Paris and Amboise with our granddaughter
France
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May 24 - May 30, 2026
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
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!
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.
Activity Reviews
Great way to start our trip - relaxing
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
Great - covers all the bases. Sebastian arranged timed entry for those we wanted that require it.
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.