Paris ZigZag

What Paris ZigZag does

Paris ZigZag is an independent French editorial media company operated by ZIGZAG MEDIA (SAS, share capital €14,801), founded in 2011 in Bagnolet, France. The company publishes a WordPress-based content platform covering unusual, hidden, and secret activities, restaurants, cultural events, and locations across six French cities: Paris (primary), Bordeaux, Marseille, Lyon, Lille, and Rennes. The platform reaches 1.2M+ monthly readers via SEO-driven editorial content, city-specific Instagram accounts, and an email newsletter.

The company monetizes its audience through four distinct revenue streams: (1) paid guided walking tours led by professional guides and sold per-person via the website; (2) physical publications including books, magazines, and board games sold via e-commerce; (3) annual professional service subscriptions billed monthly via SEPA direct debit through GoCardless; and (4) the Zigzag Agency, a B2B arm offering branded content, events, digital media, and communication strategy to brands seeking access to curious Parisian audiences. Historical agency clients include Nike, Casper, Deliveroo, LeCab, Happn, Sarenza, Interflora, The Inner Circle, Quitoque, and The Slip Français.

The company operates with a small team of 1-10 employees, is bootstrapped with no external funding rounds disclosed, and is led by Vincent Dupuis (Director of Publications and Director of Advertising, legal representative) and Camille Beau (Editor-in-Chief), with Julien Rondet joining the editorial team in September 2025. Revenue, headcount growth metrics, and detailed financial performance are not disclosed in available sources.

Name

Paris ZigZag

Legal name

ZIGZAG MEDIA

Website

https://pariszigzag.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Paris ZigZag is an independent French editorial media company publishing unusual and secret content about Paris and five other French cities, monetizing its 1.2M+ monthly reader audience via guided tours, publications, subscriptions, and a B2B branded-content agency.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Guided Tours: Commercialization of guided visits organized by ZIGZAG MEDIA, sold through the website. Tours cover Paris and surrounding regions with themes focused on unusual and secret locations.
2. Publications (Parutions Zigzag): Sale of books, magazines, and board games through the website, with prices indicated in euros including all taxes plus shipping costs.
3. Service Subscriptions (Abonnement Prestations de Services): Annual subscription service with automatic renewal, managed through GoCardless for SEPA direct debit payments.
4. Advertising and Brand Partnerships: B2B agency services offering branded content, events, digital media, and communication strategy to brands wanting to reach their audience of curious Parisians.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Paris ZigZag is a French online media brand (operated by ZIGZAG MEDIA SAS) that publishes editorial content about unusual and hidden places, restaurants, culture, and events in Paris and other major French cities. Its core commercial offerings consist of guided walking tours of secret Parisian locations, branded publications including books, magazines, and board games, annual service subscriptions for professional clients, and a B2B advertising agency (Zigzag Agency/Espace Annonceur) that sells branded content, events, and communication strategy to brands targeting Parisian audiences.

Product overview

Paris ZigZag is a media content platform focused on unusual and secret aspects of Paris and other French cities. The offering consists of a primary editorial website publishing articles about Paris activities, restaurants, culture, and events, complemented by four distinct service products: guided walking tours (Visites Guidées) led by professional guides, publications including books and magazines (Parutions ZigZag), annual professional service subscriptions (Abonnement Prestations de Services) billed monthly via GoCardless, and an advertising agency (Paris ZigZag Agency/Espace Annonceur) offering brandcontent, events, and communication strategy services. Additionally, a newsletter service delivers curated content to subscribers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1.2 million monthly readers trusting recommendations

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• EcoparkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for accrobranche (tree climbing/adventure park) content. Paris ZigZag publishes sponsored articles about Ecopark's 5 adventure parks in Île-de-France, featuring tree climbing, zip lines, and family activities. The partnership provides editorial content showcasing Ecopark locations to Paris ZigZag's audience of activity seekers.
• NikeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBrand advertising partnership with major international sports brand
• CasperminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBrand advertising partnership with online mattress company
• DeliveroominorGTM or Marketing PartnerBrand advertising partnership with food delivery platform
• HappnminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBrand advertising partnership with dating application
• LeCabminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBrand advertising partnership with premium taxi service
• InterfloraminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBrand advertising partnership with flower delivery service
• The Inner CircleminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBrand advertising partnership with dating platform

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Eventbrite: Eventbrite is a ticketing and event-discovery platform with significant Paris presence. It overlaps on the experience/events listing and ticketing layer that supports Paris ZigZag's tour discovery and booking funnel.
• Tripadvisor: Tripadvisor combines editorial travel content with experiences booking, including Paris. It is comparable to Paris ZigZag's combined editorial-plus-experiences model, though globally scaled and SEO-dominant.
• Airbnb Experiences: Airbnb Experiences hosts guided, locally-led tours in Paris and globally. It competes for the same tour-taking customer and the same tour-guide supply that Paris ZigZag depends on for its guided-tour revenue.
• Yelp: Yelp provides local business discovery, reviews, and booking across cities including Paris. It overlaps on the local-discovery and 'things to do' editorial use cases that underpin Paris ZigZag's content moat.
• TheFork: TheFork (Tripadvisor group) is the dominant restaurant reservation and discovery platform in France. It overlaps with Paris ZigZag on the restaurant-discovery and experience-booking monetization surfaces, though at much larger scale and with a transactional model.

Regional players

• ParisBouge: ParisBouge is an events and 'sortir à Paris' aggregator with editorial coverage of nightlife, concerts, and cultural events. It overlaps on the Parisian event-discovery use case that drives Paris ZigZag's tours and editorial traffic.

Direct peers

• TimeOut: TimeOut publishes city guides, editorial content, events listings, and runs paid experiences worldwide. It is the closest large-scale analog to Paris ZigZag's mix of editorial + agency + tour/experience monetization, particularly in Paris where TimeOut has an established local edition.
• GetYourGuide: GetYourGuide is a global tours-and-experiences marketplace that operates heavily in Paris. It overlaps directly with Paris ZigZag's guided-tour product line, though at vastly greater scale and via a third-party marketplace model rather than owned editorial.
• Le Bonbon: Le Bonbon is a Paris-focused digital media brand covering nightlife, events, restaurants, and 'sorties insolites' for a young urban audience. It competes directly with Paris ZigZag for the same curious-Parisian demographic and advertising budget.

Emerging players

• France Secret: France Secret curates unusual places and 'secrets' across French regions, mirroring Paris ZigZag's 'insolite' positioning at a smaller scale. It overlaps on content niche and target traveler/curious-local persona.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ParisZigZag
• Facebookfacebook.com/pariszigzag
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/paris-zigzag

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Paris ZigZag