience. Our kids enjoyed how she explained everything. We loved her class and the hosting services she did. We loved Miriyam and miss her " AllieAllie" .

Quality of Experience

Miriyam had so much to talk about the French culinary, the spices that she used and how flavourful her food was.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My husband and I were looking to travel to France for our delayed honeymoon/anniversary trip, and found KimKim while looking online for travel/tour companies. The travel itinerary created by our tour specialist, Nathalie, was fantastic, and we enjoyed all of the different excursions booked (our favorite was the wine tasting tour in Aix-en-Provence!, though they were all amazing, including the excursion to seeing the Pont du Gard, and our own personal guide for our trip to Versailles, La Conciergerie, Saint-Chapelle, Notre Dame). There were a few bumps along the road (booked to see the Louvre with a private small group tour, however unbeknownst to us the start time of this tour was changed to earlier in the day, and we did unfortunately miss the tour; and had difficulty with a couple of the private drivers hired to take us to/from the hotel to/from the TGV) however we will be getting refunded for these reservations. The hotels reserved for us were very nice (chose 4 star hotels for the most part, one 3 star hotel in Lyon but was also very nice), and we had surprise gifts for us waiting in our hotel rooms as a part of our anniversary trip, which I thought was a very nice touch and added welcome surprises to our trip along the way. Overall, had a really nice time, and glad we used KimKim to help curate our trip.

After putting over 100 hours of research into our family trip to Paris, I'm very happy with the tours and guide choices. Amandine had good ideas and stitched everything together very well.

We have a 5 year old and a 2 year old, I'm pregnant and we also traveled with our nanny. There were a lot of moving parts and we hadn't done a trip like this before. We obviously had things that worked well and things we wouldn't do again at our current stage. I can't speak highly enough of the Blue Fox tour group, especially the bike tour we did was so much fun for everyone. While the museum tours were really well done, I think they're meant more for children 7+ (not 5+) and I wish we'd gone without the kids.
We stayed at Marriot hotels in Paris and Dijon (we have status) and those worked great for our large group and we're in a centralized location. Figuring out the Paris Pass was more complicated than I thought (you have to attach a photo to it or get a ticket!) But it made traveling around Paris very easy.
Amandine did a great job of taking my research and finding the specific tour guides, booking, and coordinating everything. I just printed everything off and drivers would text me the night before to confirm pick up.
The two issues that came up that I would recommend other people be aware of when booking:
First the protests-- I'm not talking about trash in Paris, but the national protests, dates published in advance, most of the city shuts down. It wasn't Amandine who told us it was happening, that we would need to reschedule our tours for that day, or areas to avoid since we had small children, but the Blue Fox tour guide the day before and some local friends living outside of Paris. I had to reach out to Amandine to confirm and arrange for our trip to Versailles to be refunded. At that point it was the day before, so we couldn't reschedule to another day without major disruption. This was a pretty big deal and something I absolutely think should have been communicated since the days are published in advance.
Secondly, I'd asked Amandine if she'd be able to help book restaurants while we were there and she had told me she could. I had selected the restaurants but had wanted assistance with making the reservations to inform the restaurant of my pregnant dietary restrictions. She informed me 3 days before we left that she couldn't complete the reservations without my credit card and sent me website links. Obviously several of my choices had already booked up at that point and I was left scrambling to try and find alternatives. I would rather her have been upfront that it's a service she doesn't offer and I would've taken care of it myself.

Fortunately communication with Amandine was always easy and she was readily reachable when I had the protest concerns while we were in Paris. This is our second time using KimKim and I'm very pleased with Amandine's putting the trip together, and really selected great tour guides! I do think those two negatives were pretty big for us though and I recommend either her group be aware and make changes for future clients or clients understand the limitations of her group.

Activity Review

Private Family Bike Trip

Paris

Cecilia is amazing and this bike tour was everyone's favorite thing on our whole trip. Can't recommend this highly enough.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The KimKim interface and Clément's flexibility and attentiveness were amazing.

