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Offered languages
- English
Between June 1940 and August 1944, Paris lived under Nazi occupation. This walking tour retraces that story where it happened, from the fall of the city to its liberation.
Meet at 11 Rue des Saussaies, former Gestapo headquarters, where prisoners' carved inscriptions still survive. Walk to Place de la Concorde, site of the 1940 German parade and bullet scars from 1944, facing the Hôtel de Crillon, requisitioned from day one of the Occupation. At Place Vendôme, hear how Göring settled into the Ritz amid looted art, alongside Coco Chanel. On Rue de Rivoli, stop at Hôtel Le Meurice, where General von Choltitz defied Hitler's order to burn Paris.
Pass the Louvre, emptied of its masterpieces before the invasion, where curator Rose Valland secretly tracked the looting of Jewish-owned art. Your guide shows archival photos of each spot as it looked in 1940–44.
The tour ends at the Préfecture de Police, birthplace of the 19 August 1944 uprising, near the scarred Saint-Michel fountain.
What's Included
Meeting and pickup
Meet your guide at 11 rue des Saussaies in front of Ministry of the interior.
Itinerary
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(Pass by)
Once the headquarters of the Gestapo in Paris, this building was used to interrogate and torture members of the French Resistance. Inscriptions carved into the walls by prisoners can still be seen today, silent traces of what took place inside.
Admission ticket free -
Hôtel de Crillon, A Rosewood Hotel (Pass by)
Requisitioned by the German army from the very first days of the Occupation in June 1940, the Crillon served as a Wehrmacht headquarters overlooking Place de la Concorde, placing the occupier's command post at the heart of the city it now controlled.
Admission ticket free -
Place-Vendome (Pass by)
Home to the Ritz, this elegant square became a symbol of the Occupation's excess: Hermann Göring stayed here while looting art across France, and Coco Chanel lived under the same roof throughout the war, a controversial chapter in her story.
Admission ticket free -
Ritz Club & Spa (Pass by)
Requisitioned in part by the German high command, the Ritz became a stage for the Occupation's contradictions: Hermann Göring installed himself here amid looted artworks, while Coco Chanel lived on through the war in her suite upstairs, her wartime conduct still debated today.
Admission ticket free -
(Pass by)
Headquarters of the German military governor of Paris, the Meurice is where General Dietrich von Choltitz, defying Hitler's direct order to burn the city, chose to spare Paris rather than leave it in ruins.
Admission ticket free -
Rue De Rivoli (Pass by)
Under its arcades, daily life carried on in the shadow of Occupation: German soldiers strolled past shop windows, propaganda posters lined the walls, and the street's grand hotels and buildings had, one by one, been requisitioned to house the machinery of German rule over Paris.
Admission ticket free -
Louvre Museum (Pass by)
Anticipating the invasion, museum director Jacques Jaujard organized the evacuation of the Louvre's masterpieces to châteaux across the countryside in 1939, leaving its galleries stripped bare throughout the Occupation. His quiet defiance, alongside curator Rose Valland's secret work, helped ensure the museum's collections survived the war intact.
Admission ticket free -
Prefecture de Police (Pass by)
On 19 August 1944, police officers here raised the tricolour flag and took up arms against the German occupier, sparking the uprising that ignited the Battle for the Liberation of Paris just days before Allied troops entered the city.
Admission ticket free
Additional info
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Tags
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Cancellation Policy
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Rating
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
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