Bienvenue to your gentle guide to Paris.
We are delighted to be planning our custom, accessible itineraries for you or a special family member or friend. Your caring, qualified and fun “Mon Ami in Paris” personal guide and driver await. We’ll even greet you at the airport or train station and get you settled in, rested and ready to embark on the Paris adventure you’ve been dreaming of. Allons-y. It’s time…
Now in our 14th year, PFS continues to be an all-access pass to Paris for seniors, people with mobility issues and anyone needing a gentle approach to Paris. Hear from our visitors from around the world who have invited PFS to help make a trip to Paris possible for them.
- Worried about navigating Paris’ airports or train stations on your own? Watch video of Thérèse, 85, get greeted at Charles de Gaulle airport
- and whisked to her B &
Every time I look down on this timeless town,
whether blue or gray be her skies,
whether loud be her cheers, or whether soft be her tears,
more and more do I realize that…I love Paris.
– Ella Fitzgerald. (Listen..)
Paris – “La Ville-Lumière”, (the city of light) and “la reine du monde” (the queen of the world). Perhaps you’ve already discovered her. Or, maybe this will be your first encounter- a journey you’ve been dreaming of taking for a long time.
Paris for seniors.com will be your gentle guide –helping you make the most out of this remarkable city with invaluable information – carefully collected with your needs in mind. For, although you may be in the autumn or even winter years of your life, in Paris, you are sure to find your spring.
WHO WE ARE – A family-run business in its 14th year of helping seniors, multi-generational families and mobility-challenged visitors navigate and enjoy Paris.
Geneviève Spicer. Born to a French mother and a Canadian father, Genevieve is a bilingual voice over artist and multimedia producer with a specialty in creating programming and content for active seniors. She has lived in France, Japan, Indonesia and Canada and is known for her natural ability to adapt to and embrace new countries and cultures.
Geneviève works with a talented team of dedicated, licensed city tour guides and professional driving partners to bring you the best of Paris – before you book your flight, train, or boat!
Keith, with daughter, Geneviève and grand-daughter, Grace.
Keith Spicer a.k.a . Dad (a.k.a Gpa) was co-founder and Geneviève’s partner-in-fun at Paris for Seniors. He played many roles in his life (the starring one that of exceptional, doting father) and made a real difference in preserving French language rights in his own country, Canada. He passed away on August 24 of this year.
France was Keith’s second home and Paris his favorite place in the world. He first discovered the city of light as a student in the 1950’s – when he also met a ravissante French girl whom he would marry.
After a long career in newspapers, TV, government and media-telecom consulting, Keith retired in the 1990’s. He went back to his beloved Latin Quarter and lived there for 20 years. His knowledge of French culture, history and politics was exceptional as was his love for Paris. In his late seventies he wrote an ode to his favorite city, Paris Passions-Watching the French being Brilliant and Bizarre”, followed by the thriller Murder by Champagne set in his second favorite French city – Reims.
In 2011, Keith convinced his daughter, Geneviève, to move to Paris with her family – husband, two daughters, Max the Border Collie and Flame, le chat. Together, they would explore Paris (with Dad as “ senior advisor”) and share with others, on Paris for Seniors.com, their observations, ideas and accessible itineraries. They would conquer would-be visitors pre-trip trepidations with useful resources and fun, informative articles, newsletters and videos about safety, transportation and interacting with the French. They’d also share off-the-beaten-track places and experiences in Paris.
Dad adored writing for our newsletters, helping plan itineraries, giving tours and making Paris videos with his cherished grand-daughters. Dad- we had the time of our lives – we truly did. Merci Papa.
Grace Spicer-Pilon
Keith’s grand-daughter, Grace, has picked up the torch to honour her grandpa’s legacy of sharing Paris with others. Half of the dynamic duo of G & G (Gracie and Grandpa), Grace spent much of her childhood exploring Paris with her grand-father and is very familiar with the dangers, discounts and great times that await seniors here. She is now studying in Paris and working as a PFS guide and itinerary planner along with our other guides.