First, before the trip we truly partnered with Clément to design a vacation everyone was very happy with. I did take a few iterations but Clément was understanding and had many wonderful ideas. Before we left everything needed was booked and provided. This significantly decreased the stress of vacation planning especially when you are dealing with a family vacation with children.

I don't feel like we are demanding customers but during the trip we did have hiccups a few times along the way and Clément and the rest of his partner staff were wonderful, patient, understanding, and I always felt they would take care of us if something went wrong.

The two bicycle tours we did were a lot of fun. David in Nantes was patient, friendly, knowledgeable, and went with the flow on a few instances of poor weather. CiCi in Paris kept the kids entertained, was very knowledgeable, and I felt safe with her leading our group in some very busy parts of the city.

Hotel Reviews

Hôtel Lorette - Astotel

Paris

Location was good close to shops and restaurants. Breakfast was alright but not fantastic. They did lose our train passes that were supposed to be waiting at the front desk for us which was frustrating. If you are on the lower floors the subway/metro train can be loud. Rooms were clean and nice.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

7 Urban Suites

Nantes

Nice clean hotel. Breakfast was very good. Staff was polite and kind. There is a market next door which was convenient. It's not super close to restaurants or shops but that did make it quiet. Walkable to the main areas but is a bit of a hike.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Parisian bike tour in the "Latin quarter" and "Le Marais"

Paris

I had some doubts if the 'Amazing Race' theme would be fun but it really was. The parents and 3 children were very entertained and still got to see some behind the scenes parts of the city. Our tour guide CiCi was amazing. Energetic, fun, patient, and very knowledgeable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Timed tickets to Le Louvre

Paris

Le Louvre is well known and not a secret. Just be prepared for lots of waiting and crowds. There is more to see here than can be experienced in a day.

Cruise on the Seine

Paris

Was relaxing and interesting to see the city from the river. Was nice to be able to see some sights in a more relaxing adventure after a lot of walking.

Eiffel Tower Tickets

Paris

Really enjoyed this experience and was on our life bucket list. Our tour guide was extremely nice, patient and made everything move quicker.

Arc de Triomphe timed entry tickets

Paris

A quick tour but has beautiful views. Worth the hour or two to do.

Nantes discovery tour by bike with a private guide

Nantes

David is from Nantes but has had life adventures he is happy to talk about. Is very knowledgeable about the area and seems passionate about being an advocate for Nantes. Really enjoyed the tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Discover the "Machines de l'île"

Nantes

Everything was very interesting to see. All communication was in French so had to install application to get English explanations but felt this missed out on some of the experience.

We had an amazing time on our trip! We spent four days in the Montmartre neighborhood of Paris and four days near the Promenade des Anglais in Nice. Some highlights of Paris were the motorcycle/sidecar tour, and the pastry tour were both top notch. We greatly appreciated already having the tickets for the train, the Eiffel Tower, Versailles, and the Seine River cruise. One thing to consider with the river cruise is that while it is a great perspective from which to see the city, it was hard to hear the descriptions of the sights. We basically needed to use our phones to know what we were looking at, leaving us underwhelmed. That said, the dusk tour did present us with some beautiful views of the lights coming up over the city. Our hotel in Montmartre (Hotel Terrass) was lovely with a comfortable room and both hot and cold breakfast options and afforded us easy access to sights, restaurants, cafes, bars, shops, and the Metro for further exploration. The top floor dining room was super for views of the city. We could even see the Eiffel Tower off in the distance from our room! The staff was extremely friendly and helpful (one staff member even gave us some extra Metro tickets she had which was really nice). They also helped us with information about the strikes with respect to transport. The highlights of Nice were certainly the gorgeous beach and promenade. We also had the opportunity to explore some of the medieval hilltop towns, including an impromptu visit to a museum with a small, but intriguing collection. Our driver for this tour, Giorgi, was very informative and personable, helping us to get a better understanding of the culture. We highly recommend the e-bike tour as you can really see so many parts of the city efficiently, but at a comfortable speed. Lucie, our travel coordinator, was very responsive to emails and did a fine job helping us to craft our itinerary. We would highly recommend her!

We had wonderful, caring, knowledgable guides. Josee did a wonderful job in planning our perfect trip. It was amazing.

