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These terms set out the conditions under which Pépin Paris provides its services. Please read them carefully. Confirming a booking with us means you have read, understood and accepted these terms.
This website is published by Simon Gaulier, entrepreneur individuel (EI), trading under the name Pépin Paris. SIRET 909 322 034 00036. Exempt from registration with the Registre du Commerce et des Sociétés (RCS) and the Répertoire des Métiers (RM). Intra-community VAT number: [FR VAT NUMBER to be completed]. Business address: [ADDRESS to be completed], France. Telephone: +33 6 34 13 14 05.
All our tours are led by licensed guides-conférenciers, each holding the carte professionnelle nationale de guide-conférencier issued by the French Ministry of Culture, as required by the French Code du tourisme to lead guided tours in the museums and historic monuments of France.
Director of publication: Simon Gaulier
Email: contact@pepinparis.com
Hosting: OVH SAS, 2 rue Kellermann, 59100 Roubaix, France, +33 9 72 10 10 07.
These terms govern every booking made with Pépin Paris by a client, whether a private individual (consumer) or a professional. They are provided to the client before any booking is confirmed and form the entire agreement between the parties, together with the written quote. By confirming a booking, the client accepts these terms in full. Any condition put forward by the client that conflicts with these terms has no effect unless we have accepted it in writing. These terms are sent to the client with the written quote, and the cancellation terms are restated in the booking confirmation. Confirming a booking in writing, or paying the deposit, constitutes acceptance of the version of these terms then in force.
"Pépin Paris", "we" or "our" refers to the business named above. "Guide" refers to the licensed guide-conférencier leading the tour. "Client" refers to the person who makes the booking, on their own behalf and on behalf of every member of their group. "Tour" refers to the guided service described in the written quote. "Group" refers to all the people attending the tour under a single booking.
Pépin Paris provides private guided tours of Paris and Île-de-France, led by licensed guides-conférenciers. Tours are conducted in English for private groups only. Other languages can be arranged on request, subject to the availability of a licensed guide working in that language, and are confirmed in writing in the quote. Maximum group sizes vary by venue and are stated on each tour page. Larger groups can be arranged on request and agreed in writing. Tour content, routes and rooms visited may be adapted by the guide on the day in the interest of the group, depending on access, crowd levels, opening conditions and the venue's own decisions. The works of art, rooms or viewpoints mentioned on our pages are given as an indication and are never guaranteed to be visible or accessible on the day.
A tour's stated duration runs from the agreed start time to the agreed finish, and it includes the time spent on security screening, ticket checks and the cloakroom. Those vary from one day to the next and are set by the venue, not by us. Where a queue is exceptionally long, your guide will adapt the route so that the time you have is spent well.
The day builder on our website is a planning tool. The combinations it suggests and the prices it displays are indicative starting prices, offered to help you picture a day. They are not a quote and they reserve nothing. Only the written quote we send you, once we have confirmed availability, sets the price and the content of your tour.
A booking request submitted through the contact form or by email is not a confirmed booking. A booking is confirmed only once both parties have agreed in writing, by email, on the tour, date, start time, group size and price, and once any deposit due has been received. Until that point, dates and availability remain subject to change. The client is responsible for the accuracy of the information provided, in particular the group size, the date and the contact details used to reach them on the day.
All prices are quoted in euros, inclusive of VAT (TVA) at the applicable rate of 20% for guided tours. Each tour starts from a base service price that covers two guests, with a per-person supplement for additional guests that varies by venue. Entry tickets to museums and monuments are included in the tour price unless stated otherwise in the quote. The exact price for your group is set out in the written quote and confirmed before the booking. Prices shown on the website may change at any time before a quote is issued. Once a quote is accepted and the booking confirmed, the agreed price is fixed. Entry tickets are bought from the venues at their own published rates: where a venue raises its admission price between the date of your quote and the date of your tour, we absorb the difference and the price you were quoted stands.
