Paris World War 2 Tour: Private Historical Walking Tours
A Paris World War 2 tour with an expert licensed tour guide. Learn about World War 2 in Paris: how Nazi Germany took control of Paris in June 1940, how the Germans and the French behaved during the occupation, and how French forces finally liberated Paris in August 1944.
Our Paris World War 2 Tour Offer in a Nutshell
American Soldiers of the 28th ID US Parade down the Champs Elysées in Paris, on August 26, 1944. .
From 179 € for 1 to 2 people + 40 € per extra person
- Genuine private tour in English = your party only (6 people max.)
- Postgraduate (MPhil) certified French national guide
- Flexible schedule – 7/7 if available
Our Paris World War 2 Private Tour Options
- The 2-hour Paris World War II Tour. It covers the Opera Garnier to the Place de la Concorde area district. A district where a lot of the German Facilities were concentrated during the occupation and where the Germans finally surrendered to the French Free Forces in August 1944.
- The 3-hour Paris World War II extended Tour. It covers the area and content of the 2-hour tour, with an extra hour dedicated to the Marais Jewish district and the Hotel de Ville and Notre Dame area, which are two prominent landmarks associated with the liberation of Paris.
Warning: for the 3-hour tour, you have to come with metro tickets to go from Concorde to Marais by subway.
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Your Private Tour Guide in Paris
Certified French national guide
BA, Magna Cum Laude, Heritage Development & Preservation
from Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers (Grande Ecole established in 1794)
Postgraduate from Paris Dauphine-PSL University
The 2-hour Classical Paris World War 2 Tour: Opera, Vendôme, Rivoli, Concorde
Glimps on the Tour
This WWII in Paris Tour is also a very nice tour of the Opera Garnier, Place Vendôme, and Place de la Concorde district.
Duration – Distance
- Duration : +/- 2 hours
- Distance covered: +/- 2 mi (3.2 km)
Itinerary
- Start: Opera Garnier.
- Place Vendôme
- Rue de Rivoli
- Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré
- Place de la Concorde
After Paris had been declared an open city on June 12th, 1944, the German army entered Paris on June 14 and immediately organized a first parade on the Champs-Elysée (photo). A second, bigger one was organized on June 18th to be filmed by the German propaganda. Credit: Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1994-036-09A / CC-BY-SA.
Themes of the Tour – Part 1: The German Occupation
The tour begins in Place de l’Opéra, where the Opéra Garnier is located.
Adolf Hitler was fond of the famous Parisian Opera, and it is from there that he began his personal tour of Paris in the early morning of June 23, 1940, the day after the armistice with the French.
Adolf Hitler, who was guided notably by his architect Albert Speer and sculptor Arno Breker, then saw Paris’ main monuments (Concorde, Champs-Élysées, Arc de Triomphe, Napoleon’s tomb, Panthéon, etc.). Hitler stayed in Paris for no more than three hours in total and never came back.
But first of all, Place de l’Opéra was the core of occupied Paris. Indeed, it was where the Kommandantur was: the headquarters of the German military government in Paris.
Aerial view of Paris Opera, Madeleine, rue de Rivoli, and Place Vendôme district, a little after World War II. It is where a big part of the German facilities were concentrated during the Paris occupation from June 1940 to August 1944.
The area around the Opéra, from Place Vendôme to rue de Rivoli and to Madeleine to Concorde, was full of German facilities. We will follow in their footsteps during our Paris 2-hour World War 2 tour. We will discover the location of the Soldatenkaffee and the Opéra Wehrmacht-Speiselokale, which were a café and a restaurant reserved for German soldiers. They also had a dedicated place to get their theater, cabaret, and revue tickets, known as the Wehrmachttheaterkasse.
Indeed, during the occupation, Paris was designated as the main leisure destination for German military personnel on leave.
The occupying authorities promoted city visits under the slogan “Jeder einmal in Paris“ (“everyone once in Paris“), ensuring each soldier would have the chance to see the French capital. To support these visits, the German military command launched a bimonthly publication in July 1940 called Der deutsche Wegleiter für Paris (The German Guide to Paris), which served as a guidebook for soldiers exploring the city during their time off.”
Most of the luxurious hotels in the Opéra area were either totally or partially requisitioned for German officers and high-ranking officials or to house some of their administration. You will discover what the new function of some of the most famous hotels of Paris was during the German occupation.
We will discover on this tour the locations in occupied Paris of the Headquarters of the German Navy (Kriegsmarine), the military tribunal of Groß-Paris, the military police (Feldgendarmerie), etc.
The tour also passes by rue de Rivoli, where the Pressewesen and Frontbuchhandlungen, the dedicated German newsdealer and bookshop, were.
