podtour
The Eiffel Tower and the Champ de Mars
You start on the Trocadéro esplanade, named after a pair of forts in the Bay of Cádiz taken in 1823 to restore Ferdinand VII to absolute power, and where the Universal Declaration was adopted in 1948.
The Arc de Triomphe and the Upper Champs-Élysées: audio walk in Paris
You walk up the avenue to the Étoile and round it: the bar where airmen plotted to fly under the Arc, the hotel where Mata Hari was arrested, a cenotaph that had to be moved aside, the Spanish Republicans of La Nueve who led the Liberation parade, avenues that lost Napoleon's family and, at the foot of the Arc, the names, Victor Hugo's night and the soldier with no name.
What this walk is about
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. At the foot of the Arc you search among hundreds of generals for the one who's missing, Victor Hugo's father, and hear about the night Hugo himself lay beneath the vault. You finish at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and its flame.
- Start
- The aviators told to march on foot
- Finish
- The soldier without a name
- Who it is for
- A good starting point for your first visit. A walk for anyone curious about you've already been up the Arc and history and literature.
- Languages
- Spanish and British English
- Underfoot
- The walk is mostly level. The route notes mention stairs or steps on the walk or its approaches.
The route, stop by stop
An outline of the walk. The full stories are in the app.
Loading the map…
Open a marker to see its page. Use two fingers to move the map on mobile.
- 1
The aviators told to march on foot
- 2
The spy at the hotel
- 3
A paradise named after a myth
- 4
A thirty-tonne cenotaph
- 5
La Nueve at the Étoile
- 6
The twelve-pointed star
- 7
A cloth arch for a royal wedding
- 8
The avenues of the erased dynasty
- 9
The arch they nearly demolished
- 10
384 generals and a forgotten father
- 11
Victor Hugo's night beneath the arch
- 12
The soldier without a name
Walking directions are based on mapped pedestrian routes. Check local access and signs; the route is not an accessibility guarantee. Times are approximate.
Paris, before you go
Paris works best a neighbourhood at a time. Combine a walk, a pause and another look: the distances on the map can be deceptive.
More walks nearby
Les Invalides, the Pont Alexandre III and the Palaces of 1900
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.
From Orsay to Furstenberg along the Quai Voltaire
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.
Good to know
What is Podtour?
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.
When can I download the app?
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.
Does Podtour include attraction tickets?
No. Street walks and monument audio tours do not include admission tickets, transport or a guide accompanying you.
Can I listen without an internet connection?
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.
What languages are included?
Every route includes Spanish and British English. The English version is adapted for English-speaking travellers, rather than translated word for word.
How do I get a whole city for free?
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.
Can I buy for myself or for a group?
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.
How do I share, and when must guests accept?
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.
Can I add guests after buying?
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.
Your first city,
on Podtour.
Join the waitlist. When we launch, your chosen city is yours to explore.
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A little welcome gift
Your first city,
on Podtour.
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.