Mathilde Dubuisson

This was our first time to Switzerland. Margaux was the first specialist we communicated with and then came Mathilde. Both are wonderful and knowledgeable specialists. We covered 8 places in 17 days. The itinerary was very easy to understand. The hotels were all close to train stations and easy to locate. When we were on the trip, we communicated with Mathilde and she was always prompt in responding. She lives in France but she seemed to know Switzerland very well. We had difficulty getting from Interlaken to Zermatt because there was an avalanche on the train route. Mathilde found a different route for us to get to Zermatt. She even contacted the hotel about our late arrival. We appreciate all the help that Mathilde had given us to make our trip an amazing adventure.

Hotel Reviews

Boutique Hotel Wellenberg

Zurich

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Boutique Hotel KARL

Luzern

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Best Western Plus Hotel Bern

Bern

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Jnterlaken

3800

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Le Petit Manoir

Morges

Location

This hotel is very close to the Tulip Festival. The tulips were beautiful!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Jade

Geneva

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Walliserhof Zermatt

Zermatt

This hotel is in a great location. From this hotel we were able to walk 10 minutes to see the Matterhorn.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mona Montreux Hotel

Montreux

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Swiss Travel Pass

Switzerland

It is worth having a Swiss Travel Pass. It saves a lot of time not having to buy tickets at the train station. This pass is also good for local buses.

Quality of Experience

Transport

Zurich and Surroundings Tour (Group tour/4,5 hours)

Zürich

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

It was a big group but the guide handled it very well.

Lucerne: 1-Hour Cruise on Panoramic Yacht

Lucerne

Quality of Experience

Transport

Gruyères Medieval Town, Cheese Factory and Maison Cailler Tour from Bern (Small group/6 hours)

Bern

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Schilthorn - Piz Gloria

Switzerland

Quality of Experience

Welcome to Mürren

Switzerland

From the cable car we were able to walk around on our own.

Quality of Experience

Peak Walk - Glacier 3000

Switzerland

We enjoyed this area. They have ski trails and trails for walkers.

Quality of Experience

Transport

Since I had very little time to plan and book a trip to Switzerland , I decided to give kimkim a try. In 7 weeks, Mathilde put together a suggested itinerary, worked with me on zoom calls to add and subtract destination cities, and purchased/booked travel passes and hotels.

While I might have done a few things differently (like staying in Wengen rather than Grindlewald), all in all I think it was money well spent with kimkim. The directions for each stop were thorough and clear and the online vouchers and schedules were easy to access.

If I find myself in a similar situation with short lead time, and no knowledge of the destination country, I would use kimkim again.

My wife and I are retired teachers, we love to travel and experience new adventures. Two years ago we spent three weeks driving around Ireland. We didn't do a lot of planning and sort of played everything by ear as we went along. we had a great trip. That trip empowered us to try and do the same thing in France. Neither I or my wife had ever been to France. As I started to research things to do and places to go on the web I came across Kim Kim. I was curious to what it was about. So I clicked on it and started going through the process (which was really easy). I figured if they asked for my credit card I would click off the site. To my amazement they didn't ask for money. The next day I received a 21 day itinerary that included so much, I was astonished. The instructions said to set up a phone interview with the local specialist Mathilde (who is amazing). We did we altered and tweaked the itinerary to the way we wanted it and viola' we had a three week trip planned. We asked if they could rent us a car. They did. We asked to change dates, bookings, tours. Whatever we asked Mathilde accommodated us. We traveled around 1,500 miles and eight different cities. During a travel day Mathilde called me and said that we would be really close to where Kim Kim is located and would we like to get together for coffee. We agreed to meet and for an hour had a wonderful conversation with a really lovely young lady. We experienced Paris (all the highlights), The Alps, The Riviera, Medieval mountain towns, Normandy (D-Day tour was exceptional). The itinerary included 3 bike tours, 3 walking tours, 2 private tours, tickets to the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Mount Blanc, Chenonceau Castle, Palace of Versailles, Dinner cruise on the Siene, Mont St. Michel, D-Day tour, Monet's Gardens and so much more. All of our hotels booked. Things that I would have never thought of Mathilde and Kim Kim did. And all this at a price that we could afford. We are preparing to go to Italy for three weeks next year, I will definitely be calling Kim Kim and Mathilde . Thank you for a great experience that my wife and I will never forget.

