Dinner on a bus Paris......OK, this is way beyond our norm
 

We will be in Paris Dec12-18. Have been to Paris often but never in Dec.

This was suggested to us as a maybe & with all the Xmas lights it would be interesting.

The reviews are excellent. Not really being “bus people” it wouldn’t be anything we would normally look at.

We do a river cruise every time we are we are in Paris (last visit 6 months ago) just because it’s relaxing and enjoyable. What about a dinner cruise, which company? We’ve heard the food isn’t great but thought maybe it might be nice at Xmas time.

We we are looking forward to it getting dark early and enjoying the holiday lights. Our other trips have always been in Sept/Oct or June with kids.

I am assuming you are referring to Bustronome Paris Official Visit - Bus Tour Restaurant Bustronome®

We did this in mid-September, and even at the time we booked it, I was pretty sure it wasn't going to be wonderful, despite the glowing online reviews. And it wasn't great. The food was mediocre and it was not really comfortable being on the bus while trying to have a meal and sight-see at the same time, especially using the small hand-held speakers we were given that narrated the sights. The temperature in the bus ranged from uncomfortably warm to sweltering - and the air was very stale.The service was harried - it's not easy serving what is supposed to be gourmet food being prepared en mass "downstairs" to passengers upstairs. On our bus, there was a large group seated in the rear, celebrating a birthday, and they were a bit tipsy and very loud to the point that that was all anyone else could hear.. I suppose if you are a novice traveler, this might seem like fun, but we were anxious to get off the bus for almost all of the time - staring longingly at the people on the streets and in the cafes below. The best part of the experience was when it ended.

Thanks for the response. I thought it was totally a first time visitor thing but always look for something new to do in Paris. We tend to go to bistros, not gourmet dinners but this was a real stretch.

BTW, my husband laughed out loud and said “are you crazy?”

And we didn't even have the excuse of being first time visitors ... as I said on another post, "We took one for the team. So you don't have to."

People who have done it say they like it, but it is so wrong. What next? A panoramic toilet bus?

To get back to the question about dinner cruises, the vast majority seem to be mediocre, but Les Yachts de Paris gets consistently good reviews - maybe look into it. Or there is now Alain Ducasse's newest creation on a boat under the Tour Eiffel, though I imagine that might be a huge splurge:

https://www.ladepeche.fr/article/201...ronomique.html

Thanks StCrq. I looked at Yachts de Paris and that’s an excellent option. Just might do that.

Here's a recent thread on it. It includes scdreamer's description of the experience, along with other comments
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...a-bus-1650369/

We saw the bus when we were last in Paris and the passengers did look like they were having fun.

For a dinner cruise with good food, we really enjoyed le calife when we vistied in August

diner croisiere Paris restaurant bateau peniche Seine soirée sortir paris

ElleD9.....thanks for the info. As we are staying in an apt. ob Place Dauphine the embarkation point is close by. i’ll Definitely check it out.

The Calife gets high recommendations for dinner cruises.

I think lunch-on-a-bus might be fun if it were a picnic thing.

I replied a positive experience was had by my wife and I as noted in the post by kJ and was quite satisfied. The bus drove slowly and no wine was spilled (which I consider a sin). My experience was quite different from scdreamer. To each their own. Again, I started with a cocktail at Le Peninsula. Highly recommend that experience also, unfortunately did not experience a stay there.