France By Locals

We loved traveling to all the diff. regions in France from Paris to Normandy to Aix Provence to Nice. The tours were amazing and we learned so much history. Amandine was awesome and very receptive to anything we needed.

We were disappointed with the hotel in Bayeux. It was extremely small, outdated and didn't appear very clean. We couldn't hardly maneuver our luggage let alone unpack so I would not recommend having clients stay at that particular hotel. Everything else was very nice.

Thank you for organizing this memorable trip for the Fortino Family!! We loved France

Best Regards,
Tony, Marianne and Katie Fortino

The personalized detailed planning was excellent. Our hotels were just what we asked for as were the tours. We especially liked our unusual day in champagne with the Vintage Tour Company in “Marcel” with Coline. All our drivers were excellent.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Dame des Arts

Paris

Great service, friendly and helpful staff. The food is excellent. Modern and stylish hotel with ambience. Our room was small but very comfortable with a king sized bed and well organized.

Authenticity & Character

Great style and ambience

Location

Close to every thing sight seeing, restaurants, metro etc.

Staff

All the staff were very helpful. Isi went the extra mile

Cleanliness & Comfort

The bed was spacious and comfortable

La Poterne

EPERNAY

The welcome and personal service was like visiting old friends. Charlotte made the best cake and breakfast. Very welcoming and comfy B&B. Perfect location if you want to be in town within walking distance to shops transport and restaurants.

Authenticity & Character

Lovely house and rooms

Staff

They make you feel like family

Cleanliness & Comfort

Loved the big tub and separate shower. Big comfy bed.

Activity Review

Guided tour of Paris and secret Montmartre in a Citroën 2CV

Paris

JR listened to us and gave us a very personal eclectic tour as we had been to Paris a few times and wanted to see some different places.

We had a fabulous time with our 12 year old granddaughter on our recent trip to Paris and Amboise in the Loire Valley. Sebastian selected some wonderful activities for us beyond the 4 art museums that we expected and enjoyed. Our favorites were a wonderful Patisserie cooking class with Chef Mattieu, an amazing private tour of the Marais with Livia and a very special trip to the charming town of Amboise to see the Chateau de Clos-Lucé (home of Leonardo da Vinci) and a great visit to Chenonceau & lunch at a chateau cooked by the Countess. On that tour, our guide Alexane, was so engaging and full of fascinating facts. All of the private transfers went off without a hitch! We could never have planned such a great trip on our own. Sebastian listened to what we were interested in seeing and was responsive to our feedback. We would definitely use Kim Kim again.

Hotel Reviews

La Maison Rabelais

Amboise

So beautiful and we had a great room with a private patio and hot tub and kitchenette. Wish we could have stayed more than one night!

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful gardens. Rooms are well appointed and furnished.

Location

Easily walkable to town.

Staff

Very welcoming.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hôtel Littéraire Marcel Aymé, BW Premier Collection

PARIS

Charming hotel in the lively and interesting area of Montmartre. Our room was small but clean, comfortable, and quiet. The staff was super helpful and nice. And, the breakfast was an amazing with a delicious selection of patisserie and hot and cold items. There isn't a lot of closet/hook space for three people, but we were fine and the staff and service made up for it. The plus is that it's in a very cool area with numerous cafes and tiny shops. The minus is that it's a bit far from the center of the city with most of the museums and attractions. We enjoyed our stay.

Staff

Activity Reviews

Paris: Illuminations Seine River Cruise

Paris

Great way to start our trip - relaxing

Entrance ticket and Audioguide to the "Musée de l'Orangerie"

Paris

Of course we love the collection here, but once we entered, they said that our tickets did NOT include an audio guide. However, it was still lovely to see the Monet water lilies and there was a super exhibit of Rousseau and other artists on the lower level.

Guided tour of Paris and secret Montmartre in a Citroën 2CV

Paris

Very fun. Our driver, Niko, took us not just in Montmartre, but he took us by other things that we had not yet seen like the Moulin Rouge, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Pantheon. He also stopped the car and took a sweet photo of us popped up through the top of the car with the Eiffel Tower in the background. We thought that the "tour" would have a set agenda, but he wanted us to tell him what we wanted to see and we weren't quite prepared for that. He ended in Saint-Germain-des-Prés at a restaurant that he recommended and we had dinner there, but we had to find our way by taxi back to the hotel afterward. It was fun buzzing around and taking photos through the top of the car.

French Boulangerie Class in Paris

Paris

This was one of our favorite activities enjoyed by all of us. The chef, Matthieu, was energetic, engaging and a great teacher. And we ended up with bags of delicious pastries after the class. Highly recommended.

