Paris Hop-On Hop-Off Buses

There are many ways to tour Paris, and they all have something special to offer. Taking a tourist bus is an economical way to get an overview of Paris and locate the city's main attractions.

Due to the high number of tourists and the long distances within the city, there are several routes and bus companies covering the French capital. I'll tell you everything you need to know to make your choice as easy as possible:

The following comparison table can help you choose the best option for your trip to Paris:

I recommend Big Bus because the route is quite comprehensive, the views of the city are panoramic, and it offers many amenities at a reasonable price.

Classic Route

This route passes through the centre of Paris. It has 10 stops and covers 12 tourist attractions. The entire route takes about two hours. In summer, it runs from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., and in winter, it runs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Buses run every 5 to 10 minutes in summer and every 15 to 20 minutes in winter.

The places of interest you will pass by are the Eiffel Tower, the Champs de Mars, the Palais Garnier, the Paris Opera, the Louvre Museum, the Pont des Arts, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Orsay Museum, the Champs-Élysées, the Grand Palais and the Place du Trocadéro.

Tour of the Montmartre district

Montmartre is the most picturesque neighbourhood in Paris, the birthplace of painters and artists and full of iconic and bohemian cafés. The frequency of tourist buses that include this route ranges from 15 to 20 minutes. It starts at 10 a.m. with the first bus and ends with the last bus at around 7 p.m. (the end time may change depending on the time of year).

This route, which departs from Gare du Nord, lasts one hour and passes by the Louvre Pyramid, Pigalle, the Sacré-Coeur Basilica, the Grévin Museum, Boulevard de Montmartre and the Moulin Rouge.

The Toot tourist bus option consists of the yellow and blue buses you will see in the city, which offer three different routes allowing you to explore all of Paris.

Blue route

This is the longest route, with a total of 19 stops and 12 places of interest. The total duration of the tour is 2 hours and 20 minutes, with buses running every 15 to 20 minutes, starting at 9:30 in the morning and ending around 7:30 in the evening. If you are going to use the tourist bus to tour Paris and enjoy its panoramic views, this is the most comprehensive option.

The places of interest you will see are the Palais Garnier, the Louvre Museum, the Pont-Neuf, Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Orsay Museum, the Place de la Concorde, the Champs-Élysées, the Arc de Triomphe, the Place du Trocadéro, the Eiffel Tower, the Champs de Mars and Les Invalides.

Red route

From 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., buses on this route run every 15-20 minutes, stopping at 9 stops with 6 places of interest further away from the centre of Paris. The entire route takes an hour and a half.

During this route, you will learn about: Les Grands Boulevards, Place de la République, Canal Saint-Martin, Palais Garnier, Pigalle and Moulin Rouge, and Gare du Nord.

Green Route

This route focuses on the two small islands located in the centre of Paris: Île de la Cité (where Notre-Dame is located) and Île Saint-Louis. The tour lasts one hour and 20 minutes, and trams run every 25 to 30 minutes from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

On this tour, you will have the opportunity to enjoy Notre-Dame Cathedral, Rue de Rivoli, the Hôtel de Ville, the Panthéon, Place de la Bastille, Île Saint-Louis, the Saint Germain des Pres district and the Montparnasse district.

Paris is the City of Light, named not only for the city's role as a centre for the arts and education in the late 19th century, but also for the majesty of its lighting. Seeing Paris at night is practically a must, and the experience of seeing places such as the Eiffel Tower, the Moulin Rouge and the Louvre pyramid lit up is one of the most authentic memories you will take away from the city.

The Paris Night Big Bus is an opportunity to enjoy the city's lights in comfort. Highly recommended if you have little time to visit Paris and don't want to miss out on seeing the city lights. Be dazzled by this two-hour tour in an open-top bus with panoramic views and an audio guide that will tell you all about the history of the main sights.

If you are not spending much time in Paris, the night tour on the tourist bus is the best way to ensure you see the city's main sights illuminated. You won't regret it.

The Paris Pass is a city pass that gives you free access to various attractions and discounts at many places of interest in the city. The Paris Pass card gives you free access to the Big Bus sightseeing bus for a whole day and is a must-have for those who want to make the most of their trip to the City of Light.