Activity Reviews

Welcome to Chamonix

Chamonix

Quality of Experience

Skip the line Eiffel Tower Summit Tickets

Paris

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Versailles Bike & Palace Day Trip

France

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Seine River Gourmet Dinner Cruise with Live Music

Paris

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

City Excursion by E-Bike with Food Tasting

Lyon

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Omaha & Utah Beach War History Day Trip

Bayeux

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey - Entrance tickets

France

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Luberon E-Bike Adventure

France

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This is our second time booking through Kimkim. We had an absolutely amazing time with the process and experience on our first trip to Italy last year. So, we were excited to plan the second trip this year. Mathilde jumped in to plan fairly late in the game so we were thankful for that. I will say., in comparison to our first planner, Mathilde seemed to be less available / communicative and/or slower to respond than our first experience. I also was a bit concerned about her knowledge of the areas we were traveling since she is from France and we were not traveling there. That said, everything got booked and we were looking forward to it.

When we arrived in Munich, we had to call our driver when no one was present when we arrived. So, that was a little frustrating and different than we experienced previously. But, the ride was fine. When we arrived at the hotel Jederman in Munich we were very surprised and disappointed in the location, but tried to shake it off. We were there early, and the room was not ready. We knew this was a likely possibility, so that was not a big deal. We were very under-impressed as a first impression of the hotel. We were given a space to put our luggage and a map of the city. When we asked for some suggestions on where to go, the staff was fairly non-responsive. So, we did our best to find the city center for lunch. When we returned to check in, we were given our keys to adjoining rooms, and we retrieved our luggage ourselves. There was just no interest in assisting in any manner from the hotel staff. I guess we’re just not used to that at all. When we got to the rooms, we were again disappointed. They were minimal, semi-clean and definitely not welcoming or comfortable. When we entered my daughter’s room, it was filled with the smell of heavy smoking, even though it was supposed to be a non- smoking room. It was so bad, we all started coughing and sneezing and I started to get a headache immediately. I went down to the front desk and the initial response was - sorry - we can’t control if people smoke in the rooms. That’s when I called Mathilde to see what options she could help with. I was honestly uncomfortable staying there. In the meantime, my daughter found mucus wiped all over the wall next to her bed and some kind of pink substance on the wall next to the door. Additionally, there was black mold in each bathroom. We have pictures of it all. They offered Mathilde to clean my daughter’s room, but I knew that wouldn’t mitigate the smell. They were able to find a room down the hall for my daughter, but, it made me very uncomfortable given the overall state of the hotel. That said, every answer I got was that there were just no other options.

By this time, because we had to wait to check in, and then deal with the room debacle, I was not comfortable leaving in the middle of that mess to go on a tour of the city. And, apparently the guide had been told a different location to meet (we were told she’d come to the hotel, she was at a different location by “the fish pond”). I felt it was such a mess. I couldn’t just drop everything to go meet her. I felt like there was just very limited help to resolve the issue from Mathilde or the staff. I actually resorted to looking for other hotels that I was willing to pay for myself. Ultimately, because we had no idea where anything was in the city, and becausexwe we’re going on a full day tour the next day, we decided to suck it up and stay.

The breakfast buffet at Jederman was just okay and, again, we found the staff unfriendly and unhelpful. It was honestly one of the worst hotel experiences I’ve ever had. Based on our prior experience with Kimkim, we were just very surprised at this choice, it’s poor location and poor presentation. Definitely did not meet expectations and we felt like we had no options but to suck it up and make the best of it. We definitely felt it was well below the standard we had come to expect from Kimkim.

The tour to the castle in Germany from Munich was a lovely day and definitely the highlight of Munich.. It was great to be out of the hotel and somewhere beautiful for the day. The tour guides were very nice and knowledgeable. Well worth it.

The trains to Stuttgart were coordinated well and that travel was easy, as always. So, we appreciated that. The Maritime Hotel in Stuttgart was much more in line with our expectations and was in a lovely, convenient area of the city.

Travel to Bruges was also simple and well planned, so we appreciated that.

Hotel Aragon in Bruges was amazing and fully in line with our expectations. Great staff, warm welcome, assistance with questions and suggestions, and a fabulous location. Just a great experience. Hotel Aragon was in line with what we experienced with our Italy Kimkim trip and we were very thankful for that. The rooms were beautiful, clean and comfortable and the breakfast was very good.