WHAT WE DO
PFS exists to take the bugs out of travel to Paris before you leave the comfort of home and to give you peace of mind while you are here.
While we are called “Paris for Seniors” you don’t need to be 50 (that’s a senior here in Paris!) to call on us. We really just consider ourselves “your gentle guide to Paris”
SAFETY & MOBILITY – Perhaps you, or a family member with mobility or health issues, are coming to Paris and getting around the city, in addition to healthcare and safety, are a concern.
Keith Spicer, far left, and his daughter, Geneviève, far right, are the founders of PFS and are pictured here with the wonderful Cecilia and her husband on a special graduation trip for their 18 year-old daughter.
A LOCAL TRAVEL COMPANION – Maybe you are traveling on your own and you don’t speak a word of French and feel a bit nervous about navigating this busy cosmopolitan capital.
Elizabeth Robertson of Ottawa, Canada with PFS guide, Kirk, at Montmartre.
Sharon at the Medici Fountain in the Luxembourg Gardens
A MILESTONE TRIP – Perhaps you’re planning a special milestone trip for yourself or a loved one and you want to organize something really extraordinary for them.
Wayne and Venita of Ottawa, Canada – 50th wedding anniversary trip!
and still going strong!
TRAVEL “EN-FAMILLE” – Maybe you’re dreaming about “grand-travel” (travel with your grand-children) or “multi-generational family travel but the very thought of managing the interests, physical capabilities and energy levels of different age groups is daunting.
Good times with Grandmaman and Grandpa!
This is where we come in. PFS core services include: “Mon Ami in Paris” trip planning and facilitation service which includes our “Help Me” – emergency liaison service. We also offer the “Promenade dans le 5ème” walking tour and special day-trip planning outside of Paris. PFS visitors also benefit from our special reduced-rate airport/train station transfer service.
As a family-run business working with the best service providers in town, we pride ourselves on the special attention we offer all of our clients-including seniors and travelers with disabilities who need some extra TLC to make their trip special and secure.
Our fully bilingual (English and French), Paris-based team specializes in customized, pre-trip consulting and planning and on-site orientation and facilitation. We also give private, go-at-your-own pace walking or wheel-chair assisted tours —not the kind where you struggle to keep up with a yellow or red flag and strain to hear your guide!
If walking is not your favorite option, let one of our specially trained PFS drivers give you and your travel companions a private day or night “Top Ten” monuments tour of Paris, a day-trip to Giverney or Versailles or take you on a fun shopping trip.
Our “PFS Prestige Tour” vehicles are new, clean and air-conditioned and our drivers have their professional designation as Chauffeurs de Voiture de Tourisme (official tourism drivers) which means they have special parking privileges which allow them to park and stop almost anywhere so that you can take pictures or break for lunch on a terrace. They also have their Sauveteur/Sécouriste card and are trained to handle potential emergency situations.
Our drivers also do airport transfers and will greet you at the airport with a PFS Prestige sign with your name on it.
For more information and to know our pricing, please contact: [email protected]
- AARP’s recently interviewed Geneviève, founder of PFS, about her tips for Senior travel. Read it here
- Check out what Inspirelle Magazine has to say about PFS
Please meet our special PFS contributors, Chuck and Marlene Kinsey of California. They have over 37 years experience of visiting Paris!
PFS In the News!
Radio Canada (the French Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) recently featured us about PFS! Here is the radio interview:
http://ici.radio-canada.ca/emissions/les_samedis_du_monde/2015-2016/chronique.asp?idChronique=408021
PFS is very proud to have been selected “One of the Top 9 Niche Blogs about Paris” by Languages Abroad!
http://www.languagesabroad.com/blog/9-top-paris-blogs.htm
Here’s a warm welcome from Sandrine from the Office of the Mayor of Paris and other friends at the Salon des Seniors!