Paris, beyond the first glance.
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Behind the façades of Paris are revolutions, arguments and lives that never made the postcard. Walk its neighbourhoods with a story in your ears, from the banks of the Seine to streets where a different city was imagined.
Start with “The Île de la Cité: from the Pont Neuf to Notre-Dame”. You start at the tip of the island, where one March evening in 1314 the last master of the Templars was burnt at the stake, and you follow his day backwards to the square in front of Notre-Dame, where his sentence was read that morning. Along the way: the bridge of the charlatans, a king made from Napoleon's bronze, the square given to a judge, Marie Antoinette's prison (which more than a third of the accused left alive), a king's clock, the chapel built for a crown of thorns, the flowers and the hospital of the poor.
Then there’s “The Arc de Triomphe and the Upper Champs-Élysées”. You start at Fouquet's, where in 1919 a group of offended pilots planned an impossible flight, and two doors along you hear how a dancer who'd come from Madrid was arrested as a spy. You walk up the avenue of the blessed to where an eighteen-metre gilded cenotaph once stood, hear how the Spanish Republicans of La Nueve, the first into Paris in 1944, escorted de Gaulle down the avenue and were then left out of the picture, and you go round the star of twelve avenues: a painted-canvas arch for an imperial wedding, streets named after the Empress and the King of Rome, and a monument someone proposed knocking down.
For another side of the city, try “Belleville, from the Boulevard to the Viewpoint”. You start on the boulevard where the tax wall once stood. Beyond it lay Belleville, its cheap wine and the carnival that came staggering back down into Paris.
Choose by neighbourhood or by the stories that interest you: each route shows its distance, stops and approximate duration before you set off. The audio is written for walking, with a clear distinction between documented events and local legend. Download it in the app, put on your headphones and pause whenever something catches your eye. English and Spanish are included.
Cross the island where Paris was born, following the last day of Jacques de Molay: a fire at dusk, a bronze king cast with Napoleon's metal, the queen in the Conciergerie, a crown that cost half a kingdom, and a point zero that was replaced in 2025.
Explore the free walk
The map shows where each walk starts. Choose a theme below to find the stories you like.
Open a marker to see its page. Use two fingers to move the map on mobile.
Paris works best a neighbourhood at a time. Combine a walk, a pause and another look: the distances on the map can be deceptive.
Facts and legends
The Paris Catacombs began in a cemetery in the city centre, the Innocents. How and why its bones were moved by night to old quarries between 1785 and 1787.
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Facts and legends
Nicolas Flamel was real: a scribe and bookseller in medieval Paris. His fame as an immortal alchemist came much later. We separate the records from the legend.
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Facts and legends
Notre-Dame's chimeras look medieval, but they were carved between 1844 and 1856. Gargoyles, Viollet-le-Duc, Victor Hugo and the Stryge: fact and legend.
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Walk at your own pace
A complete, free self-guided audio walk on the Île de la Cité, from the Pont Neuf to Notre-Dame: no group, no start time, no tipping. Stops, route and FAQs.
Read the storyOur Paris guide has suggestions for one, two and three days. Start with one area rather than trying to fit every walk into a day; leave room for travel between neighbourhoods and any indoor visits.
Terrain: much of the centre beside the Seine is straightforward; Montmartre and Belleville add hills and steps. Surfaces: smooth pavements alternate with cobbles and stairs down to the quays. Do not assume riverside access will be step-free.
“The Île de la Cité: from the Pont Neuf to Notre-Dame” is the free route: 11 stops over 1.28 km, with an approximate duration of 47 minutes. You can see its map and stops on the route page.
Spring and autumn suit a mixture of parks and museums without relying on heat; always pack a layer for rain. June brings the Fête de la Musique and livelier streets; July brings national celebrations. December adds Christmas lights and activity.
Download the audio in the app before heading out, then listen offline. Loading the online base map and calculating a new route from your location require a connection.
Every route includes Spanish and British English. The English version is adapted for English-speaking travellers, rather than translated word for word.
Join the waitlist, choose a city and confirm your email address. When the app launches, we will email you with access details. No card is required. You can also try one free route in every city.
Yes. Your own access is included and you can choose 0–5 guests: up to 6 people including you. Each guest saves up to €0.50 on a walk, €1 on a pack or €2 on a whole city compared with buying separately. The counter shows the total before you confirm one payment.
After paying, share your purchase’s invitation link. Each guest opens it in Podtour and accepts their place on their own iPhone or Android phone. They must redeem it within 30 days of purchase. Unclaimed places then expire and cannot be recovered or renewed. Access accepted in time is kept. Opening the link does not use a place; one account takes just one place, and no more people can join once all places are taken.
No. Choose all your guests before confirming the first purchase. Afterwards you can share the places you paid for, but you cannot increase their number or restart the 30-day deadline.
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