There was a snag with my son’s arrival and transport. We don’t really know what happened, but when he arrived he, too, had to reach out to the driver to see location. Apparently the driver was still an hour away. As a result, and to not waste a full hour waiting, my son took a cab from the airport to the train station. Again, for us, we weren’t used to that inefficiency. That said, he did arrive safely.

The tour of Bruges was great and our local tour guide was super nice and knowledgeable. A great tour. Also, the transfer to the airport on our final day went well and our driver was very nice.

Overall, the trip started in a very disappointing manner. Those first two nights were very uncomfortable and we would never stay somewhere like that again. I was surprised Kimkim would select that hotel as something acceptable for guests. It made me wonder if anyone from Kimkim had ever stayed there.

Thankfully, the trip ended on a much better note in Bruges with hotel Aragon. Much more in line with our previously established expectations.

We had an amazing family trip to Europe and could not have pulled it off myself without the help of Mathilde! She had ideas for activities that I never would have known existed or come up with on my own. I was also very nervous about booking a trip for 6 people ranging in ages from 7 to 70, traveling to three countries I was not familiar with. Mathilde took care of everything and the entire trip went smoothly. She was very responsive and followed up in a timely manner.

In Paris, the macaron cooking class with Marthe in her apartment was incredible. She taught us how to make the amazing macarons and gave us the recipes to try making them at home. It was a fun activity to do together as a family and everyone participated in making the macarons.

Our private guided bike ride through Paris with Thibeau was so much fun! We had fun activities to do, got to hear interesting facts and history directly from him, and was able to see so much. The bikes were comfortable to ride for everyone and the tandem attachment worked out well for our 7 year old (both to keep her from running into other bikers/cars and to make sure she wouldn't get tired).

When our trains cancelled from Amsterdam to Ahaus, Germany, Mathilde quickly responded with other options. We ended up renting a vehicle from Amsterdam to Ahaus, which worked out perfectly (even better than the trains would have).

In Amsterdam, we started with a canal boat ride, which was a great way to see different parts of the city and learn about them. We all had an amazing time on the Zaanse Schans tour. The tour guide, Bianca, was fabulous. We had more fun then we expected seeing how the wooden shoes were made, sampling the different types of Gouda cheese, and seeing the windmills in operation. We could have spent several more hours there. We also enjoyed the Van Gogh museum. It was an easy city to navigate and everything was in walking distance.

Overall, it was an amazing trip that everyone will remember. I will definitely use kimkim again for our big travel needs!

Hotel Reviews

Hôtel Lorette - Astotel

Paris

Nice, clean and quiet hotel. There were several cafes nearby and very close to the metro. The breakfasts were amazing and everyone enjoyed the daily snacks that they had to offer. I would highly recommend.

Authenticity & Character

Modern with nice decor.

Location

Nearby to many cafes and the metro.

Staff

The front desk staff was very nice and helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Comfortable beds and the public areas of the hotel were very clean as well.

Hotel NH City Center Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Super nice hotel in a great location! The rooms were very nice, the hotel was clean in the rooms and public spaces, and the breakfast was phenomenal. It was nice that it had a bar with food for other hours of the day as well for those that were tired and didn't feel like venturing out. The hotel staff was also very friendly.

Authenticity & Character

Right in the heart of everything.

Location

All of the main attractions that we wanted to visit were no more than a 20-25 minute walk. Plenty of cafes nearby and we were right by one of the canals.

Staff

Super friendly staff at the front desk and at the hotel bar/breakfast area.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Everything was clean. The beds were a bit firm compared to other places we stayed at so that would be the only thing I didn't like (but willing to overlook due to all the other great amenities).

Activity Reviews

Arc de Triomphe - Skip the line ticket

Paris

This was a great place to visit upon arriving to Paris. Great views of the city and a lot of things to do in the area.

Quality of Experience

Nice to have the tickets and not have to stand in line to buy them!

Seine River Cruise with Audio Guide

Paris

Great activity for the end of the first day, when everyone was tried from traveling and walking. It was a great way to see the big attractions that were along the Seine River and to learn a little about them. The audio guides were a little more difficult to figure out how to use and some of them did not seem to work well.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Louvre Museum in Paris: entrance tickets & audioguides

Paris

No trip to Paris is complete without a visit to the Louvre to see the famous works of art and an incredible building. It is nearly impossible to see it all because it is so big. The audio guides were helpful to learn more about the art.

