Are you looking for the top hop-on hop-off bus provider for your sightseeing tour through Paris? Then you have landed on the right website. This review & comparison 2024 looks at 3 hop-on hop-off bus tour providers. So you can quickly find the best and low-priced hop-on hop-off bus tour for your needs and enjoy your sightseeing in Paris in a relaxed way. These sections will help you with your search:
My tips on buying:
Hop-on Hop-off Bus from: | Big Bus Tours* | Tootbus Paris* | Batobus Boat* |
---|---|---|---|
Tickets for: | 24 or 48 hours | 1, 2 or 3 days (24h valid) | 1 or 2 days (24h valid) |
Number of sightseeing routes: | 1 line | 1 line | 1 line |
Stops: | approx. 7 | approx. 10 | approx. 9 |
First and last departure on main line: | 9:45 / 17:30 o'clock ¹ | 9:30 / 17:00 o'clock ¹ | 10:00 / 19:00 o'clock ¹ |
Bus intervals main line: | 7 min ¹ | 10 min ¹ | 30 min ¹ |
Duration of the center tour - main line:: | approx. 135 min – red route | approx. 120 min - blue route | approx. 120 min |
Link to bus route map: | Big Bus Tours Map* | Tootbus Route Map* | Batobus Map* |
Free WIFI in the bus: | |||
Audio guide and free headphones: | |||
Number of languages: | 9 | 10 | |
Audio guide for kids in English: | |||
Mobile app with routes, maps and info: | Big Bus Tours App* | Tootbus App* | |
Open top buses: | |||
Seine river cruise: | ² | ² | |
Bus night tour: | ³ | ³ | |
Included in sightseeing pass: | Go Paris & Explorer Pass, Paris Passlib' | Paris Passlib' | |
Mobile ticket with smartphone: | |||
Online tickets validity: | pre-defined date / rebookable² | pre-defined date / rebookable | 6 months |
Free cancellation option: | |||
Approx. prices for online orders: | Discover 24h: € 43.00 Essential 24h: € 57.00 Explore 48h: € 72.00 Now 10% Off! |
Discovery 24h: € 38.25 Must See Paris 24h: € 47.20 48h: € 53.60 72h: € 57.60 Now 15% Off! |
Day Passes 24h: € 23.00 48h: € 27.00 |
¹) Departure times vary with the season.
²) At Big Bus it is included with Essential and Explore ticket. At Tootbus it is included with the Must See Paris ticket.
³) Bus night tour may be booked optionally.
Prices & info as of May 2024
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Big Bus Paris
Tootbus Paris
Batobus Boat
Big Bus Tours is internationally well known for its bus tours and operates a hop-on hop-off bus route in Paris with about 7 stops. This kind of bus tour is a comfortable way to reach the most important sights such as the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Champs-Elysees with the Arc de Triomphe and many more highlights in Paris. It will give you a good overview of the center of Paris within a day. If you like to get off at several stations to have a close view of the attractions, you should maybe plan two days for your hop-on hop-off tour.
When you start your hop-on hop-off tour, you will receive free headphones for the audio guide. You can choose from 9 languages in the audio guide to hear the information about the various attractions along the route as you pass by. You may also use the Big Bus Tours App* to track the location of the various buses live. This gives you a very good overview of the bus stops at your current location. Hence you can choose the best stop and estimate the expected waiting time until the arrival of the next bus.
Big Bus Tours offers many different ticket options for their bus tours. With the Discover Ticket, you can use the hop-on hop-off routes for 24 hours. The Essential Ticket furthermore includes a 1-hour river cruise on the Seine. With the Explore Ticket, you can ride of the hop-on hop-off buses for 48 hours and participate in a Seine river cruise. You can book the tickets with various options, such as a night tour by bus. If you buy the tickets directly from the provider online, you have to specify a date for your bus tour at the time of booking. You can change this date later if required. Under the following link you will find an overview of the different ticket variations*.
Solid Offer ! Conclusion: Big Bus Tours is a well-known and experienced provider of hop-on hop-off bus tours. The buses usually run at relatively short intervals. With the Big Bus App, you are able to check the positions of the buses in real-time. This option allows you to shorten your waiting time at the bus stops. The tickets are available online directly at the Big Bus Tours website and you can choose from a wide range of numerous offers. Unfortunately, the tickets can not be cancelled.
Order online directly from the supplier with up to 20% discount at: Big Bus Ticket Offers*
Just click on the link and enter the promo code CITYWALKS10PAR on the basket web page.
Tootbus Paris belongs to the Tootbus Group which offers bus tours in several European cities. With Tootbus in Paris, you have the chance to explore some attractions on one hop-on hop-off route with about 10 stops. As with the other operators, you will visit the main sights such as the Eiffel Tower, the Opéra Garnier, the Louvre, the Orsay Museum, the Arc de Triomphe ...
With every hop-on hop-off ticket, you will receive some free headphones for the audio guide on the bus. Unfortunately, Tootbus provides 10 languages for the audio guide on their hop-on hop-off route. During the trip you will obtain some information about the attractions in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish ... However, there is a special channel for children, but unfortunately only in English and French. You can also consume the audio guide directly via your smartphone. All you need for that is the Tootbus App. The app also allows you to track the buses in real-time, allowing you to schedule your walks between stops accordingly.
