This Bastille Day, Paris Muse launches an exciting new tour about the French Revolution.

July 14 is forever etched into the collective French memory. Known as Bastille Day to the English-speaking world, on that day in 1789 the age-old institution of the French monarchy came crashing down in the first of a series of revolutions that would put an end to the kings of France and establish a model for modern democratic states.

On our new murder mystery walking tour, you’ll be immersed in a lesser-known but inextricably-related assassination drama that took place in the aftermath of that fateful day in July 1789. The victim? A politician-turned-revolutionary who forever changed the fate of France.

You will be too busy having fun with this “who dunnit” to realize how much you are learning about the French Revolution from your private guide, who will share with you what Paris was like during those heady days. Our cast of murder suspects includes an insubordinate literature hawker, a passionate actress, a prominent society lady, and a devout priest, all with convincing motives for committing the heinous act. By investigating their lives, you’ll understand on a more personal level how individual Parisians responded to the Revolution. According to program co-creator Vanessa Lambert, “The stories these suspects tell  provide us with a different perspective of Revolutionary events. Hearing the story of the priest, for example, tells us  in great detail how the Church was affected by new Revolutionary laws and what choices this created for the clergy.”

We start at the scene of the crime in the Palais Royal gardens and take you to the places where our suspects lived and worked, including a former royal theater, narrow cobble-stoned passageways, and medieval churches. “We picked locations in Paris that many tourists visit, but our visitors will see them in a whole new light,” says co-creator Sarah Bachelier. You’ll have your own case file on the suspects, and collect evidence from Paris sites along the way, using your powers of observation and deduction to solve the mystery. As Bachelier says,  “This tour is like time-travel and live theater, bringing history alive in a compelling, interactive way.”

You may find our availabilities for this tour here.