By Dan Lalande
In 2003, Keith Spicer, the academic, journalist and public servant who became Canada’s first commissioner of official languages, retired to Paris. He became a veritable Wikipedia page on the city, even penning books on the subject. As he aged, he found ways to continue to enjoy its pleasures, nonetheless. He also enjoyed the periodic company of his Ottawa-based daughter Genevieve (from his first wife, a French native), her carpenter husband and their two daughters.
Looking to spend more time together as an extended family, Genevieve took inspiration from her father’s ageless joie de vivre. She parlayed her experience servicing the seniors sector as a communications consultant into an idea that would win her a four-year work visa. It’s a special authorization issued by the French government under its Competences et Talent special program, encouraging foreign initiatives promoting Parisian culture. The result has helped hundreds of seniors see the famed City of Light in safety and comfort, no matter their physical or other challenges.
Paris For Seniors offers custom travel solutions for visitors to the French capital who require special assistance. Want to visit the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Champs–Élysées, but unsure, given your age and/or ailments, that you’re able? Pas de problème. Go to the website parisforseniors.com and initiate contact. Fill out an inquiry sheet profiling yourself and specifying what you’d like to see; better still, arrange for an interview over Zoom. In a mere two weeks, Spicer and her entourage will design a flexible agenda taking all of your needs into account.
It’s hard to find any circumstance the company has considered a challenge. When a 96-year-old Australian wanted to paint at the side of the Seine as she had back in her student days, Paris for Seniors had her brush-stroking boulevardiers along its banks. When a daughter wondered how her elderly mother would continue to receive her much-needed dialysis treatments while they both took in the sights, that too was accommodated. Says Spicer in the warm, winning voice she honed as a bilingual media talent, “We want our clients to be able to push the ‘Easy’ button. No having to be part of a large tour forced to stand all the time, no negotiating cobblestone streets, no constant searches for bathrooms.”
Instead, the company offers its clients a menu of services: from airport pick-up and drop-off to cross-city transportation provided by an English-speaking driver; from hotel and restaurant recommendations based on deep insider knowledge to private visits to major attractions; from personal guides sparing visitors the hop on-hop off experience to the provision of a constant companion, saving solo travelers fears of being abandoned or lost.
Spicer works with official guides endorsed by the state. As she notably adds, “They’re also masters in TLC; they’re patient and helpful. Plus, they have free access to all the museums, so they can set their own visitation terms.” There’s also the aforementioned Mon Ami option, offering a round-the-clock camarade. Sometimes, that’s Spicer’s eldest daughter, Gracie, though she’s making plans for the next stage of her studies.
In fact, all of the Spicers, including Keith, were the company’s initial ambassadors. But as the enterprise grew, a larger staff was required. Today, the network behind Paris for Seniors hosts approximately 200 clients a year. Most visitors go in spring, summer and fall, though the Christmas season can also prove popular. A lot of the calls come from adult children looking to treat their aging parents. Others want to see Paris on their way to Normandy and other sites devoted to our veterans.
“We keep in mind at all times that the stakes are high,” Spicer points out. “It’s often someone’s first or last trip. You want to make it as memorable as you can.”
To that end, Spicer is constantly pursuing partnerships with suppliers, content providers and accessibility experts to enhance the overall travel experience, like local partners who lease wheelchairs, scooters and adapted vehicles.
As successful as it is, the company that helps seniors overcome challenges has faced challenges itself. When COVID spread, operations had to be temporarily shut down. In the end, though, that proved a veritable boon, creating a backlog of eager travellers. Last year, the family patriarch, who assisted the company as much as he could, passed away at the age of 89. His daughter thought about wrapping things up, then decided that dad’s coeur de flaneur and love of the city was too important not to perpetuate.
Echoing her father’s appreciation for his adopted home, she says, “Paris is a timeless beauty. Nobody should miss out on all she has to offer, no matter the reason.”