Hotel Reviews

Pullman Paris Roissy CDG Airport

Roissy-en-France

Good location to airport and had a business center with computers that worked

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Le Churchill 3*

Bayeux

The place is fun and a good location to places to see. One drawback - no elevator & some trouble accessing internet connection while we were there.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Nice buffet breakfast

Villa Madame

Paris

My sister & I love to walk and this was located so that we could walk almost everywhere. We could enjoy the flavor of Paris, the city of light!

Authenticity & Character

Quiet room, uniquely Parisan - modern but homey

Location

Very central to lots of attractions

Staff

Great breakfast service & food

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full Day Tour of Omaha and Utah Beaches & Normandy Landings Sites

Bayeux

The guide was very good. He had heart wrenching and miraculous stories of events most of us had never heard before. The museums were very well done & interactive.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mont-Saint-Michel day Tour

France

Our guide was great and we had nice people in our small group. The van was comfortable for travel. Pack a lunch and get there early.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half day guided tour of Versailles with private transfers

Paris

Our guide was super! It was an unbelievable place.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lunch cruise on the Seine (Premier Service included)

Paris

It was pricy, but worth it. The food was gormet, which was not really what we are used to, but interesting.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Murders and Mysteries of the Louvre

Paris

We could take our time to see things we wanted to see. The Lourve couls use some easier, more user friendly signage. The lockers were great!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Eiffel Tower Summit Ticket

Paris

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

When we lost a package we had purchased they tried to help us.

PLANNING: Before meeting and working with the Kimkim team, I had originally planned on spending all of my time in Paris and doing day trips out to Normandy to see Mont St Michelle and the WW II sites. Instead, I began working with and iterating on a using those days for a stay in Normandy. Being experts in the region, they proposed the day tours, where to stay based on the items I wanted to see. It was fun working working Isabelle, Clement and Stephen. Each contributed to the itinerary I settled on more than six months in advance, because I was coming to Paris to do the marathon which I had booked 11 months in advance!

THE ACTUAL TRIP: Exceeded all expectations. The lodging, the trains, day excursions, were all exceptional. They picked the place in Bayeux which was fantastic. The town wasn't even on my radar and appreciate them having me stay there as it was so enjoyable.

THE RATING SHOULD ACTULLY BE 6 STARS: Because when I booked so far in advance, I had no way of knowing the social unrest, protests and strikes would be taking place within France during my actual trip. I was entering Paris during the newsworthy pension reform protests. Our train was delayed. Clement and team were available at all hours to help rebook trains, car transfers and everything which I was being impacted by. All of my issues I was experiencing because of items outside of my control at the time, they were able to correct in near real time. All I had to do text them and make them aware of my current status. That was a real feeling of luxury and safety in a country where I didn't speak the language. My wife and I felt special and knowing they were there and genuinely cared about us and wanted to ensure our trip was the best it could be. That is simply awesome! Thanks to the entire team.

Ours was a twice-postponed week-long tour of Normandy for a 20-person group of extended family members, mainly seniors, from Canada, the USA and the UK, in late September 2022.

We appreciate kimkim’s responsiveness in helping us design a tour that, in addition to visits to main tourist sites, included visits to a couple of sites connected to our family. We are especially very grateful for kimkim staying with us through two COVID postponements! Our contact person, Laetitia, was always a pleasure to deal with: highly responsive and invariably helpful.

We had three different guides during the seven days; all three (Aurélie, Mathieu and Céline) were punctual, personable, friendly, helpful and, above all, highly knowledgeable. We certainly learned a lot of interesting detail from our guides during our visits to Normandie sites, including Mont-Saint-Michel, the D-Day beaches, Dieppe, Caen, Rouen and Giverny. Several members of our group highlighted and especially appreciated Mathieu’s extensive knowledge of Canadian troops’ experiences at Dieppe, on D-Day and in the ensuing Battle of Normandy.

We had requested one guide for the duration of our week-long trip, and been promised we would have the same guide “unless imperative.” But we understand the widespread problem of unexpected absences and staff shortages, and appreciate that kimkim did its best.