A deposit of 30% of the total price is payable to confirm the booking, and the balance is due no later than two months (60 days) before the agreed start time. Where a booking is made less than two months before the tour date, the full price is payable at the time of booking. Payment is made through the secure payment links we send you; your card details are handled by our payment provider and are never seen or held by us. Where it suits a group, the total may be split across several payment links, so that different members of the same group each settle their own share. The booking is held only once the deposit, or the full price where it is due at booking, has been received. The deposit is never refunded, whatever the date of cancellation, except where we cancel the tour ourselves under clause 10. Where you can no longer attend on the agreed date, clause 9 lets you move the tour to another date or take a voucher instead of cancelling outright. It covers the reservation of your date, the guide's time held for you and the arrangements made on your behalf. In the absence of payment of the balance within the agreed time, we reserve the right to treat the booking as cancelled by the client, with the cancellation terms below applying. Where the client is a professional, any sum unpaid by its due date bears late-payment interest at three times the legal interest rate, together with the fixed recovery indemnity of 40 euros provided for by French law.
Where a dispute arises over a payment, we ask that you raise it with us first, under clause 25. A payment dispute raised with your bank or card issuer before any written complaint has been made to us is a breach of these terms, and we reserve the right to recover the sums due together with the costs incurred in doing so.
Our tours are leisure activities provided on a specific date and time agreed at the time of booking. In accordance with article L221-28 of the French Code de la consommation, the fourteen-day right of withdrawal does not apply to such services. A confirmed booking is therefore firm from the moment it is made, and clause 9 sets out the only terms on which it may be cancelled.
A request to change the date, time or group size of a confirmed booking must be made in writing and is subject to availability and to any difference in price. A tour may be rescheduled once without charge, subject to availability, provided the request reaches us more than 72 hours before the agreed start time. A request to reschedule made within 72 hours of the start time is treated as a cancellation by the client under clause 9. We may nevertheless accept such a request on an exceptional basis, where the circumstances and the availability of our guides allow it. Any agreement of this kind is given in writing, applies to that request alone, and creates no entitlement for any future booking.
A significant increase in group size may require a different price, a second guide, or may not be possible at certain venues. Any additional person arriving at the meeting point without our prior written agreement, discussed and confirmed by email before the day, will be refused. Where the group becomes smaller, the base service price remains due in full, since the tour, the guide and the reserved slot are unchanged. On the day, the guide follows the instructions of the group leader, in particular where a member of the group does not appear.
Entry tickets and timed reservations already purchased for the original date are not refundable and cannot always be transferred to a new date; where a new date requires new tickets, their cost is payable in addition.
Where you can no longer attend on the agreed date, tell us in writing as soon as you can. You then have a choice: move the tour to another date, take a voucher for a future tour, or cancel outright on the scale below. Moving the tour and taking a voucher are alternatives to cancelling, not additions to it: where you choose one of them, no cancellation charge is made. The scale applies to the agreed price of the tour and is calculated from the agreed start time.
Moving the tour. We make no charge for the change itself, and the sums you have paid towards the guided service are carried across to the new date. Entry tickets are the exception: those already bought for the original date are lost, and new tickets for the new date are payable in addition. Clause 8 sets out how a change is agreed.
Vouchers. A voucher is issued for the sums you have paid towards the guided service, after deduction of any entry tickets already bought, which are never recoverable. It is valid for one year from the date of your request and may be used against any tour we offer, subject to availability. It is transferable: you may pass it on to someone else. It is used in a single booking: where the new tour costs more than the voucher, the difference is payable in the usual way; where it costs less, the unused balance is not refunded. A voucher is never exchanged for money.
In every case, entry tickets and timed reservations bought in the group's name are not refundable once purchased, whatever the date and whichever option you choose, and their cost is deducted from any sum returned to you. The charges above reflect the costs we commit to in advance, including tickets, scheduling and the guide's reserved time.
If we cancel a tour for any reason attributable to us, the client may choose between a full refund, deposit included, and a new date at no additional cost. Our liability in this case is limited to the sums paid for the tour, and we are not responsible for any other costs the client may have incurred, such as transport or accommodation.
