Paris Rocks!

This is a fantastic way to see all of the famed sites of Paris, but from a popular music history perspective! As we tour places like the Marais, Place Vendôme, the Bastille, the ‘Left Bank’, Montmartre and the Pigalle, the Seine embankment, and Père Lachaise Cemetery and Boulevard Saint Germain, you’ll not only hear about the French adventures of the Beatles, Stones, Hendrix, Clash, Pink Floyd, Sex Pistols and other rock bands, but also learn about seminal French musicians like Johnny Hallyday, Serge Gainsbourg, Francoise Hardy and Edith Piaf. You’ll also learn about the birth of Be-bop and ‘Hot Club’ jazz! Our day also follows in the footsteps of the great ‘Doors’ singer, Jim Morrison, exploring his life here and examining the mystery of his death and burial in Paris exactly 40-years ago.

We meet at the regal George V hotel. Many bands have stayed here over the last five decades but perhaps its most famous claim to rock fame is that it was while staying here that the Beatles learned they’d achieved their first USA Number One! Then on to another sumptuous Paris hotel with Rock connections; the Ritz in the beautiful Place Vendôme. Nearby is the Olympia Concert Hall (the Beatles only played the Cavern and the Star Club in Hamburg more often). This has hosted legion of bands and your guide will enthrall you with stories of Hendrix, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and French rockers like Johnny Hallyday. Nearby we have the Paris Hard Rock Café and site of the original Paris 1950s rock club known to Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochrane. Then, after visiting the night-life district of the Pigalle, we visit Jim Morrison’s grave in Père Lachaise, and have time to see others like Edith Piaf, who lie buried in this incredible place. We keep to the Morrison theme with a visit to the Place des Vosges and Jim’s flat in the Marais. Then crossing the Seine river, we spend time exploring the ‘Latin Quarter’, home of the Sorbonne university and long the hang-out of the Parisian bohemians and intellectuals in cafes like Les Deux Magot on the Boulevard St-Germain, jazz clubs and boutique hotels used by the stars. Amongst many other sites of interest, you’ll see the club where Morrison died, the hotel he stayed at (and where Oscar Wilde died), and perhaps sit in the same seat as Jean Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Picasso, Ernest Hemmingway or Johnny Rotten (!) to enjoy a coffee!

SUGGESTED ITINERARY FOR PRIVATE DEPARTURES

This is a custom tour available for private departures. Cost is based on size of the vehicle, how many people, if you choose a half day (2 – 4 hours) or a full day (up to 8 hours.)

Private tours are the date/time of your choice, provided we have a vehicle and driver/guide available. A private tour is just yourselves with the personal services of driver/guide. It is a flat rate for the hire of vehicle/driver/guide:

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