Quality of Experience

Private Family Bike Trip

Paris

I was looking forward to this before we arrived but it turned out to be even more fun than I expected. Our guide, Thibeau, was fantastic and made it a lot of fun. We saw so many great sights and learned a lot from T on our tour. The stop at the market for lunch was also very nice. Another 15 minutes in the market would have been great (but that might have been cut short because we arrived late to start the tour). The bikes were really nice and comfortable to ride all day. They all looked new and in great condition. We used a tandem attachment for our 7 year old, which worked out great and prevented her from wandering into other bike/car traffic and gave her an easy way to rest if she got tired. The fun activities and challenges along the ride made it even more memorable. My kids really got into it. There were medals at the end that will be a great souvenir for them! One of the bikes got a flat tire during the tour because we ran over a screw. It was not an issue and our guide immediately sprang into action and repaired the tire quickly and got us back on our way.

Quality of Experience

Great bikes and a well planned tour!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was very friendly, knowledgeable, and interacted well with our family.

Macaron Cooking Class

Paris

This was a super fun activity that was enjoyed by all! Marthe was great and was definitely an expert at making macarons. She shared all of the tips to make perfect macarons that you will not find in the cookbooks. Everyone in our party, ranging in ages from 7-70, were able to participate and help. She shared all of the recipes with us at the end so we can try to make them at home on our own. They were definitely some of the best macarons that I have ever had! She even gave us recommendations of places to eat for afterwards!

Quality of Experience

Marthe had everything ready to go and it was a very smooth process.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Marthe was exceptionally knowledgeable.

Amsterdam Canal Cruise

Amsterdam

This was a great way to see and hear about the different places along the canals. It is such a beautiful city and is even more beautiful from the canals. We enjoyed a glass of wine/beer while listening to the audio and taking in the sights.

Quality of Experience

Great way to learn about the different places in Amsterdam.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The boat driver was friendly and interesting to listen to.

Transport

The boat was nice and clean.

Zaanse Schans Small-Group Half-Day Tour from Amsterdam

Amsterdam

This turned out to be more fun than we imagined. It was a small village with a lot to see and do. Everyone in our group enjoyed it. It's about a half hour drive from the city so you only spend about two hours there. Those two hours went fast as we watched how wooden clogs are made, got a demo on how they make Gouda cheese (and then sampled all the different kinds!), and then visited one of the working windmills. The time we were there went really fast and we could have easily spent another couple of hours there.

Quality of Experience

It was so fun to see all of these traditional and famous activities.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was very friendly and did a good job getting us from place to place so we could see as much as possible.

Transport

The bus was comfortable and had seat belts for everyone.

Van Gogh Museum: skip-the-line entrance ticket

Amsterdam

If you like art, this is a great place to visit! My husband is a huge Van Gogh fan so this was one of his must do activities in Amsterdam. I wasn't as excited to go here but I was very impressed with the museum. The audio guides made it much more interesting and I enjoyed learning his story and the background on his paintings. I now have a much bigger appreciation for Van Gogh and his artwork than I did before this visit. There was an activity for younger kids (kind of like a scavenger hunt) that made it more engaging for our 7 year old. She turned in her completed booklet at the end as was able to pick a postcard of her favorite painting!

Quality of Experience

Great museum that tells the story of Van Gogh.

I'm a Kimkim staff member, and I was on a work trip to Nice, Marseille, Aix-En-Provonce, Lyon, and Paris. I stayed in wonderful hotels; my favorite was Globe et Cecil Hôtel in the heart of Lyon, the Inwood La Bourdonnais, where I was in close proximity to the Eiffel Tower, and Hotel Des Grands Hommes in Paris, where I looked directly at the Pantheon and was blocks away from the Luxembourg Gardens. The hotels each left their personal touch on my stay and made sure every need was met.

I enjoyed the day trip from Aix-en-Provence to the beach village Cassis, where I took a boat to see the cliffs (falaises) and the sheltered inlets called calanques. The bike tour through the Luberon Valley, where we visited villages and vineyards, was beautiful, with the most enjoyable Caesar salad in Ménerbes at Bistrot le 5 overlooking the grape vines in the valley below. In Paris, Les Caves du Louvre wine and cheese tasting was very informative and a great sampling of the cheeses and wines that were available at the time of year I was there. I enjoyed the Pastry and Chocolate tour of the Sainte Germain the Chocolate, where we walked in the Sainte Germain neighborhood and visited shops specializing in all the desserts and breads I could have dreamed about. The guide also provided a great deal of information about the history of the neighborhood, France, and the contemporary Parisian culture.