Tours begin at the agreed time and place. If the client or part of the group arrives late, the tour is not extended and ends at the scheduled time, with no reduction in price. If the client has not reached the meeting point within 30 minutes of the start time and has not contacted the guide, the tour is treated as a no-show and charged in full. The client is responsible for being reachable on the phone number provided on the day. Reaching the meeting point is the client's own arrangement: a transport strike, a traffic delay, a late flight or any other disruption affecting the group's journey to the meeting point is not a case of force majeure under clause 20, and the terms above apply. If you can see that you are going to be late, call your guide, because a delay flagged early can often be absorbed.
The meeting point. The meeting point is confirmed in writing before your tour. Venues occasionally move their group entrance at short notice, sometimes on the morning itself, and we may therefore change the meeting point, telling you as early as we can. The client is responsible for being reachable on the phone number given at the time of booking.
Who may join. Entry is reserved in advance for a set number of guests, and at several venues the tickets carry names. Nobody may join a tour without our prior written agreement, discussed and confirmed by email before the day. Any additional person arriving at the meeting point without that agreement will be refused, the tour goes ahead for the rest of the group, and no refund or reduction is due.
Luggage and prohibited items. Museums and monuments refuse suitcases, large bags and a range of items that each venue lists for itself, and their cloakrooms are limited and sometimes closed. Please come without luggage. A tour cannot be delayed, cut short at our expense, or extended because a member of the group has to deal with a bag, and no refund is due in that case.
Refusal by the venue. Security staff act for the venue and not for us. Where a guest is refused entry, for whatever reason the venue gives, the tour continues for the rest of the group and no refund is due for the person refused.
If the client or the group chooses to end the tour before its scheduled finish, for a reason of their own, the tour is treated as delivered in full and no refund, partial refund or credit is due. The same applies where part of the group leaves during the tour. If someone is unwell, or something is not working for you, tell your guide: wherever it is possible, the route, the pace or the order of the visit will be adapted rather than the tour cut short.
The client and every member of the group agree to follow the instructions of the guide and the rules of each venue, including security checks and restrictions on bags, behaviour and photography. The guide may, without refund, decline to admit or may remove from the tour any person whose behaviour is abusive, threatening, under the clear influence of alcohol or drugs, or likely to put the safety of the group, other visitors, the guide or the works on display at risk. The client is responsible for any damage caused by a member of the group to a venue or to third parties.
Minors must be accompanied by an adult member of the group at all times. The accompanying adults remain solely responsible for the supervision, safety and conduct of any minor throughout the tour. Pépin Paris does not provide childcare and accepts no responsibility for the supervision of minors. The age of majority in France is 18: anyone under that age counts as a minor for the purposes of these terms and of every venue we visit. Each minor must carry proof of identity during the tour, and so must the accompanying adults. Museums and monuments grant reduced and free admission by age, and they may ask for evidence at the door: where a document is missing, the venue may refuse the reduced rate and charge the full adult admission, which is payable by the client.
Our tours involve walking and periods of standing. The client is responsible for assessing whether the tour is suitable for every member of the group and for informing us in advance of any condition, reduced mobility or specific need, so that we can advise on what is possible.
Wheelchair use, reduced mobility, and any other condition affecting walking, standing or stamina must be notified to us before the tour, at the time of booking wherever possible. With notice, a great deal is possible: the route, the venue, the entrance used and the lift access can all be arranged in advance, and tours are wheelchair accessible wherever the venue allows. Without notice, very little is. Where such a need is disclosed only at the meeting point or in the course of the tour, we may be unable to adapt the itinerary or to secure the right access, and no refund or reduction is due if the tour cannot then proceed as planned.
Guide dogs and assistance dogs must be declared to us when you book. We will do our best to accommodate you, but the declaration is not a formality: each venue sets its own rules on animals, and it is the client who is responsible for checking that the dog will be admitted to the sites on the itinerary. Some of our guides are not comfortable working alongside a dog, and advance notice is what allows us to assign a guide who is. Where a dog arrives at the meeting point without having been declared, the guide may decline to deliver the tour, and no refund or reduction is due.
