Cou-Tours™
“Her Tailored Tours Make Paris a Perfect Fit”
—The New York Times,
Featured inRobb Report
Travel&Leisure
The New York Times
France24
This is not a tour.
Ceci n’est pas un tour*.
Storytelling with distinctive wit, perspective, and rare cultural access, Anya Firestone designs and hosts Cou-Tours™—personally tailored journeys through Paris that reveal the interconnections between French heritage and contemporary life in experiences as entertaining as they are educational.
Nationally licensed by the French Ministry of Culture, Firestone has become the go-to Paris expert to engage culturally curious travelers, celebrities, heads of state, and companies hosting clients or leadership gatherings in the city.
*A reference to René Magritte’s Surrealist work, Ceci n’est pas une pipe (“This is not a pipe”), which reminds us that what we see is not the object itself, but its representation. To learn more, please inquire about booking a Cou-Tour. “Her angle is to take art off the wall to show its intersection with things that people already enjoy and consume…be it champagne or Schiaparelli or N.F.T.s. Recent and upcoming tours have been designed for drag queens, the crypto team at a venture capital firm, ‘Eloise-like’ little girls..., and a man who is blind.”
Made-to-Measure
Its personal. Each visit is conceived as couture — made to measure, guided by your taste, and tailored to the cadence of your stay. Whether for a honeymoon couple, a multigenerational family journey, a small group or an independent traveler, every detail is woven with precision.
The Cou-Tour Way
A Thematic Twist
Each Cou-Tour may be conceived as a sweeping introduction to Paris or shaped around a distinct theme of your choosing. Through a focused lens, art often considered obscure becomes vivid and accessible, revealing how history and artistic heritage can be understood through virtually any field of interest.
Storytelling via Art
Art is approached not as isolated objects, but as chapters within a larger narrative. Anya constructs each experience around an idea and moves through museums and the city accordingly, allowing works of art to illuminate the forces that shaped them.
Accessible
A Cou-Tour is can be thoughtfully tailored by Anya to accommodate wheelchairs, walkers, strollers, and a range of vision, hearing, or mobility considerations, ensuring that each guest may explore Paris with comfort.
Cou-Tour Samples
-
![]()
Girl Power | The Evolution of Women in Art History & France
Tracing female power in French cultural history, from the enduring ideal of the Venus de Milo to the bold independence of Colette and the theatrical force of Sarah Bernhardt. Through art, fashion, and historic sites, the experience explores how women and art have evolved together across centuries.
-
![]()
Paris: So Surreal!
A specialist in the Surrealist movement, Anya will take guests across the history of what started the whimsical and philosophical movement in 1924, touching upon art, literature, and fashion, with stops including the Dali Museum and a Private visit to the original Schiaparelli showroom.
-
![]()
Dress to Impress-ionism
Explore how political change in the 19th century reshaped France’s social structures and consumer expectations, shifting fashion from an artisanal, bespoke couture system serving a narrow elite toward a market for standardized, more affordable garments: the birth of ready-to-wear. Explore this concept in the Musée d’Orsay, following with a visit to a private apartment in one of Paris’s most renowned department stores.
-
![]()
Paris Through the Pages
Follow the famed writers of Paris—from the 19th century French authors including Baudelaire, Huysmans, and Zola, to the American Lost-Generation of Stein, Hemingway, and Fitzgerald. Understand how art history and literature have evolved together while discovering hidden libraries, bookshops, collections, and the art of the book.
-
![The Art of Menswear]()
The Art of Menswear
Led by Anya and her partner Matthieu, a specialist in menswear and styling, guests will explore the history of menswear, from the Louvre to modern tailors. Learning about Paris’s major influence on fashion, the visit includes a behind the scenes exploration of some of the city’s most esteemed tailors.
-
![]()
The Felines of French History
A thematic Cou-Tour tracing the power of the cat from its sacred role in ancient Egypt to its 19th-century associations with sex, mystery, and modernity in French art and literature. The journey culminates on Place Vendôme, where leopard and feline motifs evolved into enduring emblems of fashion and high jewelry, explored through private visits within Paris’s great maisons.
-
![]()
History & Hype: An Intro to Paris
A foundational Cou-Tour spanning from the ancient world to the 19th century, featuring the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay. Encounter the masterpieces not to be missed while uncovering equally significant hidden works. The experience places artistic “hype” in context, revealing how certain icons achieved global fame and why lesser-known treasures are often just as essential to understanding Paris’s cultural legacy.
-
![Queens of France]()
Queens of France: From Versailles to Drag
A Cou-Tour tracing the evolution of queenship in France — from Marie de Medici and Marie Antoinette to the commanding drag performers of Montmartre who reign today. Through art, spectacle, and style, the experience explores how power, femininity, and performance have been staged and reimagined across centuries, with particular attention to queer art and culture in Paris. A royal journey unfolds over one or multiple days, revealing the jewels, ceremony, and cultural theater of queens past and present.
To Inspire Your Next Trip…
Sample Itinerary
The Louvre’s History of Heist: Jewels, Power, & Empire
A private experience tracing jewels as symbols of power and prestige from antiquity to modern fashion, together with anecdotes on the museum’s dramatic history of thefts—from the Mona Lisa and WWII looting to the sensational recent jewel heist.
Morning | The Louvre — Treasures & Absence
Rather than focusing only on what is gone, we will explore the royal objects and surviving masterpieces that reveal how adornment and art have long symbolized authority and control. A unique visit traverses archaeology, painting, and sculpture while learning about the hidden gems and histories of the museums thefts.
Lunch at the Ritz, Place Vendôme
Lunch at the Ritz puts us in the center of the world’s jewelry scene, where royal clients and skilled artisans created the great houses of Place Vendôme. Learn the Ritz’s history tied to our Louvre visit: its time before being a hotel as a jewelry workshop, and its role during the German occupation.
Private Heritage Salons, Napoleon’s Jeweler
Private access to Napoleon’s jeweler’s historic salons—where some pieces were once stolen—shows how jewelry, politics, and imperial power were linked. See rare archives and rooms closed to the public, and learn how contemporary designers reinterpret and question France’s imperial past with new jewels.
Finale: Found Gems in Fashion
Discover the private couture collection of the world’s leading fashion house, Schiaparelli, and explore the inspiration drawn from the exquisite jewels that are still missing.
Cou-Tours, Talks, & Cultural Events for Companies
In addition to private visits for travelers, Cou-Tours are also commissioned by companies hosting leadership retreats, clients, and cultural gatherings in Paris. Drawing on art and history, Anya designs experiences and talks that use the city’s museums, heritage houses, and historic spaces as settings for conversation, inspiration, and education. Anya has created experiences for the teams and clients of a range of companies— from venture capital firms to luxury houses, including Andreessen Horowitz A16Z, AirBNB, Schiaparelli, Sotheby’s, Moet Hennessy, LOEWE, amongst others.
Leadership Retreat Sessions
Cultural sessions using art and history to spark new perspectives.
Client Entertainment & VIP Experiences
Privately curated Cou-Tours and after-hours museum visits.
Private Talks & Cultural Salons
Lectures connecting art, fashion, history, and contemporary culture.
Request a Cou-Tour
To inquire about a bespoke Cou‑Tour designed and hosted by Anya Firestone, please fill out the below form. Merci beaucoup.