The various tours I took were a perfect mix of activity, culture, and visiting key landmarks. I left feeling very fulfilled and wishing I had more time to explore the other regions of France. Until next time..... Au revoir! 🇫🇷🥖🥂🙌🏼

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Florence Nice

Nice

I am a kimkim staff member, and I was on a work trip when I stayed at the Hotel Florence in Nice. This hotel has 2 restaurants below it and is close to the main shopping street of Av. Jean Medecin, which also leads directly to the promenade and Plague Beau Rivage Beach. Accommodations were cozy and functional.

Authenticity & Character

The dinning room is a little dated but offered a nice breakfast.

Location

Close to everything.

Staff

The staff made baggage storage easy and secure.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Nice clean bathroom.

NH Collection Marseille

Marseille

I am a kimkim staff member, and I was on a work trip when I stayed at the NH Collection Marseille is a very nice hotel with great staff members.

Authenticity & Character

Welcoming lobby with a bar and restaurant offering a nice breakfast.

Location

Situated right along the Rue De La Republique and a quick taxi ride from the train station.

Staff

Very helpful and attentive.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The room was of reasonable size with an up-to-date bathroom.

The Originals Résidence Aix Schuman

Aix-en-Provence

This hotel offers a kitchenette for travelers who would like to eat in their rooms. A hot breakfast is also provided in the lobby restaurant.

Authenticity & Character

The character was a little stoic but provided the functional needs for me.

Location

It's a 10-15 minute walk from the city center.

Staff

I didn't interact much with the staff, but my needs were met.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The hotels and space were well maintained and clean.

Hotel Bastille Spéria

Paris

This hotel is located right off the Bastille Monument. The decor was nice, with a cozy lobby and a large bathroom. The breakfast was fulfilling, and the staff even provided fruit for me when I was leaving before the breakfast was open.

Authenticity & Character

This hotel felt very authentic, with an excellent selection of color combinations in the wallpaper decorations. The bathroom was large.

Location

This hotel is located right off the Bastille monument, surrounded by restaurants and shopping. It is a 20-minute walk from the Louvre and the Seine River.

Staff

The staff went above and beyond to fulfill our needs and was welcoming and kind.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Everything was clean and comfortable.

Hotel La Bourdonnais - Tour Eiffel

Paris

This hotel allowed me to leave my bags at 6:00 am the day I checked in so I could go on a tour. When I arrived, my bags were in my room with a personalized note followed up by a phone call once I was settled in my room, making sure I had everything I needed.

Authenticity & Character

The decor was functional as the couch was a pull-out if needed in the junior suite, and the room had plenty of space. The bathroom was in its own closet, separate from the shower and vanity, so numerous people could use the facilities.

Location

This hotel is 10 minutes from the Eiffel Tower. It made it easy to come back after touring all day to freshen up, head back out for dinner, and see the Eiffel Tower light up at night. There are plenty of restaurants and shops right around the hotel.

Staff

The staff did a great job meeting my needs and went above and beyond to get me a Coke even though the bar was closed.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Nothing was left un attended to, great hotel.

Hôtel des Grands Hommes

Paris

This hotel has a spectacular view of the Pantheon, which is right across the street. The location is close to Notre Dame and Sainte Germain and has a great view of Sacre Cure across the city. I would recommend the top-floor suites, which include a balcony with a spectacular view and a nice sitting area. When you leave the hotel and turn the corner, the Eiffel Tower is in plain view. If you climb the Pantheon Tower, you'll see one of the city's best views.

Authenticity & Character

The room had a lovely sitting room with a desk and a small couch and another room with a bed. The decor was charming and offered an authentic feel to complete our stay.

Location

It's an excellent location for the landmarks on the eastern side of the city. It's close to Disneyland Paris while still being close to the city center attractions. There's a good creperie right around the corner, and the best Croque Madame is at the Comptoir Du Pantheon, one block away. It's also three blocks from the Luxembourg Gardens.

Staff

The staff was very aware of each guest, and the night before I left, they asked if they could help me with my departure the following morning.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Everything was clean and comfortable.

