From the Esplanade des Invalides to the Champs-Élysées along the great axis of 1900: the morning Paris carried off the muskets, the pavement that moved on its own above a hidden railway, Napoleon's plaster funeral, a railway that wanted the Esplanade, the room where Europe was born, the Tsar's bridge, Bolívar on horseback, a palace turned hospital and the spot where it was all planned.
You start by the moats where the crowd leapt in after muskets on the morning of 14 July, picture the wooden pavement that, in 1900, moved along on its own at first-floor height with people standing still on top, and walk across the Esplanade where Victor Hugo watched Napoleon arrive between plaster statues. You'll find out why there's a railway station in the most solemn spot in Paris, what was signed twice in the Clock Room at the Quai d'Orsay, and why the Pont Alexandre III is so low and stands where it does. On the other side: a queen's promenade, a Bolívar by the same sculptor as the winged horses of peace, the Grand Palais turned into a hospital for the Marne, the palace that took twenty-five years to finish and a Clemenceau with wings. You finish at the spot the 1900 jury imagined: turn round and you'll see the dome you started with.
An outline of the walk. The full stories are in the app.
Open a marker to see its page. Use two fingers to move the map on mobile.
Walking directions are based on mapped pedestrian routes. Check local access and signs; the route is not an accessibility guarantee. Times are approximate.
Paris works best a neighbourhood at a time. Combine a walk, a pause and another look: the distances on the map can be deceptive.
You start beneath the clocks of Orsay, a station built in two years for 1900 that in 1945 welcomed people coming home, and discover that the quay it's named after was once the Grenouillère, a port of timber and mud, and took its name from a provost of the merchants, Charles Boucher, lord of Orsay.
You start in the Place Vendôme with a bronze horse so big that, people said, twenty men could fit in its belly.
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.
An app for self-guided audio walks. Choose a city and a route, then listen to the stories behind its streets. You decide when to start and when to stop.
Podtour is coming to iOS and Android. There is no confirmed launch date yet. Join the waitlist and we will let you know when it is ready.
No. Street walks and monument audio tours do not include admission tickets, transport or a guide accompanying you.
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.
Join the waitlist. When we launch, your chosen city is yours to explore.
Join the waitlist and get one whole city free when Podtour launches. You choose where.
Podtour manages your launch request with your consent. You can withdraw it and exercise your rights as explained in our privacy policy. Privacy details.
One city per person. All its Podtour routes in Spanish and English. Available at launch. Offer details.
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