For our upcoming trip to Paris, we will need to make use of either the city bus system ot the hop-on/hop-off tourist bus system (L'Open) as mobility issues will make the Metro stairs difficult. We may be able to do some Metro travel, but not all we would like.
I would appreciate suggestions from anyone who has used either of these bus systems and the pros/cons of traveling on them. Thanks in advance.

The public buses are much less expensive than the hop on and off buses. There is a map at http://www.ratp.info/picts/plans/pdf..._paris_geo.pdf that shows the bus routes on a street map. Zoom in to see any neighborhood. You can also get a copy at any metro station. You ask for the "grand plan lignes et rues".

Even better is to stop in a newstand, tabac, department store, wherever you are going to buy your Plan a Paris par Arrondisements, and get a bus guide. There are several brands, and they show routes and schedules for each bus line, day and night, for weekdays, weekends, and holidays (these differ significantly), and they show where you can transfer from one line to another.

The Metro is great for getting from one end of the city to the other, but the buses are much better for the sightseer.

The no. 69 bus is almost as good as the Open Bus for getting an overview of many of the major sites, at a fraction of the cost.

Thank you so much for the info. We took a couple of buses the last time we visited, but were not sure where to get off and sometimes landed in strange places - not altogether a bad thing! We will be there for 5 days this time - i am sure there are multi-day passes. Will check the website now///

I have never used a multi-day pass. I buy a pack of ten tickets (called a carnet). This presents a small savings off the price of individual tickets. If you buy them at a metro station, the tickets can be used to transfer from bus to bus. If you buy tickets on the bus, they are good only for that trip and you can not transfer.

I have not found that the cost of a multi-day pass would save me any money for the number of trips I take.

We buy the multiday pass, then use buses (like StCirq's recommended 69) as a way of sightseeing or sometimes as a way of resting our tired feet! In other words, we uses buses a lot!

Depending on the days we are in Paris I load my Navigo Decouverte with a weekly pass. We use the bus a lot and it turns out cheaper than buying a carnet even if we only get 4 days use of it.

DH and I bought the bus book Ackislander reccommended and it worked great. Our only problem occurred if we tried to integrate too many busses for one trip-we had a couple of long waits. Everything is well-marked.

Good luck!

The hop on/hop off buses are fantastic for enjoying the scenery, but only if the weather is pleasant for sitting on the open air upper deck, which is accessed by a narrow winding staircase. L'Opentour is superior to Les Cars Rouge are there are more routes/stops. They are fairly efficient for getting around to the major sights and attractions, as the stops are conveniently located, so long as you hop off in order of places along the route as the routes are circular.

If, for whatever, reason, you are going to ride the hop on/hop off buses on the lower level, you may as well use the regular city buses.

Be advised, however, that rides on the city buses are not necessarily scenic, as you can't see that much from bus windows, especially if the bus is crowded and you have to stand. Often, it is difficult to see the names of the stops.

All buses have route maps throughout the bus clearly depicting all the stops along the way. If you tell the driver where you want to get off, you'll be advised on arrival. Many/most buses, especially those on major routes, have either digital or verbal announcements of the next stop.

Bus 69 is an excellent route, but buses are often crowded and/or delayed, especially on Saturdays.

We like the little blue bus guide, "le Bus." This is a good companion for the Paris Mapguide, which has bus line numbers on the streets. Note that like the Metro, every stop has a name, and there is a direction name at either end.

Here is a self guided circular city tour of Paris using 4 bus lines, starting at Opera.

Walk down the Ave. de l’Opera and left on rue du Quatre Septembre [second street] and board the 29 bus [direction Gare du Nord]. You will pass the Bourse, Place des Victoires, Centre Pompidou...into the Marais...passing Musees Cognacq Jay, Picasso & Carnavalet; and the Place des Vosges.

Get off at Bastille [the stop after Bastille-Beaumarchais], walk a few steps to the next stop, and take the 69 [direction Champ de Mars]. This is the best of all the bus routes.

A better idea is to get off before Bastille at the Place des Vosges [stop after Payenne] and walk through, maybe stopping for a coffee at Ma Burgoyne. Proceed through the center south exit and down the street to the corner and left a few steps to the 69 bus stop on rue Saint Antoine.

Soon you’ll be on the rue de Rivoli, passing the Hotel de Ville and close to the Palais Royale before going left through the Louvre complex [between the pyramid and the Arc du Carrousel] and crossing on the Pont Royale. Now it’s past the Musee d’Orsay, through the Place des Invalides, past Rue Cler and into the Champ de Mars.

Get off at the end of the line and walk to the Eiffel Tower, then straight across the boulevard and board the 82 bus [direction Neuilly-Hopital Americain], getting off at Porte Maillot. Then walk around the corner to the right and board the 73 bus [direction Musee d’Orsay].

You will be going around the Arc d’Triomphe [thankful that you’re not driving a car] and then down the Champs Elysses. Get off at the Rond Point Champs Elysses and board then 42 [same stop].

Now it’s down down past the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais and through the Place de la Concorde. Then up Rue Royale to the Madeleine and back to Opera.

A small correction concerning the above post (and great idea). When you take line 29, the direction is "Porte de Montempoivre", not "Gare du Nord"

Wow! RonZ! You da man! We are going to Paris next month, and we will be sure to do this loop. Thanks!

Thank you all for the suggestions. We will try RonZ's circular route - had to laugh when you said we would be glad not to be driving around the Arc - on our first European foray thirty-something years ago, we picked up our rental car next to that area, and circled several times before we figured out which way to go! Part of the adventure...