Le Globe et Cecil

Lyon

This hotel was a boutique hotel with lots of character and a location in the city center. Excellent access to shopping, old town, and landmark

Authenticity & Character

Very cozy rooms.

Location

Located in the city center of Lyon, close to the old town, the river, and the funicular to the Notre Dame Church overlooking the city.

Staff

Tended to every need I had and provided a substantial breakfast.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Due to the age of the building, the bath tub had some marks on it but it was not dirty just indicative of it's age, it was part of the charm.

Activity Reviews

Boat tour Nice/Monaco (Speedboat)

Nice

The description of this activity isn't accurate. It isn't meant for travelers with physical sensitivities or who have endured recent or ongoing injuries due to the possibility of rough seas on a boat going at a high rate of speed. The excursion takes you to Monocao and lets travelers see super yachts from the water level. Travelers can swim in a cove with a cave and drive past other villages along the French Riviera. Things you see are spectacular, but the possible harm to one's body needs to be considered when booking this trip. The tour operators did not go out of their way to interact with guests or solve problems.

Quality of Experience

Communication about the possibilities of rough pounding seas in the write up for travelers.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

No effort to solve problems or desire to interact with guests. The language barrier was ever present, and no effort was put into trying to decipher what guests were trying to say in French.

Transport

Nice new boat.

Explore Nice by E-Bike

Nice

This activity took riders to spectacular views that are not easily accessible and around town for a city tour.

Quality of Experience

Nice way to see a lot of the city in a short amount of time.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide was knowledgeable and took care of the group.

Transport

The bikes were in good working condition.

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

France

This tour takes travelers to the coast of the French Riviera, Monaco, a perfume factory, and the village ofÈzee. Beach time was not an option, and we were not gone for 10 hours, but still worth it.

Quality of Experience

It's nice to see all the sites at each location.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide was knowledgeable and got us to all the sites.

Transport

Pick up and drop off at the hotel in an excellent vehicle.

Old Town Food Walk

Nice

This is a very informative tour and would be a great activity upon arrival. The socca that we got to eat was great, and the guide did a great job sharing historical and cultural information.

Quality of Experience

The guide did a great job connecting with me and sharing information I was interested in.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Knowledgable guide.

Transport

No transport was needed

City Discovery Walk

Marseille

This tour was informative and enjoyable to see Le Panier neighborhood, the old port, and the Bonne Mère.

Quality of Experience

I enjoyed seeing the fish market and the old mills in Le Panier.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide was knowledgeable.

Full Day Luberon E-Bike Adventure

France

I loved riding bikes through the Luberon Valley and visiting the little villages. The e-bikes made the trip easy and fun.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide made sure everyone was ok on the bike ride and told us a bit of history on the drive there.

Transport

The minivan was clean and well-maintained.

Private City Walk

Aix-en-Provence

Erin Jordan, the guide in Aix-En-Provence, was excellent! She was knowledgeable and provided history, information on architecture, and insight into the city's economic evolution. She did a wonderful job.

Quality of Experience

She provided information on food, where to get the best pastries and chocolates, and great restaurant options.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Half Day Cassis Trip

Aix-en-Provence

This half-day tour went too fast; if I were to say anything, it would be to allow yourself the full-day tour so you can enjoy all that Cassis has to offer. We took the boat to see the Parc National des Calanques. The blue water was so striking. The village had a great market and neat eateries. We were also taken to the Cap Canaille overlook to see the cove and city and admire the steep drop-off.

Quality of Experience

The natural environment and village were memorable and a place I would like to go back to.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private War History & Traboules Walk

Lyon

The guide was knowledgeable, showed me all the passages or Traboules that made up the city of Lyon, and earned it the UNESCO classification. We talked little about World War II but focused more on the city and the silk industry.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Gones Tour, 2-hour e-bike Guided Tour

Lyon

Biking along the Rhône's banks was a treat. This path took the tour along the Rhône River to the Golden Head Park, where there's a free zoo and open space for city dwellers to enjoy.

Quality of Experience

The guide added history and pointed out key points of the city.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide did a great job of explaining how to use the e-bike and setting expectations for how to ride safely as a group.

Seine River Gourmet Dinner Cruise with Live Music

Paris

The experience on the boat provided a great vantage point to see all the buildings along the shore of the Seine River lite up. The food was good, and the live singer created a nice ambience.

