marie

I know, I know - I should be searching previous posts,I have!! But I'm still struggling! I only seem able to find one or two mentions of these tours and nothing to help sway my decision. Can anyone recommend a good hop on/off bus tour of the city? We've taken these tours in every city we've visited - except Paris, for some reason. We'd like to get it right. Thanks, in advance, to all you francophiles!

Christina

I haven't done that, but I think there are two companies that do this, Opentour and Les Cars Rouges. Here is an article discussing these and other transportation issues in Paris: <BR>http://www.parisinsites.com/transportationtips.html<BR><BR>I think they can be a good idea for a newcomer as they go to the main sites and you can see them at your leisure. I'm not sure the commentary amounts to much. The Opentour has open tops on the buses so might not be a good idea in bad weather. They have a lot of convenient stops around town.

alice

These are excerpts from some other posters' notes..should help...Cityrama and Paris Vision both have tours. Went on the hop on hop off tour after having been to Paris a couple of times since my son was new to Paris and really enjoyed it. I cannot remember which tour company it was. However, I went on Paris Vision night tour Illuminations which included a bus tour and night boat tour down the Seine in November. I highly recommend it (www.parisvision.com or www.cityrama.com)…..There is a 2 hour double decker bus tour that is good (I think the name is OpenTour).You can sit on top in the open section and take great pictures. The best part is being able to get off the bus at any stop and stay as long as you like. Just hop the next tour bus that comes around in 5-10 minutes. It hits all th biggies, the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Notre Dame, etc(http://www.gotoparis.net/gotoparis/opentour.html)…

janis

I too can't remember the name of the open top tour I took - I believe it was OpenTour but don't hold me to it. Anyway - this company actually runs 3 inter-connected tours and the 24 hour tickets are good on all of them. One circles the main central sites -- Eiffel Tower, Luxemborg gdns, Notre Dame, Palais Royal, Louvre, etc, etc. Then they run a northen tour that goes up to Monmarte/Sacre Coeur - and you can jump off the central one and get on the north tour near the Opera. Same for the Eastern tour that goes through the Marais etc. - you can get off the main tour near Notre Dame and catch this one. Because you have unlimited use for 24 hours you can almost use them as public transport.<BR><BR>One caution - many of the drivers speak little English (not a criticism, just a fact) and you must have exact change to buy the pass on the bus.

Fred

There are two hop-on, hop-off buses, with the first having more stops than the 2nd. You can't miss them - look for them at the sights.<BR><BR>L'Opentour (or Parisbus)<BR>16, place Lachambeaudie<BR>75012 Paris<BR>Tel: 01-43-46-52-06 <BR>Fax : 01-43-46-53-06<BR>http://www.paris-opentour.com/endefault.asp <BR>It's an open double decker bus that makes a tour of the city stopping at the sites. As the buses make their route, at any stop you can get on or off. There's a commentary in French and English. and the total route takes about 2 hours. Costs about $25 and you can use it for two days. Look for the L'Open Bus sign. <BR><BR>Les Cars Rouges<BR>17, quai de Grenelle<BR>75015 Paris<BR>Tel: 01-53-95-39-53 <BR>Fax : 01-53-95-39-52<BR>double deckers, 9 stops in Paris, get on and off at the stops you wish; 2-day pass About $22. Large red buses.<BR>For more Paris information e-mail me: [email protected]

marie

Thanks to all who replied - I know it can be a pain seeing the same questions cropping up, I was just having no luck on my search! Thanks again

jules

So if I am in Paris next week, the Open tour option probably wouldn't be a good bet even though it has more stops. I am assuming that in winter weather it is not at all pleasant.

Christina

I think the Opentour bus has an open top deck but also an enclosed lower area. In the winter, it's probably less crowded so you can get a seat in the regular bus area. It's like most double deck buses that way. I'm pretty sure the Cars Rouges is the same kind of bus, anyway, that it also has an open top deck.