Our two bus drivers were always punctual and got us safely from site to site, for which we are grateful.

The weather was not always ideal, and impacted some activities. Notably, we were disappointed we were not able to take the two-hour Étretat-Fécamp boat “cruise” as planned due to the inclement weather.

As might be expected in a trip of this nature and duration, there were several glitches and disappointments, which I will not detail here.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable trip, and a good time was had by all of us, despite the glitches and the weather.

Jim Fraser

Ambre-marie was amazing! She did such a great job tailoring the trip to our wants and needs. She was available throughout our trip anytime we ran into problems finding our tour group, using public transportation etc. She was prompt and professional. The hotels were great that she chose for us and gave us great directions when making connecting trains to our second destination. All of the excursions were top tier and so memorable.

Hotel Reviews

Maisons du Monde Hôtel Marseille Vieux Port

Marseille

Super fun decor and very large bathroom with great shower. The breakfast in the morning was amazing and felt like a home cooked meal. Staff was friendly and knowledgable of the area.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hôtel La Comtesse

Paris

Great continental breakfast. Rooms are small but have everything you need. Great views of the Eiffel Tower. It felt warm and hospitable and safe.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Historic & Gourmandise walking tour of Marseille

Marseille

Our guide was super knowledgable about Marseille and gave us a real local experience. we were able to stop and look in shops as we desired. She gave great recommendations for other things to do as we toured the city. She had great historical information and we felt like we got a really comprehensive tour of Old Marseille

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half-Day Afternoon Cruise to Calanques National Park - small group

Marseille

By far our most memorable excursion. There was a mixup with our skipper not being on time for the tour but they made up for it by adding on extra time at the end and overall didnt impact the experience. The skipper was funny and personable and knowledgable on the area. Gave great local tips on areas to eat and things to go back and see. There were soft drinks and non-alcoholic beverages aboard

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Palace of Versailles Half day trip (Skip the line, audioguided & gardens) by minivan from Paris

Paris

I didnt realize that our tour only included the palace and not the grounds. The app that you use to walk through the palace felt incomplete unless you paid for it. It was still a great experience but wish the audioguide was more user friendly and that there was better clarity on what was included in the tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Great tour bus, very comfortable

Discovery of the Parisian catacombs

Paris

Really cool to listen to the guided tour and felt like we could take our time in the catacombs. Was a really awesome experience

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

DU A Day in Le Marais: Cheese Shop, Museums, & Market

Paris

We had a small tour group so it felt like we got all of the attention and the full experience. Great food and our tour guide was very knowledgable about the area.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We really couldn’t have asked for anything more with the Exceptional and Perfect trip Clément and his team put together for us! Each and every tour was amazing and ALL of our guides were the absolute perfect hosts, historians, photographers and all felt like Friends in the end!

We really had the most memorable trip and the detail of our itinerary was incredible!!! Thank you Clément, High Point Holidays and Kimkim.com for making our mother/daughter 16th Birthday celebration the dream of a lifetime!

Chrissy and Cameron Johnson

Hotel Reviews

Hôtel Le Colombier

Colmar

This hotel is in the perfect location for Colmar! The staff was lovely and the building was wonderful with its breakfast and courtyards. So many great stores, town views and restaurants all within walking distance!

Authenticity & Character

Amazing courtyards and breakfast!

Location

Walking distance to everything you would need and so beautiful!

Staff

Helpful with everything we asked for! Very courthouse and kind.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Terrass Hotel

Paris

Seriously the most amazing staff and hotel with fantastic views of Paris! Great location and the Hotel really made our 16th Birthday celebration special! Highly recommend and walk the area, Montmartre is a very special place!

Authenticity & Character

The views and rooftop!!!

Location

Walking distance to many wonderful places to eat and drink or have a coffee!

Staff

Kindest and Warmest staff you will meet with all the special touches including balloons and treats for my daughters birthday!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Self-Guided Day in Le Marais: Cheese Shop, Museums, & Market

Paris

Walking the markets is refreshing and amazing with all the sights and sounds! And the ability to taste anything around and stop for a cafe is perfect in this area!

