A Day of Exploring Black Paris
Description
This experience goes beyond dates and landmarks to explore Paris through lived history, community, and presence. Rather than focusing on a single narrative, the tour connects African, Caribbean, Black American and diasporic stories across neighborhoods, showing how Black life has helped shape the city in visible and subtle ways. The experience allows space for conversation, reflection, and context as we travel through areas most visitors never connect into a single story. From shops, restaurants, and landmarks, guests leave not just informed, but with a new relationship to Paris.
Tour Options
Itinerary
We begin at the historic literary café Les Deux Magots for a meet and greet. Guests enjoy a light French breakfast included with the tour while learning about the café’s place in Parisian intellectual life and its connection to Black writers who lived and worked in the city. This is an opportunity to settle in, meet the group, and set the context for the day ahead.
We stop at Présence Africaine, a landmark bookstore and publishing house founded in 1949 that has played a central role in African and diasporic intellectual life in Paris. Here, guests learn about its influence on writers, thinkers, and movements that connected Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe, and why this space remains important today.
We stop inside La Rhumerie, a historic rum house founded in 1932 with roots in the French Caribbean. Here guests learn about the cultural and economic ties between Paris and the Caribbean.
In Pigalle, we explore a neighborhood once shaped by Black performers, venues, and cultural exchange in the early 20th century. Guests learn how music, nightlife, and migration transformed this area and why it played an important role in Black Parisian history.
We then travel to La Goutte d’Or, a vibrant neighborhood shaped by African communities. Walking through local streets and market areas, guests experience everyday life while learning how this neighborhood became a cultural and commercial hub within Paris.
We finish at an African restaurant, where guests have time to relax, reflect, and share highlights from the day. This final stop offers a communal ending to the experience.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Reviews(149)
Our tour guide, Knight, was amazing! He rendered us a wealth of knowledge of the Black cultural history in Paris! The walking tour gave us the opportunity to experience and taste our Black culture! He was very friendly, very outgoing, and very personable! We were able to see a side of Paris that we would’ve never known existed! From, Josephine Baker being a spy for the French to Dr. Martin Luther King visiting Paris, several times throughout his life! Thank you Knight for an unforgettable walking tour!
My tour was extraordinary! Thanks to a larger group cancelling, I ended up having an unexpected 1:1 tour with Knight, and all I can say is thank you! We started with warm whispers of the Parisian journeys of infamous African-American writers, before walking in the footsteps of figures like MLK and Marcus Garvey, with Knight bringing the Black experience of that era to life through stories and history along the way. After weaving through Paris on the Metro, we arrived at the Moulin Rouge, stopped by the former residence of the iconic Josephine Baker, and finally made our way into the hustle and bustle of the 18th/19th arrondissement. We finished with a delicious Malian meal and a complimentary hibiscus drink. Such a memorable, intimate and beautifully told journey through Black Paris. 🖤
Paris is very overrated but luckily we booked this tour which was the highlight of our entire trip. Knight was very engaging and welcoming. We met some other amazing people from the States and really understood the depth of black/African diaspora culture.
Knight delivered an unforgettable Black in Paris experience. He’s a gifted storyteller who brings Black history in Paris to life with clarity, passion, and incredible depth. Every stop felt meaningful, and his insights into figures like Baldwin and Josephine Baker were powerful and engaging. Knight’s warmth, humor, and knowledge made the tour one of the highlights of my trip. Absolutely recommend.
One of the highlights of my month long trip
Knight, the tours guide was amazing! A wealth of knowledge of Paris - not only just black Paris but French history as well that affected the diaspora. He provided a very thorough and comprehensive verbal and walking guide. I was extremely grateful for his steady walking pace. I’m not a fast walker and was preparing myself to struggle to keep up but he was completely self aware and managed his pace to suit all needs. I truly enjoyed my experience and would recommend it in a heartbeat for anyone interested in the African Diaspora X Paris. Also don’t worry about the 6 hour time, it flies by! Tell them Jonelle sent you!
I was not expecting as much on this tour, but got WAYY more than what I truly was expecting. Took the metro train, the tour guy paid for the metro ticket our breakfast and our snacks on tour. We went to some different food shops, shopping places, black bookstore., we were in a group about six of us, and we talked laugh and enjoyed our company of touring the neighborhoods and different culturals
If you have an interest in true black history of Paris this tour is a must. See a Paris that you may not have known existed. It will open your mind. Knight was the perfect guide for this tour. Weaving in the true facts and letting reality wash over you as you take it all in. What life was like for BLACK People both American and French. Thank you. We highly recommend this tour!
Excellent preview of black culture in Paris - food, shops, neighborhoods, etc. Well worth it and not to be missed!
This walking tour exploring Black Paris was absolutely excellent. I enjoyed it so much. The guide was very knowledgeable and took us to some great places. It was interesting to see pictures and places I had read about. To walk in a store knowing that historical figures had visited the same place was awesome. We ended the tour at a fabulous restaurant with great food and great conversation. I would recommend this trip to anyone.
