2023 Paris Tours
The NJSBA Mid-Year Meeting will feature a selection of half- and full-day tours and experiences to help our members get the most out of their visit to the City of Light. Please read on to learn more about this year’s offerings, which include favorites from prior visits and several new offerings. There’s something for everyone, whether you want to soak yourself in history, explore the city’s shops, or take the opportunity to experience the beaches of Normandy or the wine region. All tours are subject to change or cancellation if minimum registration is not met. Save your place on these special outings today.
Meeting Registration Required For Tours:
To register for the tours below, you must first be registered for the 2023 NJSBA Mid-Year Meeting. If you would like to register for the 2023 NJSBA Mid-Year Meeting, click here.
Click Here To Register For Tours
Click Here for a Fillable Registration Form
Paris City Tour: NEW
Sunday, Nov. 5 | 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. | 2 – 5 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 6 | 2 – 5 p.m.
$80
Get to know Paris—its monuments, its history and everyday life—with a three-hour excursion; two hours by bus and one hour by boat. Drive and drift past the most famous spots and get insights into some secrets of the city. Hear about the Sun King, the French revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte, and many others who have made this beautiful city what it is today. The tour includes Opera Square, Concorde Square with its famous obelisk, the Invalides, the Trocadero facing the Eiffel Tower and Notre-Dame. This is the perfect way to orient yourself to the city.
This tour includes:
• Private motor coach
• English-speaking tour guide
Gourmet Covered Passages Tour: NEW
Sunday, Nov. 5 | Wednesday, Nov. 8 | 1 – 4 p.m. $178
This food tour will delight all your senses! A blend of tradition and trend, this guided tour of Saint-Germain-des-Prés will speak to anyone with a passion for Paris and food.
Let yourself be taken away during our tastings and discover the splendor of the rich cultural, historic and gastronomic heritage of France. Meet passionate artists, such as the adventurous chocolate-makers on a quest to find the world’s finest cacao beans, butchers who advocate for the quality of their product, and wine-sellers captivated by the tradition of terroir. Beat the Parisian pavement, just as Guillaume Apollinaire, Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir did in days past. The neighborhood, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, remains the meeting place of philosophers, authors and musicians, keeping alive a certain intellectual ambiance.
During this guided food tour of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, access some of the most renowned establishments in the neighborhood, as well as little known gems we’ve discovered. Between butchers and sausage shops, bistros and wine-sellers, pastry and chocolate makers, your palette will be pampered and your belly satisfied.
This tour will constitute lunch.
* Please note that extensive walking is involved.
This tour includes:
• Private motor coach
• English-speaking tour guide
Caves du Louvre Wine Tasting: NEW
Monday, Nov. 6 | 2 – 5 p.m. | $183
History buffs and wine-lovers alike will enjoy this adventure. Discover the secrets of French wine through a sensory and interactive experience in a beautiful wine cellar. Les Caves du Louvre is a splendid hidden gem of the 18th Century that was once a royal wine cellar. King Louis XV’s sommelier ordered the construction of a magnificent mansion and established a wine supply business in these caves. Visit the network of tunnels and learn about the history of how wine was supplied to the Palace with complete discretion. This space was recently renovated and opened to the public for the first time. The tour includes a tasting of three wines. Enjoy, also, a ride and stroll around the nearby suburbs of Auvers and St. Germain en Laye.
This tour includes:
• Private motor coach
• English-speaking tour guide
• Tasting of three (3) wines
Le Marais Walking Tour: NEW
Monday, Nov. 6 | Friday, Nov. 10 | 1 – 5 p.m. | $80
Explore one of the most elegant districts in Paris. The Marais neighborhood is home to more than 1,500 lavish townhouses that belonged to members of the French aristocracy. The area was virtually abandoned in the 18th Century, but in 1962 it became a national landmark, which led to an awe-inspiring revival. Learn about the renovations that have revitalized the neighborhood, the rich history of the Jewish and LGBTQ communities that called the Marais home, and take in the shops, galleries and pedestrian-friendly streets that make it a must-see district.
The tour includes:
• Private motor coach
• English-speaking tour guide
• Audio phone rental
Ile de la Cité: A Mid-Year Meeting Favorite
Monday, Nov. 6 | Wednesday, Nov. 8 | 1 – 5 p.m. | $94
Considered the heart of Paris, Il de la Cité is one of two islands located in the middle of the Seine. With the great cathedral of Notre-Dame and the law courts of the Palais de Justice commanding the island, it has remained a focus of church and state power through the centuries. Visit the oldest part of Paris, the cradle of Parisian civilization, where the Parisii tribe lived in the 3rd Century B.C. The tour will include an update on the renovation of Notre-Dame Cathedral, as well as an interior tour of the stunning Sainte Chapelle or La Conciergerie. Extensive walking is involved.
The tour includes:
• Private motor coach
• Admission fees and VAT
• Audio phone rental
• English-speaking tour guide
Versailles Palace and Gardens: A Mid-Year Meeting Favorite
Wednesday, Nov. 8 | Thursday, Nov. 9 | 1 – 5:30 p.m. | $125
Just a short trip outside the city, Versailles, the historical and luxurious home of Louis XIV, is Europe’s finest example of regal splendor. The court of Versailles was the center of political power in France for more than a century until Louis XVI and his queen, Marie Antoinette, were forced to return to the capital in October 1789, at the beginning of the French Revolution. The itinerary includes taking in the splendor of the palace and the natural surroundings. Visit the Queen’s apartments, the Hall of Mirrors, the King’s apartments, the marble courtyard and end with a short walk in the gardens that were created by André Le Nôtre. Please note: Walking on uneven ground is involved on this tour.
