The CNAM, Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers en Nouvelle Aquitaine, is the only training body that offers the Guide-lecturer professional degree in our region; this degree allows the prefecture to confer the professional guide-lecturer card to its holder.
This training is conducted either through an in-service training program or through a professionalization contract:
- For those who have been working in the tourist sector for more than 3 years,
- For those undertaking vocational retraining,
- For young graduates and students of licence 2 level (completed 2 years of third level studies),
- For candidates using the prior professional experience accreditation scheme.
“This fee-based training (3500 € for individuals, payable in interest-free instalments or 7000 € as a professional contract) is made up of 8 modules some of which take place in a professional setting (internship, integration and year-end seminars), and run over 17, 4-day, weeks of classes, from October 2017 to September 2018. The courses are given by university professors from L’Education National, guide-lecturers and Conservators of Heritage (conservateurs de patrimoine)”.
Romuald Rossi (C.N.A.M. Nouvelle Aquitaine)
To learn more : CNAM guide-conférencier training
The guide is a person who holds the keys
Literally! A guide-lecturer opens doors for the visitor to understand a façade, a building, a town, it’s inhabitants, their customs and history and their more intimate stories. The guide is a story teller who enthrals his audience with tales and anecdotes.
To be a guide is to enjoy sharing!
It takes time and preparation to be able to guide
Guiding is not improvising! A guide-lecturer has to learn the subject and how to impart their knowledge before taking a group of tourists on a guided tour. To be a guide you must be inquisitive, anticipate the questions the visitor will ask. Members of AGICA are all guide-lecturers who have taken a robust training course and who keep their knowledge up to date through regular continual professional development, visits and lectures on: history, oenology, linguistics, museums, monuments, new sites…
Guiding means knowing how to adapt to your public
The subjects touched on during a guided tour are varied, as is the clientèle: school groups, seniors, VIPs, individuals or groups, people with an impairment (motor, mental, visual or hearing). A professional tourist guide knows how to adapt the tour and share their knowledge according to the needs of their audience.
Guiding is a profession
A guide must hold a Guide-lecturer card.
To find out more about our training as guide-lecturers, see our page “How to become a guide?”
Created in 1983, AGNA (ex-AGICA) brings together licensed guides, giving you access to their expertise and professionalism. Our organisation unites: Every year it attracts new members and talent.
Our guides have different personalities, backgrounds and interests, but all know what makes a visit special and unique!
1 vibrant organization, 100 passionate guides to make your experience unique
Our guides are professionals, authorized to conduct visits in French National Museums and Monuments. Their visits are sprinkled with colourful anecdotes that enrich your understanding and appreciation of French history, put events in context, explain styles, describing the often little known treasures of our heritage; but its not all about the past – they help you get the most out of all the present can offer and decipher future trends and issues.
They involve you in your discovery of a site, a town, a neighbourhood. They know how to adapt to constraints and make the most of opportunities to create memorable experiences.
Whether it’s in a classical or an unconventional style, their guiding, tour-escorting or lectures are designed for all: French or foreign individuals; groups (school and adult), people with disabilities, etc.
Whatever your plans, contact us and follow the link to Find your guide!
1 committed organisation, 100 licensed guides guaranteeing quality tours
AGNA brings together qualified guides whose in-depth knowledge is constantly updated and enriched through training. Our multilingual members are ambassadors for our region, Aquitaine. They are committed to conducting each visit to the highest professional standards.
These qualities are safeguarded through AGICA’s membership of both the FNGIC (la Fédération Nationale des Guides Interprètes Conférenciers), as well as the SPGIC (le Syndicat Professionnel des Guides Interprètes Conférenciers).Both these professional organisations exist to represent all professional licensed guides in France and to defend and represent the interests of our profession when dealing with government bodies.
NB: Since 9 November 2011, the single title and card, of guide-lecturer, replaces the four previously existing cards (national lecturer, national interpreter, regional interpreter and guide lecturer for Villes et Pays d’Art et D’Histoire).
