Hi everyone! Bonjour tout le monde ! If you’ve been following Sight Seekers for a while, you’ve likely noticed some small changes here and there in recent years. A new name (anyone remember Sight Seekers Delight?!), a new website, and some amazing new tours. Well, after months of keeping things under wraps, we’re ready to reveal what we’ve been working on!
Introducing the new and improved, Sight Seekers Paris. While we will certainly continue to delight you in every way possible, after 20 years in the biz it was time for a refresh. We wanted to highlight all of our new tours and touring options — yes, virtual tours are still available — and offer an updated booking system that is much more straightforward.
And perhaps most exciting of all, Karen brought in an important new partner Yohann! Born and raised in France, he has lived in several countries (including some extended time in the US) but always comes back to the place we all know and love, Paris.
Bringing Yohann on to join in the Sight Seekers adventure as our founder Karen’s partner means we’ll have even more opportunities to share this amazing city with you. He shares our vision of how tours should be done — it’s all about being friendly and fun and keeping everyone safe. Monsieur brings a welcome French twist to the mix that we know you will all love.
As always, our motto remains “Your friends in Paris.” If you haven’t toured with Yohann yet we’d like to add, “A stranger is a friend you haven’t met yet!”
In the spirit of getting to know one another, enjoy this conversation between Karen and Yohann, where they go a little bit more in-depth into what you can all expect from Sight Seeker’s moving forward.
Above all, we want to thank each and every one of you for your continued support. And if you haven’t toured with us yet, we can’t wait to meet you. It’s the perfect time to visit Paris — the city is still all spruced up after the 2024 Olympics. Notre Dame recently opened back up as well, making 2025 the perfect year to visit the French capital.
Question: Yohann, how did you and Karen meet?
Yohann: We met through a mutual friend, Frances, an American actress living in Paris.
I ended up moving to Rome after the pandemic to work on a TV show, and I also worked as a tour guide while I was there. It was perfect for me — I knew the city very well, love history, and love storytelling so it was a good fit.
I eventually moved back to Paris and was interested in working as a guide. I asked a few friends if they knew anyone and that’s when Frances brought up Karen. We met and it was love at first sight!
Karen: I met Frances during the pandemic, so we only saw each other a few times. But, one day she called me and said, “I know you’re looking for guides. I know this guy…”
I was nervous at first because I never really wanted to bring on French guides. I’m very American and have always brought that energy to my tours — I’m the American in Paris and always will be. I was even hesitant to work with French people who spoke English very well because I was afraid they wouldn’t know all of the nuances of American culture. I did try a few times but they just couldn’t really understand some client questions, etc. Listen, I love the French (I’ve been married to one for more than X years!) but I had a hard time imagining what it would be like to work with one.
So, when Frances approached me I had a ton of questions: has he ever lived in America? Is he aware of American expectations in terms of customer service and friendliness? Does he get it?
Then I met Yohann and after the first tour he did with me I was immediately like, “Okay, you’re totally in.” Not only was he incredibly knowledgeable about Paris, but he had lived in the US for several years on and off, so his English was perfect and he knew exactly how to interact with Americans to make them feel comfortable.
And I have to say, not one person has ever complained about him since he started as a guide.
Y: No one has complained about me… yet! All jokes aside, from my point of view, what I like about Karen’s company is the focus on small, intimate groups. We’re able to create a connection, a friendship even, and that’s how you really want to experience Paris anyway — with a friend who knows their stuff.
Karen has also totally welcomed me into her world and family, she’s like my Jewish mom. I did my first Passover this year, and I’ve been learning so much more about Jewish culture and history… which is a big part of French culture and history too.
Since starting with her it feels like we’ve become one big family. Karen treats her people so well, so it was really a no-brainer when she approached me about working with her in a bigger way.
Question: This brings me to my next question! What’s the big news at Sight Seeker’s?
Y: After working with Karen as a guide she came to me with an offer: to partner with her in a new and improved version of Sight Seeker’s. She needed a French person who understood French laws, the French system, and how everything works.
The idea of becoming an entrepreneur really excited me, so I didn’t have to think long. I’ve always worked as an actor, so stepping into a totally different role is huge.
What’s more, this company has so much potential. It’s already a thriving business and has come this far on word of mouth alone! In the future, we want to expand and grow… work with more travel agents, break into other English-speaking markets, and even create guided tours in other major European cities.
Stay tuned for Sight Seeker’s England, Sight Seekers Italy, Sight Seekers Spain, Sight Seekers Israel… that's our ultimate goal.
K: But for now, we’re still focused on Paris! We’re keeping all of the amazing tours we have now, some will be redesigned so they’re even better, and we’re also going to bring on a few brand-new ones.
Our most recent is our Kosher Food Tour, which has been fabulous so far.
Question: Is there anything else we can expect?
K: We’ve also brought on a few new guides and office assistants, who you can go and meet on the new and improved website! You’ll also find a new, more streamlined booking system that we’re so proud of and excited for.
Y: I’m also working on getting my guide license so that I can offer tours inside museums too — which is exciting because that means we’ll be able to open up those tours a lot more.
K: We’re just really excited about this new chapter and to continue to explore Paris with our amazing clients.
Y: We have this cliché of the American woman in Paris — when you think about Paris, most people imagine a woman. I mean look at the logo for the 2024 Paris Olympics, right? Paris has a feminine energy.
And that’s why you need an American woman in Paris like Karen and a Frenchy man like me to truly experience it.
K: Exactly!