Each participant takes part under their own responsibility and is advised to hold suitable personal and travel insurance.
Our food tours include tastings at independent shops, bakeries and producers. Those establishments prepare and serve what you taste. We choose them with care, but we do not prepare the food ourselves.
Any allergy, intolerance or dietary requirement, for any member of the group, must be told to us in writing at the time of booking. We pass this on to every establishment on the route. Please also understand what nobody can promise: these are small kitchens and working shops, where the same surfaces, utensils and fryers serve many preparations, and the absence of traces or of cross-contamination cannot be guaranteed. Where a declared allergy is severe, we will tell you honestly whether we believe the tour can be run safely, and we would rather propose a different tour than take that risk.
Each guest remains responsible for what they choose to eat and drink, and anyone with a severe allergy should carry their own medication. Where an allergy or a dietary requirement is disclosed only on the day, we may be unable to adapt the tastings, and no refund or reduction is due.
Alcohol is served only to guests aged 18 or over, which is the legal age in France. Your guide may decline to serve alcohol to anyone, and will do so where there is any doubt about age or about a guest's condition. Where an accompanying adult chooses to give alcohol to a minor in their care, that is their decision and their responsibility alone, and it does not engage ours.
Outdoor and walking tours take place in most weather conditions. The client is responsible for dressing appropriately for the season and the forecast. No refund is due on the grounds of weather alone. Where weather creates a genuine safety risk, the guide may adapt the route or, in agreement with the client, propose a new date.
Museums and monuments are independent of Pépin Paris and set their own rules, opening hours, security arrangements, ticketing systems and collection movements. We cannot be held responsible for closures, partial closures, strikes, queues, security delays, ticketing failures, changes to opening conditions, or the movement, loan or restoration of any work, when these occur outside our control. Where we become aware in advance of a closure, a strike, an exceptional event or the removal of a major work from display, we will tell you as soon as we know and propose how best to adapt the tour. Where a closure or restriction materially affects a confirmed tour, we will propose an alternative of equivalent interest or a new date. No refund is due on the sole ground of a museum closure where an alternative or a new date is offered.
We can arrange services that we do not provide ourselves, such as a private driver, transport tickets, or a table at a restaurant. Where we do, we act as an intermediary on your behalf: the service is delivered by that provider, under its own terms and its own insurance, and our responsibility is limited to the care we take in choosing it and in passing on your instructions. The cost of such services is set out separately in the quote.
Neither party is liable for any failure or delay caused by an event beyond its reasonable control, including strikes, transport disruption, public-health measures, government decisions, civil unrest, acts of terrorism, extreme weather or natural events. In such a case we will, where possible, propose an alternative of equivalent interest or a new date. Sums corresponding to costs already committed to third parties, such as non-refundable entry tickets, will be retained, unless the venue refunds them to us, in which case they are passed back to you in full.
Your own photographs. Photography by the client is subject to the rules of each venue, which the guide will explain on arrival. Photographs you take during a tour are for your private use. Any public, promotional or commercial use of them, including any use that generates revenue, sponsorship or audience for you or for a third party, requires our prior written consent.
Your guide's image. Each guide owns the rights to their own image. A guide may be photographed or filmed only with their agreement, and only for the client's private use. No image, likeness, voice or name of a guide may be published, broadcast, licensed, sold, or used in any advertising, promotional, editorial or commercial context, in any medium and whether or not a fee is involved, without that guide's prior written consent. This applies equally to social media accounts operated for commercial purposes, to content monetised in any way, and to the training of artificial intelligence systems. A guide may ask at any point that a photograph or recording of them be deleted, and the client agrees to comply immediately.