Quality of Experience

Food

The food was good and paired with flavorful wine.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Louvre Museum Visit

Paris

Our guide led us through the Sully and Denon wings, seeing all the masterpiece artwork.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Wine and cheese tasting in Paris

Paris

This was one of my favorite activities in Paris. The sommelier explained why the wines and cheese come from the different regions in France.

Quality of Experience

The wine and cheese was excellent.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The sommelier shared so much information with us while we enjoyed the pairings.

Saint-Germain-des-Prés Pastry & Chocolate Walk

Paris

This was a great tour, introducing me to the essential things about the chocolates and pastries in France. The Guide did a great job leading us to all the different locations to taste the other foods. He included things about history, guided us through a church, and shared historical information about the area.

Quality of Experience

He was a great guide and great food.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Latin Quarter Gourmet Food Walk

Paris

It was fun to stop at different shops and pick up items for our picnic in the park. We visited a fromagerie, a market for fresh produce, a pâtisserie, a charcuterie, and a wine shop with red and white wine ready to sample.

Quality of Experience

Excellent food products with history mixed in.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide knew much about the food, the neighborhood's history, and the Notre Dame Cathedral. She did a great job providing up-to-date information on the rebuilding of Notre Dame.

Palace of Versailles & Giverny Day Trip with Gourmet Lunch

Paris

Monet's paintings come alive when you visit his gardens. I highly recommend this tour to see the flowers and other inspirations in his paintings. The guide did a great job sharing his life story on the bus ride to Giverny. Lunch and the Palace of Versailles were great stops. The guide did well keeping the group on time and ensuring we saw everything necessary.

Quality of Experience

The prime time to go to Givery would be July and August, but it is still well worth the visit through September to see all the flowers in bloom. The house is interesting to see at all times of the year, and the souvenir shop, his workshop, was full of Monet items for everyone. Versaille is amazing to visit any time of the year, but the gardens and fountains are spectacular when in bloom, and the water is flowing.

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide used the time on the way to Giverny to provide us with his life story so we knew his history before arriving.

Transport

It is well worth it to get to visit these top locations in one day.

Private Montmartre Art & Culture Walk

Paris

This tour will take you up the hill step by step to where the Sacre Cure is located. It's interesting to hear the cultural stories of the artists who have lived here in the past. The final stop is the highlight of the tour. It's either the Cathedral or the view of Paris- probably both!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Burgundy Wine Tasting Day Trip

Paris

This was a day well spent in Chablis. Our guide did a great job taking us to three different wineries to taste the wines each location produced. We learned about the numerous ways to make wines. It was nice to meander through Chablis, pick a restaurant of our choice for lunch, and, of course, a bakery for dessert.

Quality of Experience

Beautiful scenerey

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide was Italian and had a great sense of humor and lots of information regarding wine.