At Tootbus you can purchase two different types of tickets online for the hop-on hop-off tours. The Paris Discovery Ticket is simply just valid for the hop-on hop-off bus tour. With the Must See Paris Ticket, you will additionally get a free boat trip on the Seine. But there are also other bus tours available such as an Express Tour or a Night Tour. When booking online, you have to specify the desired day for the bus tour. However, you have the possibility to change this date afterwards and to choose a new date. You need only to consider the ticket validity of 6 months. Here you will find an overview of the tickets*.
Conclusion: Tootbus has one hop-on hop-off bus route for Paris in their program. The Tootbus App displays all the current bus locations in real-time. This tool can help you to reduce your waiting times. Children can enjoy a dedicated audio guide channel available in English and French. The online tickets purchased directly from the provider can be canceled free of charge up to 24 hours before the specified date.
You can order online directly from the provider at the following link: Tootbus Paris*
Get now bus tour tickets with up to 15% discount at Headout: More Information
Instead of the usual bus service Batobus offers a hop-on hop-off boat tour. Of course, this has advantages and disadvantages compared to the buses. For example, you don't have to care about traffic jams on the Seine River and you usually have a much better view. However, you will have to accept some restrictions about the available stops. The route on the Seine River has 9 stops at several famous sights like Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, Notre Dame Cathedral ... The attractions away from the Seine are unfortunately missing. These include the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs-Élysées and the Opera Garnier.
The boats are glazed on all sides and offer good views for the passengers. Unfortunately, there is no audio guide with commentary about the various attractions. There is also no app available with information about the boat tour. However, on the following web page* you can see in real-time the current waiting times at the various stops. This convenient overview helps you to avoid unnecessary waiting times.
The tickets for a hop-on hop-off boat tour are available for 1 and for 2 days. The 2-day tickets are very attractive, as these are offered with only a small surcharge compared to the 1-day ticket. You can buy the tickets directly at Batobus but also at different ticket platforms at similar conditions. The tickets which you order online directly at Batobus are usually valid for 6 months after your purchase and cannot be canceled.
Conclusion: The hop-on hop-off boats from Batobus are a cheap alternative to the known hop-on hop-off buses. With a boat trip you can avoid the heavy traffic in Paris and still see a lot of the city. Unfortunately, there is no audio guide and you have only the choice between two ticket options. An app for the sightseeing tour is also not available, but you can follow the waiting times at the various stops in real-time directly on the website.
The Jardins du Trocadéro was created on the occasion of the Paris World Exhibition in 1878. The large garden area of the Trocadéro is located in front of the Eiffel Tower. Due to its location, it is the perfect place to take some gorgeous photos of the Eiffel Tower. Most hop-on hop-off providers have stops in front of the Jardins du Trocadéro and at the Eiffel Tower. A walk between these two stops gives you plenty of opportunities to admire the Eiffel Tower.
The Arc de Triomphe is about 50 meters high and belongs to the most visited sights in Paris. It is located in the middle of a large traffic circle at the beginning of the famous boulevard Champs-Élysées.
The Louvre Museum in Paris is especially famous for the Mona Lisa painting by Leonardo da Vinci. The entrance to the museum is located inside a glass pyramid at the courtyard of the museum. The glass pyramid is a popular photo motif. With a short walk, you can also visit the Jardin des Tuileries P ark which is at the opposite of the museum.
Currently, you can get an extra 10% off your order at Big Bus Tours with the promo code CITYWALKS10PAR. Valid for Classic, Premium and Deluxe Tickets in Paris. Just enter the code CITYWALKS10PAR on the basket web page at the section promotional code:
Of course you can also buy the tickets at different ticket providers. The hop-on hop-off bus tickets are there usually available at the same prices. However, there are sometimes promotions or discount codes, which can lead to attractive prices for Tootbus and Batobus:
Latest promo codes for Tiqets*
Tootbus offer at Headout*
The public transport buses in Paris are owned by the French company RATP. The buses run through Paris on over 300 lines and cover the entire urban area. The following map gives you a orientation about all the different bus lines in the city area. Unfortunately, this plan is very extensive and therefore a bit confusing. If you are simply looking for a bus route to a destination in Paris, you should use the -Bonjour RATP- app. If you only allow to search for bus routes in the app settings, you will get all bus lines for your destination.
The tickets for your journey with the public bus can be easily bought from the driver. But if you plan several rides, a flat rate ticket for 1, 2, 3 or 5 days should be cheaper. This offer for tourists is called Paris Visite travel pass and is available for the zones 1 - 3 and for the zones 1 - 5. Charles de Gaulle Airport, Orly Airport, Disneyland Paris and the Palace of Versailles are located in the zones 4 - 5.
Compared to the hop-on hop-off buses, you can cover a much wider area with the public buses. However, with the public buses you have to expect dense crowds at some times and it is more inconvenient to reach the main sights. The audio guide in a hop-on hop-off bus is a pleasant solution to quickly learn more about the attractions in Paris. In a public transport bus you will not have the comfort of an audio guide.
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