The Louvre from the outside, and its neighbours: Catherine de' Medici's palace that went up in flames, the pyramid nobody wanted and the crooked axis, the theft of the Mona Lisa, the fortress under the Cour Carrée, the legend of the Tour de Nesle across the river, the bell that, tradition has it, rang on St Bartholomew's night, a marshal dug up by the crowd, a fountain where executions took place, and the column of a queen who, so the story went, was running from a name.
You start by looking towards the Tuileries, the palace Catherine de' Medici began beside some tile works, and which ended in flames in 1871. In the Cour Napoléon you'll hear about the pyramid war, the crooked axis Pei fixed with a king on horseback, and the Monday in 1911 when the Mona Lisa left a gap on the wall. In the Cour Carrée, the fortress of Philip Augustus that kept watch on the Seine. On the riverbank, facing the Pont des Arts, you look across the water to where the Tour de Nesle once stood, and take its legend apart: a nameless queen in a line by Villon, and a tower added by nineteenth-century theatre. In front of Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois, three stories in the King's parish: the bell of August 1572 (according to tradition), the death of Coligny and the night-time burial of Concini. You carry on past the fountain of the Croix-du-Trahoir and a tower from the city wall wedged between houses, and finish in front of Catherine's column: the queen who, so the story went, was running from anything called Saint-Germain.
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 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.
You start at the end: the steps of Saint-Roch, where a young general called Bonaparte brought the Revolution to a close with cannon fire.
You start on the terraces of the Flore and Les Deux Magots and cross to the oldest church in Paris, which, tradition has it, was founded to keep a tunic brought from Zaragoza; inside lies Descartes, whom the Revolution wanted to move to the Panthéon.
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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