Arts and Culture were also significant for the German occupant, with some dedicated Kommandant of Groß-Paris’ services in the rue de Rivoli.
Not far from there, at the west end of Tuilleries Garden in the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume, were stored by the nazi all looted and confiscated artworks in France, mainly from Jewish people, but also from people opposed to the Nazi ideology, including Communists and Freemasons.
Nazi so-called Entartete Kunst ”degenerate art” (Picasso, Matisse, etc.) was put apart to be sold, exchanged, or even destroyed.
All this was organized by the Nazi plundering agency ERR (Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg). Feldmarschall Hermann Göring commanded that the loot would first be divided between Adolf Hitler and himself. This is why he traveled to Paris twenty times from 1940 to the end of 1942.
It is estimated that more than 22,000 stolen works of art passed through the Jeu de Paume Museum, where they were either sent to the Reich, exchanged, sold, or destroyed.
The tour also evokes the persecution of the Jewish people, especially the 1941-1942 antisemitic exhibition ” Le juif et la France” organized close to the Opéra in Palais Berlitz, as well as the Nazi so-called Arisierung (Aryanization) of Jewish property. The subject of Jewish persecution is treated in more detail in the 3-hour version of the tour, which includes a Marais section (Pletz, Shoah memorial).
The difficulties of the Parisians in their everyday lives and the Anglo-American bombings of Paris and its suburbs during the German occupation are also part of the tour content.
Themes of the Tour – Part 2, the Liberation of Paris
The end of the tour is more about the Liberation of Paris by the French troops of the 2nd Armored Division (French: 2e Division Blindée, 2e DB) of General Leclerc and the French Resistance (the French Forces of the Interior, also known as FFI) led in Paris by Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy.
We will focus on the combat in the Rue de Rivoli and how, finally, General Von Choltiz, German commandant of the Paris Area (Kommandant von Groß-Paris), surrendered there to French Lieutenant Henri Karcher on August 25, 1944.
Char B1 bis in FFI colors at 254 rue de Rivoli – rue de Mondovi (gunfight at Place de la Concorde)
The day after, on August 26, Charles de Gaulle marched down the Champs-Élysées as Leclerc’s French 2nd Armored Division paraded behind a considerable event in the whole world. On August 29, the US Army’s 28th Infantry Division also paraded down the Champs-Élysées while an enthusiastic French crowd greeted them. We will comment on these two events from Place de la Concorde, on the axis of the Champs-Élysées.
Last, we will also see the United States government building, which served as the administrative headquarters for planning the “Marshall Plan”, the plan for the recovery of Europe after World War II from 1947 to 1952. The plan, named after the American Secretary of State George Marshall, was intended to rebuild Europe but also to contain communism. France was the second-largest beneficiary of the plan after the United Kingdom. In 1952, while the post-war recovery was initially slow and uneven, France’s economy had already surpassed its pre-World War II level.
French crowd during the Champs Élysées parade on August 26, 1944.
The 3-hour extended World War 2 tour with an extra Marais – Notre-Dame section
Glimps on the Tour
The WWW II Paris 3-hour extended tour is organized into two parts.
- The first part corresponds to the itinerary of the 2-hour tour (Opéra Garnier, Rue de Rivoli, and Place de la Concorde),
- The second part goes from the Marais district to Notre-Dame Cathedral via Hôtel de Ville de Paris (Paris city Hall).
WARNING: In this tour, we go from Place de la Concorde to Le Marais by métro (subway), so you have to come to this tour with a metro ticket per person. Indeed, we are only a tourist guide company, so we are not authorized to provide, even for free, any transport services.
Duration – Distance
- Duration : +/- 3 hours
- Distance covered: +/- 3 mi (4.8 km)
Itinerary
Same as the 2-hour WWII in Paris plus (after taking the metro):
- Saint-Paul le Marais (Pletz)
- Hôtel de Ville de Paris (City Hall)
- Notre-Dame Cathedral
Notre-Dame Cathedral during the liberation of Paris in August 1944.
Themes of the Tour
Similar to the 2-hour World War 2 in Paris, but with an extra walk from the Marais to Notre Dame Cathedral, more specifically dedicated to the Jewish persecutions and the liberation of Paris.
The Pletz, the historical Jewish district of Paris
First, we will work in the Pletz, a part of the Marais, which is the traditional Paris Jewish district. There, we will pass in front of the famous Art Nouveau Synagogue by architect Hector Guimard.
Unfortunately, even if some remain, most of the Askenasis traditional shops have been replaced by the now typical Marais fancy shops.
Nevertheless, the signs on the school’s facades telling about all the children deported to the death camps do not let any doubts about what happened there during World War II.
