“Move over Le Louvre, Shrink down Eiffel Tower, Americans prefer the Marais”

Paris walking tours company Discover Walks reports – Americans in Paris prefer the Marais

June 5, 2012. Paris.

Move over Le Louvre, shrink down Eiffel Tower. Out of all tourist districts in Paris, Americans prefer the Marais reported Paris walking tours company Discover Walks. This is in contrast with other English-speaking tourists, who put the Left Bank and Montmartre on par with the Marais. Americans prefer Marais by a wide margin.

“Many Americans who visit Paris have gotten quite sophisticated. They’ve been to Paris before, they look for authenticity ahead of just landmarks, and authenticity is what they find in the Marais”, commented Discover Walks co-founder Alexandre Gourevitch in Paris. These facts are based on a Discover Walks survey of 500 American tourists taking part in walking tours in April – May 2012. Guests could choose between walking tours in six different neighborhoods of identical format. Reservation is not required, all tours are 90 minutes in duration, all are neighborhood walking tours led by native Parisians, and all are free of charge – supported by tips from guests.

“The best way to see and enjoy almost any city in the world is walking, especially Paris. And the Marais with is narrow irregular streets can really only be seen by walking around in it. We created our Trendy Marais Walking Tour for that reason. And we found out it is a huge success with Americans,” added Bert d’Aleman, Paris City Manager for Discover Walks.

American travelers chose Marais ahead of the districts of the Left Bank, Notre Dame, Landmarks/Eiffel Tower, Montmartre, and Louvre. The Marais outpaced second-place Left Bank by a wide margin, attracting 24% more people than Left Bank.

The Marais is situated on the right bank, east of most tourist attractions. It is home in particular to Place des Vosges, the Jewish pletzl, trendy designer shops, Paris’ gay district and the townhouses/palaces of the aristocracy of the 1600’s/1700’s. Unlike other areas of Paris, the Marais does not contain a major tourist landmark but draws people with its wonderful Parisian character.

One great thing many Americans comment about the Marais is how ‘full of Parisians’ it is. Unlike some of the more famous Paris attractions, the Marais is still dominated by local Parisians.
 

About Discover Walks

Travel Company Discover Walks is dedicated to bringing visitors fun times discovering major cities around the world. Native-born guides offer walking tours and authentic local activities – ethnic cooking classes, photo tours, traditional sports, and games etc.

Launched in Summer 2010, Discover Walks entertained over 50,000 guests in 2011.

Discover Walks has walking tours in Paris, San Francisco, Barcelona and Prague.

Media Contact
Thomas Ferré
press(at)discoverwalks.com