I am Andréa, Brazilian by origin and Parisian by adoption
The passion for France – culture, history, geography and art – moved and directed my work in Paris for six years. During that time, I became an official tour guide and I specialized myself in France. I created a website and a blog and I started designing tailor made tours and guided tours for a foreign public in Paris and France.
During this period of work, I realized that people today do not just want to visit monuments, they want to experience and feel the city. That is why, I decided to offer, in addition to the tours in the traditional Parisian monuments, tours that take you to discover a more authentic and original Paris, something that I usually call “the Paris of Parisians”. My tours are adapted for families, individuals and groups.
What means being a cultural guide?
In France, be a tour guide is a profession!
The cultural guide conducts guided tours and conferences in a specific territory and in historical places, taking an approach to enhance the cultural heritage of the place where he operates. He represents the gateway to historical, geographical or artistic knowledge that helps to highlight a particular place. The profession of Cultural guide is controlled in France. Only holders of a professional license provided by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism can conduct guided tours in the French cultural institutions, national museums and historic monuments. Obtaining this professional license is only possible following university grade.
My educational career
My initial graduation is Geography. I have a PhD in Geography in Brazil with a period of internship at the Sorbonne University in Paris. I taught for 10 years in Brazil, in public schools and university. Upon arriving in France, I opted for a new professional area. I did a master degree in Tourism at the Sorbonne University and a professional license as a tourist guide at the University Paris Est Marne-la-Vallée. I specialized myself in France and art history. I also studied at the renowned Ecole du Louvre, a reference in the studies of art history. My previous studies in foreign languages, French, English and Spanish, allowed me to expand my horizons and exercise my work with quality. Portuguese is my mother tongue.
Travel and knowledge
I have always been curious and enjoyed traveling. This passion for travel came with my career as geographer and has intensified over time. The study trips, the participation in congresses and conferences in Brazil and in Latin American countries, aroused my curiosity for different cultures. The Doctorate period I spent in France allowed me a first contact with Europe and an opening to a world hitherto unknown. The thirst for knowledge led me to travel to different European and American countries. The contact with people from different horizons gave me a general knowledge of different cultures.
Specialist in France
My contact with France since 2012 and my displacement to Paris in 2014 opened the door to a new culture. I immersed myself in French culture, specializing in Paris and France. My numerous study and leisure trips in French territory have enriched me with knowledge that I love to share with the world on my blog. Today, my blog “A França e o mundo em cena”, is an important source of virtual research for foreigners visiting France. What fascinates me is to show France as a country to be experienced and felt and not just to be seen.
Travel designer
In addition to the guided tours, I also work as a travel designer preparing cultural trips tailored for independent travelers and small travel agencies. With my knowledge of Paris and France, I offer to my clients, proposals of exclusive travel and unforgettable experiences. If you are traveling alone, with family or with friends, I will be able to customize for you an authentic and unique trip, according to your wishes and expectations.
My vision of guiding
For me, guiding is a moment of exchange, discovery and pleasure for everyone. A competent guide has a good general culture, with in-depth knowledge of art history and history, geography, and much more. He knows very well the place where he works. He is able to adapt to the demands of his clientele, is fluent in languages, is an enthusiastic, smiling person and is able to head his client in setting up an itinerary.
Associations and institutions assembling the tour guides that I’m enrolled
