You haven't said what tours you looked at so it's difficult to give you an alternative. There are ma

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Last year my wife and our adult daughter and her husband went to Normandy and Paris and had great walking tours in Paris and a car tour of Normandy. This year were heading to Italy and have begun looking for tours. The only ones I have found seem very touristy and range from $89-$130 per person. Does anyone know a better alternative?
We have taken tours of Pompeii and the Vatican only. The others we have done on our own. Neither tour was "touristy" at all. Search this board for suggestions, entering "walking tour Venice", etc., in the search box. We found our tour guide for the Vatican on this board and found our guide for Pompeii in the ticket travel air line tickets office area at Pompeii Scavi. Both were great and considerably less than the prices you quote.
You haven't said what tours you looked at so it's difficult to give you an alternative. There are many tour companies travel air line tickets for these cities/places. I'm also confused about your "very touristy" comment as most city tours are geared for tourists and will show you the most "touristy" sights. If you want something off the beaten track you need to hire a private guide who will tailor an itinerary for you. There's travel air line tickets a thread on this board for Rome private guides.