Recording is not permitted. The audio or video recording of a tour, in whole or in part, is not permitted, whatever the intended use. A guided tour is an original spoken work: what your guide says, the research behind it and the way they deliver it are their own creation, protected as such under clause 23. Taking notes for your own use is welcome, and your guide will gladly repeat anything or spell out a name. Where a recording is made in breach of this clause, the guide may require its immediate deletion and may end the tour under clause 14 without refund, and we reserve every remedy available to us in respect of the recording and of any use made of it.
Our own photographs. With your agreement, the guide may take photographs during a tour in order to present our tours. We ask first; a refusal needs no explanation and changes nothing about your tour, and you may ask us at any time to stop using an image in which you appear.
Pépin Paris holds professional liability insurance (responsabilité civile professionnelle) as required for licensed guides-conférenciers operating in France.
Nothing in these terms reduces the rights French law gives you. We are not liable for indirect or consequential losses, meaning losses that do not follow directly from the tour itself: a missed train or flight, a missed connection, accommodation or transport costs, or the disappointment of a trip that did not go as hoped. Where the client is a professional rather than a consumer, our total liability arising from a booking is in any event limited to the total price paid for that tour.
The client remains responsible for personal belongings throughout the tour, and we cannot be held responsible for their loss or theft. Anything left in a museum or monument cloakroom remains the client's responsibility: cloakrooms are operated by the venue under its own conditions, and we have no part in them. Every participant is strongly advised to hold suitable travel and personal insurance.
All content on this website, including texts, photographs, graphics, structure and design, is the exclusive property of Pépin Paris and is protected by French and international copyright law. It may not be reproduced, republished, adapted or used for commercial purposes without our prior written consent.
This does not extend to photographs of works of art reproduced from the museums' own official online collections, such as the Louvre's record for Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa on collections.louvre.fr. Those images remain governed by the terms of use of the institution that publishes them, and we claim no right over them.
The tour itself is a separate creation. What a guide says, the research that lies behind it, the choice of works, the order in which the story is built and the way the commentary is delivered are personal to that guide and belong to them. Nothing said or shown during a tour may be reproduced, transcribed, published, taught, adapted or used commercially, in any medium, without the prior written consent of the guide and of Pépin Paris. Recording is addressed in clause 21.
We process the personal data collected through bookings and the contact form solely to manage your request and your tour, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (RGPD) and French data-protection law. Full details, including your rights of access, rectification and erasure, are set out in our Privacy Policy.
Any complaint should first be addressed to us in writing at contact@pepinparis.com, dated, setting out the circumstances of the dispute and what you are asking for, so that we can seek an amicable solution. If you have not been able to resolve the dispute after sending us this written complaint, and you have received a negative written reply from us or no reply two months after sending it, you may, free of charge, refer the matter to the consumer mediator.
In accordance with articles L.616-1 and R.616-1 of the French Code de la consommation, we have put in place a consumer mediation scheme. The mediation entity appointed is:
MÉDIATION CONSOMMATION DÉVELOPPEMENT / MED CONSO DEV
Centre d'Affaires Stéphanois SAS, Immeuble l'Horizon, Esplanade de France
3 rue J. Constant Milleret, 42000 Saint-Étienne, France
www.medconsodev.eu
A complaint may be filed on the mediator's website or by post at the address above. A request to the mediator is admissible only after a prior written complaint to us, and within one year of that complaint. For cross-border disputes, consumers resident in the European Union may also contact the Centre Européen des Consommateurs France, at www.europe-consommateurs.eu.
If any provision of these terms is found to be void or unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue to apply. These terms, together with the written quote and booking confirmation, constitute the entire agreement between the parties and replace any prior exchange on the same subject. The version of these terms that applies to a booking is the version in force on the date the booking is confirmed.
These terms are governed by French law. They are published in English for the convenience of our clients; a French version is available on request and, in the event of any discrepancy between the two versions, the French version prevails. The parties will seek an amicable solution to any dispute, including through consumer mediation where applicable. Failing agreement, the dispute will be brought before the competent French courts, in accordance with the applicable rules of jurisdiction.
Last updated: October 2026