Belleville Bound Paris Beyond the Baguette

Susan was our guide - she was incredible!

Susan was great! Lots of food and fun! Learned a lot about Paris and the French way! Food and wine were delicious! Susan is very knowledgeable!

+1

This was a wonderful tour. It took me to a part of Paris I might not have explored otherwise. We visited a range of places - there was way too much food for me overall but it did represent some of the diversity of this city and its cultures.

Novel and interesting section off the beaten path. Sampled a variety of foods such as Algerian, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian, Haitian, and French.

This tour with Allison Kave was the highlight of our week-long stay in Paris. Allison is fantastic guide, whose enthusiasm for the Belleville neighborhood and its diverse cuisine is catching. Her expertise in pastry and baking (she’s the author of two cookbooks, ran a pie business and opened two cocktail bars) meant we learned a lot! We meandered the neighborhood, tasting food from bistro fare like escargot to moon cakes from a Vietnamese bakery. Since our legs couldn’t do the full five-hour tour (which we so enjoyed in Mexico City years ago), my husband and I booked the slower paced private tour. Having Allison to ourselves was a real treat but I’m sure she is just as informative and caring in a group. A terrific time—food, neighborhood and guide!

We had a great experience with Nicolas. He was very engaging, full of knowledge of the area and was accommodating to our special requests ( Parisian flan). All our stops were delicious & covered a broad spectrum . He was an excellent source of information on Paris in general & was kind to walk with us to place des Vosges, pointing out interesting things along the way, after the official tour ended Thank you Nicolas!

I was very much looking forward to this tour and after reading such positive reviews i would rather not be giving such mixed ratings. Susan, our guide, was great- she shared lots of interesting and relevant information and was a fun companion for our walk. BUT- the tour, including the starting location, had been completely altered only the day before. The update to the link about where to meet was only made AFTER we had set out that morning. Getting to the correct location involved phone calls and a rushed half hour taxi ride. (The original meeting place looked amazing- a patisserie that looked like a jewel box.! ) The new location, when we finally got there, was ok but we had already discovered better pastries just along from our hotel. We went on to sample some traditional French dishes at a boulangerie and that was just ok too. Then it was on to a Vietnamese bun shop to sample gristly sausage and bland vegetables. We ended up in a very past its prime bar ( plus disgusting bathrooms) drinking not very tasty cocktails. Luckily our guide remained dynamic and interesting company but the food we ate on this new route was not the introduction we hoped for and unworthy of the price of the tour.

We very much enjoyed this 5-hour food tour off the beaten path in the eastern arrondissements of Paris, sampling a bit of well-known French fare as well as international fusion. Allison Kave is an exceptional tour guide with vast experience in food/beverage as well as being a published cookbook author. I would advise you not eat before the tour starts, and do not plan for a large (or any!) dinner that evening. Great food and company, I highly recommend!

Wonderful experience cruising the backstreets of Belleville. Visiting vendors that are producing unique food products was excellent. This is our fourth trip with Culinary Backstreets and have not been disappointed!

Personable and knowledgeable guide shared experiences we would have experienced on our own. Learned a lot about Parisian food culture and enjoyed wonderful, interesting foods