Quality of Experience

The "Pletzl", The Jewish District Marais Private Tour

Paris

Again, this was one of our favorite activities. Our guide, Livia, was friendly, engaging and very knowledgeable. She was great in interacting with our granddaughter. She gave us so much interesting history about the area and the history of the Jews in France. We had a wonderful visit to the Holocaust Museum and the memorials in the area. She also recommended several places to eat that we enjoyed on a later visit, especially La Du Felafel. Highly recommended.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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

Paris

Long trip in and out of town, but worth seeing. Our driver, Gabriel, was a charming young man, but unfortunately, he wasn't allowed to guide us inside the grounds as he had planned. He didn't have the proper credentials. The Palace was quite full of visitors. The audio guide was a bit perplexing to use, but we got the hang of it. I wish we'd spent less time in the Palace, especially the first floor, and more time in the gardens which are amazing!

Quality of Experience

Paris Museum Pass

Paris

Great - covers all the bases. Sebastian arranged timed entry for those we wanted that require it.

Chambord, Chenonceau & lunch at a chateau - Full-day

France

Fabulous. Wish we could have stayed for the entire tour, but we had to leave after lunch to catch our train back to Paris. Our guide Alexane was phenomenal. She was very knowledgeable, funny, and had all sorts of stories and history. She really engaged our granddaughter as well as the adults. The Chateaus and gardens were amazing. We really enjoyed our special lunch at Villesavin Castle. Highly recommend this experience. Thanks to Sebastian, we were able to get through at least 2/3 of it and he arranged a private driver to take us to the hotel and the train that made it possible.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We absolutely enjoyed planning with our Kimkim team. Lisa for Holland & Belgium and Sebastian for France. Easy, enjoyable & they both know how to avoid crowds etc. our person tours were top notch and we were so glad to not be with the group tours!

Loved the hotel and its location to really cool places in France! The pickups were also great and weather was beautiful!

A few suggestions for others:

The walk to Tower from Latin quarter was more like 1hr-30 minutes, we took uber back. We’re in great physical shape to do it except we almost missed our scheduled time slot.

Also, meet up with our guide for Luve tour was a miss and could’ve been improved. Another tour-guide saved the day and got on the phone to help us get to proper location.

We did not get to tour the steps up to Notre Dame towers, this could’ve been arranged if we had been more informed of our options.

Perfect hotel, perfect location, more casual “local” restaurants recommendations next time. We loved ARTABAN restaurant just steps away from hotel.

The City Tour was the highlight of our trip- we loved it! Finally, the drivers from train station and to Airport were excellent!

We will use Kimkim again!

Thank You,
Mike/Cathy

I cannot imagine a better series of memorable adventures than the ones planned for us by KimKim/France by Locals and our consultant Amandine ... nor can I imagine that I could have had the same results trying to plan on my own. I selected the town of St Jean PIed de Port just based on having seen a Rick Steves video about it, but their choice of Hotel des Pyrenees was ideally located, exceptionally appointed and comfortable, and featured a Michelin Guide restaurant where, on a rainy night, we enjoyed the best meal of our lives as the only guests. Yannick was our maitre'd, our waiter for dinner and breakfasts, and our guide to travel around the area. When we arrived on Saturday night, Sondrien helped us to find the parking garage and came out in the rain to assist with luggage. The hotel looks like a place Cervantes might have visited, but the rooms have all been redone and are modern, spacious and comfortable with wonderful baths.

I have a vivid imagination, but when I asked for a Bordeaux vineyard experience I could not have adequately envisioned the magical medieval town of St. Emilion, rising up in the middle of vineyards dotted with magnificent chateaux, nor that we would be staying in a former chateau turned comfortable and welcoming B&B LaGomerie, with host Jean-Francois and Jessica and the sweet beagle Paco to greet us and see to our every comfort. From there we walked through newly blooming vineyards to the town, enjoyed two fantastic dinners in restaurants there, but the real highlight was our 5-hour e-bike tour of the vineyards and wine tasting at two chateaux with Rustic Vines. Our guide, Pauline, a trained sommelier, became a friend as she led us on a sunny day I hope I'll never forget and tutored us in everything from vines to wines, answering our thousand questions with patience and charm. The picnic under the trees at Chateau Moncet was a pinnacle experience.

Then, Brittany! The whole point of returning to France was to see St. Malo and Mont St-Michele, and Amandine wisely lodged us in the magnificent Royal Emeraude Hotel in Dinard, just across the bay from St. Malo. We were steps to the sandy ocean beach, the fantastic shops, the market and restaurants, and a quick drive to St. Malo (or you can take a boat across). We loved St Malo, but agreed that Dinard was the better choice for exploring the region, and I would not have known that, but Amandine did.

I read the reviews from people who thought it was expensive to use local experts, but I disagree. I would have used up hours exploring the plethora of choices on the internet, and I would never have known to select the locations, or the properties, that made for a perfect experience. And once we landed we had support every step of the way, via text, whatsapp, and phone (and I used all 3). I had one chance to see the south and west of France, and I am so glad I found KimKim, and they found France by Locals. Merci beau coup, Amandine! A bientot!

Activity Review

Half-day wine and bike guided tour

Saint Emilion