Arc de Triomphe timed entry tickets

Paris

Unfortunately we missed fitting this in but definitely saw it from the outside and was given the history by Clement in our itinerary !

Paris Visit (Pass Transport) - Zones 1 to 5 - 5 Days

Paris

The metro pass is necessary!!

Quality of Experience

Private transfer from Train Station to your hotel

Colmar

Private bike tour of Versailles

France

Don’t miss this tour going by bike was the most amazing way to see the town, market, and the Versailles Palace 2,000 acre grounds! It was superbly planned and guided by Claire as her family is from their 3 generations at least and mother and grandmother still live there! She guided us to the market to purchase our picnic lunch on the palace grounds! Her knowledge of the town and the palace could not be beat!! Truly amazing guide and perfectly paced with plenty of time for lunch and wine and even a little cafe/wine before the palace. We never felt rushed or exhausted from the bike ride and would have never seen the massive grounds without the bikes!

Quality of Experience

Breathtaking!!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Claire was absolutely amazing and a great photographer even when ppl were around us she somehow knows the angle to not show them!! Her historical knowledge is also superb.

Transport

Montmartre & Sacré Coeur: 2.5-Hour Walking Tour

Paris

Clemence our guide was absolutely charming, very knowledgeable as she was from or had lived in the area for many years! She was even kind enough to let us move our tour time an hour ahead bc we were running late! The path she takes you on is amazing starting at Sacré-Cœur Basilica giving us the beautiful church and St. Denis history that is sooo fascinating! The basilica is located at the summit of the butte Montmartre, the highest point in the city. The Stroll Through The Bohemian Village On The Hill. This most bohemian of Paris neighborhoods is known for its cobblestone streets, its village atmosphere, its nightlife, a big white church, and for the artists who found a home there more than a century ago. We definitely felt like this was a special treat to walk on the streets where famous artist once called home and such a wonderful villages!

Quality of Experience

Amazing and very detailed with all the facts and historical knowledge!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Timed tickets to Le Louvre

Paris

We were provided everything we needed and It was booked at the perfect time of day to try and avoid some of the crowd. The Louvre is of course huge and our self guided audio tour gave us what we needed. While this was on the bucket list I would say I’m glad it’s checked and next time I can’t wait to see some of the smaller museums that probably are better for certain art lovers!

Quality of Experience

lol

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Latin Quarter Gourmet Tour

Paris

We had the same guide as our Parisian Chic shopping tour which gave us even more comfort and enjoyment! The group tour is lovely for this as you will get to share more wonderful Latin Market items! It was a truly amazing group and such a fun way to eat and learn about the area!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

She even helped us learn the transit on the way back to our hotel by personally guiding us in the railway! It was so critical and we needed to understand and use the Metro system for many other days! Above and beyond!

Transport

The Key to Parisian Chic: Saint-Honoré

Paris

Amazing, we were given the history and taken into the most amazing stores and assisted with the purchasing to carrying ur purchases during a little rain but she made it so easy and enjoyable!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Eiffel Tower Tickets

Paris

Highly recommend the night time tour and view, that was booked for us this was a very easy wonderful excursion.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private transfer in Paris

Paris

Eric drove us and got us completely on the Train with time to spare with no hassles!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private 1/2 day tour of Alsace

France

See our prior full day tour review! We thoroughly enjoyed Eric and our time with him on the Alsace Safari!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private day tour of Alsace

France

The Alsace Safari for both days was absolutel perfection! Eric and Ana guided us through various towns, made us reservations for authentic lunches and gave us all the history we could take in. The personalization is unbelievable by Eric and perfect for the start of our vacation! I highly recommend this tour with Eric and Ana who want to see and hear all the important history in the region at the pace you want or need! They feel like Family now we will definitely use them again! Chrissy

Quality of Experience

Exceptional! We saw sooo much I can’t even believe how we got it all In without any rush!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Eric was absolutely amazing and we now consider him our dear friend! We can’t wait to see him again in the future!

Transport

Perfect car to sit back and relax and enjoy the view!