You can purchase your Paris Pass for 2, 3, 4 or 6 days, during which time you will have access to public transport in Paris. This is one of the most comprehensive tourist passes: preferential entry to the Louvre Museum, Notre-Dame, the Pompidou Museum of Contemporary Art, the Orsay Museum, the Arc de Triomphe, the Palace of Versailles... You can find out more about Paris Pass and Other Tourist Cards for Paris in this other article I have written on the subject.

Covering a city as big as Paris can be difficult; in each of its neighbourhoods, you want to stop and admire its monuments, streets, bridges, façades, shops, squares... There is so much to see and the distances are not within everyone's reach on foot. Travelling around the city by tourist bus is much less tiring and the views allow you to enjoy the journey.

I recommend Big Bus because the route is quite comprehensive. The priority of this bus is to connect the places visited by tourists in Paris, unlike the city's transport network, whose priority is to connect the city itself and make it accessible to everyone.

How your ticket works

While on regular buses you usually pay for a ticket that entitles you to a single journey where you choose your stop, on the Paris tourist bus you pay for days of use and that entitles you to use it as many times as you like throughout the period you choose.

The tourist bus pass can be purchased in advance online. Once you have made your reservation, you will be sent a voucher that you can exchange for your pass at any of the tourist bus stops in different areas of central Paris. The confirmation email will provide you with information on how to locate the stops. In addition, Big Bus has an app available to track the buses' route in real time.

With Big Bus, you can choose between a 1-day or 2-day pass, but the Toot bus option is similar in price and features and also gives you the option of a 3-day pass.

Services offered

The tourist buses have an audio recording translated into 11 languages that comments on interesting facts about the city and its monuments as the tour progresses. Some options, such as Big Bus, also include live commentary in English.

In addition, all tourist buses are designed for people visiting Paris and therefore offer features such as on-board Wi-Fi, city maps and information leaflets.

Discounts on attractions

Purchasing a tourist bus pass gives you access to a range of discounts and benefits at various tourist attractions in the city. With the Big Bus option, you can pay extra to visit the Arc de Triomphe or take a cruise on the Seine, and with the Toot option, guided walking tours are included.

Available seats

Sightseeing buses are larger than normal buses and the system is designed so that no one is left without a seat. Bear in mind that all the stops are tourist attractions and, therefore, people get on and off at every stop. And if there is a higher than usual number of passengers on a given day, the routes are reinforced with more buses.

The biggest advantage of tourist buses is that they allow you to cover places in the city that are far apart in a short time. This does not mean that it is worth seeing Paris from the tourist bus: there are many pleasant areas to walk around and you can alternate between using the tourist bus and walking routes.

The most central stops

Regardless of where you are staying in Paris, if you are in the centre you will probably have a tourist bus stop nearby, as most of them cover quite a few areas of the city. My advice is to take the bus to any central location and then walk around Paris, for example:

• If you're going to use the tourist bus to explore Paris and see the city from the panoramic rooftop, take the routes furthest from the centre: this is an ideal option for learning about lesser-known areas so you can then decide which ones you want to visit during your trip.
• It's best to do this at the beginning of your trip so that you have time to get organised; leaving room for improvisation is important, especially in a city like this that has so much to offer.
• You can also use it to "say goodbye" to the city. When I arrive in cities, I like to discover them little by little, but on the last day I always feel like I want to see everything one last time, and this is something that is possible thanks to this tourist bus service.
• It's a good option if you're travelling with children to Disneyland and only spending one day in Paris. It's a way to see everything, the children don't get tired and they really enjoy the views from the panoramic terrace, and many of the explanations are adapted for them.
• With the Big Bus option, children up to 4 years old travel free. In this case, if you are travelling with children, you are probably considering visiting Disneyland (it is probably the reason for your trip). I have written a guide on Disneyland Paris Tickets so you have all the details and can organise your visit to the park in the best possible way.
• Alternate the tourist bus with a walk around Paris: take the bus to the Eiffel Tower and walk to the Louvre. There, you can take the bus again to explore the areas further away from the centre.

If you are wondering what other means of transport you will need to get around Paris, I would like to recommend another option similar to the sightseeing bus, but certainly much more romantic. Taking a cruise on the Seine will allow you to relax after the long walks of your trip and discover the most emblematic architecture and buildings of Paris from the waters of the Seine. Sounds good, doesn't it? I'll tell you all the details in this guide on 8 Best Seine River Cruises.