Free cancellationFull refund up to 24 hours before
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TicketMobile or paper ticket accepted
LanguagesEnglish
Group sizeUp to 15 travelers
Overview
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 the Hôtel de la Marine, site of the 1940 German parade and bullet scars from 1944, right beside 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
Professional local guide
Guided walking tour in English
Entrance to any monument or museum (not required)
Hotel pickup and drop-off
What to expect
Hotel de la Marine
Pass by
Meet at the Hôtel de la Marine, the 18th-century former royal furniture repository turned French Navy ministry. It stood at the heart of the German-occupied district, overlooking Place de la Concorde, where the Wehrmacht paraded in 1940 and where fighting broke out during the liberation in August 1944.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Meeting and pickup
Meeting point
Meet your guide in front of Hotel de la Marine
End point
Additional information
Public transportation options are available nearby
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Cancellation policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