This was our first family trip to Paris and I wanted to make it special. Ambre-Marie worked with me for six months to plan this! She was patient and kind with my questions and changes. Ambre-Marie was very responsive! The tours and dinners were well worth it!

Pierre-bike tour-well done with the Place Vendôme, the Palais Royal, the Roman ruins, and St. Sulpice explanations!! Loved meeting at the Place Vendôme. We enjoyed the coffee and croissant in the middle!! My college kids both thought he was awesome!! He was high energy and engaged the whole time!!!

Thibeaut-Meeting the French-Latin Quarter tour and chocolate/pastry tour-both informative and friendly. He was kind and thoughtful and courteous the whole time! We liked how he discussed both modern and historical events and helped us with finding stores after our tour. He handled both a small group and large group well.

Eiffel Tower dinner-wonderful view and easy to get in! All inclusive! Very special!

Seine River tour-perfect view!!! I would just include location of the dock, but we were early and had plenty of time to find it.

Knowing how quality your tours are, I probably would have asked Ambre-Marie to book the Louvre, Notre Dame, Christmas concert, St. Chapelle, Sacre Couer, dinners.

Everything turned out excellent and quality! I will tell others about your services!!!

Activity Reviews

Private Transfer from Paris hotel to Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG)

France

Both transfers were on time, helpful, spacious!!

Quality of Experience

Very friendly

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Service oriented

Transport

Clean, spacious

Paris - Seine Dinner Cruise

Paris

Perfect location of table near window!! Thank you!

Quality of Experience

Excellent food, important sites!

Food

Loved the escargot

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Fun waiter!

Transport

Beautiful and serene boat!

Private gourmet pastries & chocolate tour in Saint Germain

Paris

This is soo fun and you eat soo much! The macarons, chocolates. This was my loved language! Super fun for kids and families of all ages!!

Quality of Experience

Excellent choices and greater appreciation of food!! Loved the tiny streets and historical areas in St. Germaine that we not have known about!! Cafe where Jefferson went, Ernest Hemingway, space invader signs, explanation of ship on signage, explanation of middle aged St. Germaine church.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Thibeaut appreciates and honors the history and culture as well as people. Very humble, kind, happy and interesting guide. He was energetic and joyful and positive!!

Transport

Lots of walking to burn calories 😂😂

Latin Quarter Guided Walking Tour - Semi-Private

Paris

Thibeaut was happy go lucky and informative! He mixes some current fun facts with historical ideas. We went to different places than our bike tour. Our understanding of French food has increased tremendously!!

Quality of Experience

Loved the cheese explanations

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Loved the croissant and bread explanations

Transport

Good to walk to burn off the calories 😂😂

Gourmet dinner on the Eiffel Tower - Menu Gustave

Paris

Wonderful location of table!!!

Quality of Experience

All inclusive

Food

Desserts stand out

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendly

Transport

Electric Bike tour of Paris' Hidden Gems - Small-group

Paris

Our guide was Pierre and he was exceptional! We met at the Place Vendôme which was particularly exciting! His explanation of history was clear and well thought out. We enjoyed biking through the streets-my college kids really loved this! The Palais Royal stories are super memorable. Good storytelling skills. Then, off to the Roman ruins! Wow! Who knew!? Then, St. Sulpice-excellent art explanations!!!

Quality of Experience

Strong knowledge of history

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendly, engaging, funny, smart!

Transport

Exciting and adventurous

My daughter and I enjoyed our trip so much! Everything was taken care of and we had nothing to worry about, just to show up!

Thanks to Lise with Trip My France, we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Alsace and Paris. Lise helped build an itinerary that met our expectations, with some structured tourism as well as time to discover sites on our own.
The hotels in Colmar (Hotel Le Colombier) and in Paris’ Latin Quarter (Hotel Jardin de Cluny) were excellent. Alsace Safari provided an informative tour of Alsatian cities all decked out for the holidays with just the right amount of driving and walking time in addition to allowing for shopping the Christmas Markets. Ground Transfer services were timely and professional. We especially appreciated John, from JFJ Services in Colmar, who spent extra time making sure we knew how to make the train transfer in Strasbourg.
All the documentation provided by Lise helped us stay on time each day and provided background and historical perspective on what we were experiencing, resulting in an unforgettable vacation!
Many thanks.