Transport

I don't expect that you should publish this as a review of specific places, but rather use is as some guidance for selecting the places you offer to your clients.
All our accomodations were convenient and clean, and provided good value for the cost. Few had adequate hanging space for hand-washed clothing (and often exorbitant laundry pricing). Some had very little space for placing anything so we had to rummage in our bags on the floor. Location and quantity of electrical receptacles was generally feeble, particularly since the vast majority had only one port and that was in many cases already occupied by a lamp or appliance cord. Modern travelers need to charge phones and other electronics, and preferably be able to use them while charging. We invested in a combination USB charger/plug adapter that took care of providing USB charging but only had one pass-thru AC receptacle (It replaced a lost adapter that only served to provide a port for our 3-port extension cord). At least one hotel had USB charging ports at each nightstand. Several hotels had receptacles that had 3 ports arranged around a central axis, which works for three ungrounded EU-standard cord plugs but does not accept our adapters or chargers without blocking the unused ports - making the outlet no more useful than a single-port one.
Meals at the hotels were all quite good to excellent . We only took one dinner in a hotel (in Zurich - excellent albeit from a limited cafe menu). Breakfasts were all great in terms of quality and variety. Our only gripes about breakfast are that the coffee machines generally can serve only a dozen or so tiny (but nice) coffee drinks, one at a time, to a line of generally sluggish and easily confused customers. Getting a decent-sized cup of black coffee usually takes multiple button presses and cycles, and a trip to the machine is best done empty-handed so one doesn't have to balance a plate of food while puzzling out the menu and waiting for the action. Some of the breakfast layouts were kind of chaotic, with a lot of walking around to scope out the offerings and decide on what one wants, then finding things in a rational order and navigating the traffic of other similarly challenged customers. A first-world problem, I realize, but it could be easier...
We spent for an upgrade to our room in Zurich so we'd have extra space for our final re-packing and some relaxing before the flights home, and it proved worthwhile. Hanging and shelf space were still limited and arranged so that it seemed we were always in each others' way or blocking a closet door when unpacking/packing . The ultra-modern bath was almost entirely open to view from the room, being walled with glass. We didn't mind the lack of privacy, having been married for 47 years now, but having any light in the bathroom illuminate the whold sleeping room was annoying. The toilet and shower were further isolated by a second, partially frosted glass wall which hid only the toilet. IMHO, a bathroom that has no provision for using the toilet then washing and drying at least the hands before handling one's clothes is barbaric. No amount of TP is ever going to beat soap and water. Oddly, the only bidet we encountered on our trip was in a 350-year-old house in Courmayeur (IT) remodeled as an inn by a young couple, in a small bath with everything in reach and a place to put everything two guests would need.
Maybe someday we'll stay somewhere that has, on each side of the bed(s), a nightstand, reading lamp, two receptacles compatible with chargers and adapters, hanging space, shelves and drawer space and a countertop or bag stand big enough for at least one large and one carry on bag. The room should also havelso two decent chairs, at least one usable desk with power, some open level space for snacks and personal items, adequate lighting for sorting, packing, reading out of bed and for the cleaning staff to see what they are doing. A dim nightlight in the room, switched from both sides of the bed or by a motion detector, and a second one in the bathroom placed to not illuminate the bed when the bathroom door is open should be standard. Bathroom lights should be switched inside the bathroom so they can be operated without waking a sleeper.
On our Tour du Mt. Blanc, many inns had a shoe-changing room at the entry, with at least a place to store dirty outdoor shoes, and some offered loaner sandals or mules for indoor use. Several had drying racks or cabinets and a couple even had hanging space for wet raingear and packs and wet clothes. These might be over-kill in urban hotels, but for folks who intend to do a lot of walking and sightseeing in whatever weather is extant they are a real attractive amenity.
Our transportation was fine - the driver who took us to Martigny was good comapny and full of information. The rail passes worked fine, though I seemed to have a hard time finding the daily ticket on my phone sometimes and had to log back in repeatedly.
The bike tour out of Interlaken was great fun. Guide Leo did a great job herding us (10) and laid on a nice picnic. The bikes were good quality and plenty powerful, though the saddles could be better. Getting a train of 11 bikes through the traffic of downtown Interlaken seemed a bit chancy, but Swiss drivers are a lot more courteous than Americans and all went well.
The Jungfraujoch was grotesquely oversold and overrun with tourists (like us), many of whom seemed obsessed with getting the perkiest selfie ever taken at whatever cost. Lines for everything, and lines for lines. Dirty windows so photographs from indoors were not practical, but there were few places one could stop inside anyway apart from at dining and shopping opportunities. We took a walk through the Discovery tour, partly icky and artless but partly interesting and informative, spent a bit of time out on the balconies and the glacier in worsening weather, then bailed out as soon as we could get onto the train. At Klein Scheidegg the food options were quite limited but we had a little lunch of food bought from the sausage stand and some we'd brought, then hiked down the trail to Grindelwald - quite enjoyable in a very unusual sort of rural setting, and a much-needed opportunity to de-compress and get some exercise.
The outing from Lucerne to Mt. Pilatus was very much more to our liking - still a little busy but much less intense than Jungfraujoch. Lower elevation, better weather and less imposing infrastructure made the whole experience there more comfortable partly because folks could spread out on the trails and outdoor viewpoints and there wasn't the sense of collective claustrophobia - just a bunch of friendly people out appreciating a beautiful place, mostly unhurried and un-flustered. The cogwheel train down and the boat ride back to Lucerne were also quite pleasant - we got back feeling like we'd had a fun, relaxing and stimulating day. We should have scheduled Zurich for other than a Monday as most of the cultural attractions were closed, but we had a good time walking and sightseeing, with a big bike race event to provide a little bit of buzz (though opportunities to see any of the time trial racing were quite limited).