The tour includes:
• Private motor coach
• Admission fees and VAT
• Audio phone rental
• English-speaking tour guide
Orsay Museum: A Mid-Year Meeting Favorite
Thursday, Nov. 9 | 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 10 | 1 – 5 p.m.
$110
The Gare d’Orsay was inaugurated on July 14, 1900, for the Paris Exposition. It was considered an architectural masterpiece in its day. However, the train station’s platforms soon became too short to be useful and by 1939 they were out of use. The station stood abandoned for decades. In 1986, it opened as a museum to spotlight 19th and 20th Century art. Today, the grand museum is home to 2,300 paintings, 1,500 sculptures and so much more. Its works cover the art of the mid-19th Century to the mid-20th Century and feature artists including Monet, Manet, Renoir, Cezanne, and Van Gogh.
This tour includes:
• Private motor coach
• Admission fees and VAT
• Audio phone rental
• English-speaking tour guide
Historic Covered Passages Walking Tour: A Mid-Year Meeting Favorite
Friday, Nov. 10 | 1:30 – 5:30 p.m. | $115
Step into the past with this popular tour. Designed at the end of the 18th Century to shelter elegant shoppers from bad weather, the passages couverts are havens from the traffic of today. Stroll through these Parisian shopping galleries and enjoy the atmosphere of quaint and eclectic boutiques, antique shops and old-time eateries. Stop for a cup of coffee, juice and a pastry before emerging from yesteryear onto the Grands Boulevards of modern-day Paris. This is not a shopping tour; extensive walking is involved.
The tour includes:
• Audio phone rental
• Beverages and pastry
• English-speaking tour guide
Loire Valley: NEW
Tuesday, Nov. 7 | 8 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. | $425
This region is a must-see for history and wine lovers alike. Spend a day visiting the Loire Valley, a region designated as a UNESCO world heritage site. Known for its sumptuous chateaux, sophisticated cities, luxurious landscapes and magnificent food and wine, the Loire Valley is rich in history and architecture. Attendees will learn about the region’s unique features and its royal past. Take the high-speed train to the heart of the valley and visit Chenonceau Castle and enjoy a walking tour of Ambioise and wine tasting in Rochecorbon.
The tour includes:
• Private motor coach
• Round Trip Train Tickets
• Admission fees and VAT
• Audio phone rental
• English-speaking tour guide
• Lunch
Normandy Landing Beaches: A Mid-Year Meeting Favorite
Tuesday, Nov. 7 | Thursday, Nov. 9 | 7 a.m. – 9 p.m. | $320
Take part in a tour that is truly profound. A visit to the Normandy Landing Beaches starts in Longues sur Mer to see the German artillery battery. This site formed a key part of the Atlantic Wall and remains one of the most spectacular sites along the D-Day Beaches. Before lunch in nearby Arromanches, participants will visit the 360 Circular Cinema and feel the intensity of the 100-day battle of Normandy. Afterward, you will continue to the Omaha sector of Normandy Beach, the most famous and most difficult of the five D-Day beach invasions where more than 3,800 people died before the battle was won. The weather conditions and terrain made it nearly impossible for the 1st and 29th Infantry divisions to carry out their missions. Step onto the beach and your guide will help you imagine the incredible courage and sacrifice that were required to forge ahead. The tour also includes a visit to the American Cemetery in St. Laurent sur Mer. This stark and moving location marks the graves of 9,386 soldiers. Situated on a cliff-top overlooking Omaha Beach, soldiers of all ranks are buried here, in no particular order, and all with the same white marble headstone.
The tour includes:
• Private motor coach
• Admission fees and VAT
• Audio phone rental
• English-speaking tour guide
• Lunch
Champagne Region: A Mid-Year Meeting Favorite
Tuesday, Nov. 7 | Thursday, Nov. 9 | 8 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. | $220
Toast the sacred triangle of champagne with this special tour. This full-day tour of the Champagne region is a delight for history lovers and wine aficionados. A visit to the region allows you to take in Epernay and Reims. There are two UNESCO World Heritage Sites on the itinerary – the magnificent vineyards and the Cathedral of Reims. This trip will include a stop at Mercier cellars with a champagne tasting, lunch at Brasserie Excelsior and a visit to Reims.
The tour includes:
• Private motor coach
• Admission fees and VAT
• Audio phone rental
• English-speaking tour guide
• Lunch
• Champagne tastings
Terms and Conditions
Cancellations: Cancellations for tours must be received no later than Oct. 11. All tours booked and not cancelled by Oct. 11 are non-refundable. All tours are based on a minimum of 20 participants. If the minimum number of persons required to operate a private tour is not reached, the tour is subject to cancellation or a price revision to accommodate the actual number of participants. Tours cancelled by the NJSBA will be refunded. Seats for tours are limited and bookings made after Oct. 11 are subject to availability. Pricing: All rates are subject to change based on actual participation. Gratuities: Gratuities for tour guides and drivers are not included in the above prices and are at your discretion.