Hotel Reviews

Hôtel Jardin de Cluny

Paris

It’s amazing that this hotel fits in the tiny building. Love the creative use of space. Everyone we encountered - front desk and breakfast service team - was very friendly. The accommodations and public areas were neat and clean, and the bed was very comfortable.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Plenty of nice places to eat in walking distance, and easy to access some of the best sites in Paris from here.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hôtel Le Colombier

Colmar

Their hospitality was excellent! The front desk staff were very welcoming and joyful and always had answers to our questions. The breakfast service team was very service-oriented and pleasant. The room was very nice, neat and tidy, and the bed was so comfortable.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Half day guided tour of the Palace of Versailles with priority access in a small group (1 to 15 people)

Paris

When we arrived at Versailles, we were ready to get the tour underway but were told our tickets were timed to enter about 45 minutes later. It felt like wasted time. Our tour guide filled some of that time with historical explanation which basically repeated what the hostess on the bus had shared on the way there. Once inside, the tour was excellent and our guide was very informative. I couldn’t imagine visiting Versailles without a guide like that - we learned so much.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The hostess on the bus ride was very informative.

Transport

Christmas Gourmet Walking Tour

Paris

Very interesting time in St. Germaine! Our guide was well-informed and we moved at a comfortable pace. It was nice to be in a small group (just one other couple was on this tour with us) as the shops are very small and the sidewalks very narrow, but it was easy to stick together.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Nighttime Seine River Cruise with Dining Experience

Paris

This experience is all about the views - seeing Paris highlights at night from the river was beautiful. We appreciated the window seats and excellent drinks included (champagne and wines each course). The menus were fine dining, our meals just weren’t very hot which I understand is a challenge in this setting.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Eiffel Tower Summit Ticket

Paris

Skip the line visit of the Louvre with audioguide (tickets only)

Paris

Absolute tour of Strasbourg

France

Gabriel was our tour guide and he clearly knows and loves Strasbourg. It was just long - three full hours of walking.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

It was full 3 hours of walking, just know that in advance.

Magical Christmas & Wine Tasting Half-Day Tour

Colmar

Loved seeing the cities in the small group (only two other guests were on the tour) and our guide was excellent, providing historical perspective and explanations of local culture. His vehicle was in great shape and he’s a trustworthy driver. However, there was no wine tasting on this tour, as the title implied.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Everything was perfect for our Winter trip. I will definitely use kimkim in the future.

The tours were fantastic: the guides were knowledgeable and personable and we enjoyed every minute.

The hotels hit all the right notes.

Valentine and the Kimkim travel team was very reliable and sufficient. They provided a trip plan which made my trip to the French Rivera most enjoyable. I highly recommend. You will be in great hands!

Hotel Review

Hotel Villa Victoria

Nice

I enjoyed the free, detailed, variety breakfast at the Villa Victoria. The location couldn’t have been better. The staff gave excellent, friendly service.

Authenticity & Character

There weren’t any clocks or face towels available.

Location

Everywhere in downtown Nice was walkable.

Staff

Two in particular, (male and female)were very likable and accommodating.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The room was cleaned to satisfaction.

Activity Reviews

Uncover the Gastronomic Treasures of Nice

Nice

Had a personal tour guide. Very knowledgeable, pleasant, flexible, enjoyable. Didn’t do food tour.

Quality of Experience

Well done

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very likable. Easy to share time with. Very knowledgeable and accommodating.

Transport

We walked, which was fine.

Journey into the Heart of the French Riviera: Eze, Monaco & Monte Carlo

France

Great experience. Beautiful!

Quality of Experience

Excellent

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very informative.

Transport

Excellent driver

Half-Day Excursion to Cannes, Antibes & St Paul de Vence

France

Loved St Paul and Cannes. Pleasantly surprised They don’t take American money or do American Express….. I guess for the most part.

Quality of Experience

The shopping and overall atmosphere was amazing

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Professional, well versed, very pleasant, excellent driver.

Transport

Great driver. On time