Quitting the Pletz, we will pass in front of the Shoah Memorial dedicated to all the Jewish victims in France of the Nazi Barbarity who died in the Holocaust.
Hotel de Ville and Notre-Dame the heart of the liberation of Paris
The tour then continues with Hôtel de Ville de Paris (City Hall), a prominent landmark of the Liberation of Paris. Indeed:
On August 24, 1944, Free French General Leclerc defied his American superior’s orders and sent an advance guard racing toward Paris. The chosen unit was “La Nueve“—a company of 160 men, including 146 Spanish Republican exiles fighting under French command.
Led by Captain Raymond Dronne, “La Nueve” became the first Allied troops to enter the capital, with Dronne as the first French officer to return after four years of Nazi occupation. They drive straight to the Hôtel de Ville, which they reach at nightfall. Then the Bells of Notre Dame start to ring, and after them all the bells of the other churches in Paris.
Hotel de Ville is also the place from which, on August 26, Charles de Gaulle gave his famous speech ” Paris Libéré…”.
The Tour ends in front of Notre-Dame de Paris, where Charles de Gaulle, after his speech at Hôtel de Ville, attended a Te Deum which had to be shortened into a Magnificat due to the presence of some German snipers still active in the area.
The war indeed was still going on, the same night, more than one hundred German Bombers coming from the Belgian airports bombed Paris!
Free French General Leclerc
More about World War II in Paris
Museums
- Musée Carnavalet – Histoire de la Ville de Paris. This museum is dedicated to the history of Paris, including the 20th Century and, therefore, the period of German occupation, but there are no dedicated rooms about World War II.
- The Musée de la Libération de Paris, Musée du Général Leclerc, Musée Jean Moulin. Apart from the permanent collection dedicated to the Resistance and the Liberation of Paris, you can also visit underground the Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy’s command post during the insurrection of Paris in August 1944.
- Les Invalides. There is Napoleon’s tomb, but also one of the most prominent army museums in the world. A significant section of the Musée de L’armée is dedicated to WWII. A German V1 rocket and a V2 one are shown there.
Other World War II Parisian Sites Which are not Part of the Tours
- Hôtel Majestic (Now Hotel Peninsula) Avenue Kléber: The German military high command in France (MBF, Militärbefehlshaber in Frankreich).
- Hôtel Lutetia, boulevard Raspail: The German military intelligence (Abwehr).
- In the Avenue des Champs-Élysées was the German Propaganda Services (Propagandastaffel).
- The Palais du Luxembourg was the headquarters of the Luftwaffe-West.
- The services of the Gestapo were established in various locations of the 16th arrondissement (district). Avenue Foch et rue de la Pompe for the German ones, rue Laurison for the French one (called Carlingue).
The One-Two-Two was the most luxurious and famous brothel of Paris. Its name was taken from its address:122 Rue de Provence (8th arrondissement).
Signe of the former command post of FFI leader in Paris, Colonel Rol-Tanguy, during the liberation of Paris in August 1944. On the facade of the Musée de la Libération de Paris. Credit photo: broaden-horizons.fr
Things to know before Booking
Meeting Point 2-hour and 3-hour tour
On place de l’Opéra.
The exact meeting point is given in the booking document.
Access Métro lines 3, 7, and 8, station: Opéra.
French World War II in Paris Tours – Attention Points
- Tours are on foot.
- Prices do not include transportation, food, drinks, or any other extra services.
- Neighborhood tour: we don’t enter monuments unless otherwise specified.
- Tour duration & content are purely indicative; they may vary due to contingencies.
- Weather: The tour will start on schedule, rain or shine.
For the 3-hour tours, you must come with a Metro ticket for each of you (purchased via smartphone app or on a magnetic support at a Paris Metro counter). Get your Metro ticket in advance; don’t rely on a last-minute purchase. A line at the counter or a technological obstacle in your smartphone may easily prevent you from getting your tickets on time for the tour.
Book your Paris World War 2 Private Walking Tour
Just follow the below 4 steps online easy process.
1. Request a date & schedule for your tour
2. Receive our answer email - if yes you have 24h to pay
3. Pay your private tour on line by credit card
4. Receive
confirmation & meeting point
Nota bene : answer to step (2) is most of the time yes.
World War II in Paris - Private Tour
2 hoursFor 1 to 2 people + 40 € for any extra person
A group of maximum 6 people, exclusively yours
English language
World War II in Paris extended - Private Tour
Extended (3 hours)For 1 to 2 people + 45 € for any extra person
A group of maximum 6 people, exclusively yours
English language
Unless otherwise noted, images are from Paris Musée, CC0.