Paris Self-guided City Bus Tour
Mar 19th, 2011, 10:04 AM
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Paris Self-guided City Bus Tour
Here is a self guided circular city tour of Paris using 4 bus lines, starting at Opera. Of course one could start anywhere along the route.
You can use a ticket, which can be purchased from the driver, to transfer to another line within ninety minutes. There are buttons to push when you wish to disembark. Like the Metro, every stop has a name and names at the ends of the lines.
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.
Further information on the bus routes, pick up a copy of “Le Bus,” little blue booklet with maps and routes and transfer points to other lines and Metro. Also the Paris Mapguide, a useful companion, has route numbers printed on the streets.
You can use a ticket, which can be purchased from the driver, to transfer to another line within ninety minutes. There are buttons to push when you wish to disembark. Like the Metro, every stop has a name and names at the ends of the lines.
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.
Further information on the bus routes, pick up a copy of “Le Bus,” little blue booklet with maps and routes and transfer points to other lines and Metro. Also the Paris Mapguide, a useful companion, has route numbers printed on the streets.
Mar 19th, 2011, 12:29 PM
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Ronz-I am a total bus fan. The 29 is one of my favorite lines-I took it from the Marais to Auber a lot to catch the RER out to La Defense when I was working out there, since I preferred to having to walk through the kind of seedy neighborhood around Le Halles. Back in 2002 or so, it was also the line that had the last of the old style buses with the open backs where you could ride outside:
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier..._Bus_Paris.JPG
I know a lot of folks feel insecure riding the buses maybe afraid they might lose their way, but the new overhead stop alerts with the announcement of each stop makes it really easy. And I think that by riding the bus, you get a much better sense of how Paris is laid out than by taking the metro.
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier..._Bus_Paris.JPG
I know a lot of folks feel insecure riding the buses maybe afraid they might lose their way, but the new overhead stop alerts with the announcement of each stop makes it really easy. And I think that by riding the bus, you get a much better sense of how Paris is laid out than by taking the metro.
Mar 19th, 2011, 12:30 PM
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Um, I think Ron provided some sights after each bus change..?
... You will pass the Bourse, Place des Victoires, Centre Pompidou...into the Marais...passing Musees Cognacq Jay, Picasso & Carnavalet; and the Place des Vosges ... passing the Hotel de Ville .... through the Louvre complex [between the pyramid and the Arc du Carrousel]... past the Musee d’Orsay, through the Place des Invalides, past Rue Cler and into the Champ de Mars ...
and so on.
... You will pass the Bourse, Place des Victoires, Centre Pompidou...into the Marais...passing Musees Cognacq Jay, Picasso & Carnavalet; and the Place des Vosges ... passing the Hotel de Ville .... through the Louvre complex [between the pyramid and the Arc du Carrousel]... past the Musee d’Orsay, through the Place des Invalides, past Rue Cler and into the Champ de Mars ...
and so on.
Mar 19th, 2011, 12:49 PM
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"Le Bus" is cheap, and with names of all the stops listed, you can follow along.
Each route is overlaid on a map, and any "correspondances" at at a particular stop are shown.
So at the Ecole Militaire stop, for example, you will see M-8 [Metro] and 28, 82, 87 and 92. Then you can look up those lines.
Each route is overlaid on a map, and any "correspondances" at at a particular stop are shown.
So at the Ecole Militaire stop, for example, you will see M-8 [Metro] and 28, 82, 87 and 92. Then you can look up those lines.
Mar 19th, 2011, 01:20 PM
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<< Um, I think Ron provided some sights after each bus change >>
I think I read the post during my afternoon "sleepy" time. LOL I went back and re-read it now and it makes sense. Sorry Ron for dozing off the first time!
I think I read the post during my afternoon "sleepy" time. LOL I went back and re-read it now and it makes sense. Sorry Ron for dozing off the first time!
Mar 21st, 2011, 04:12 AM
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Amazingly comprehensive website of the #38 Paris bus line - written by the drivers of the route.
It covers: the route, the job, the drivers, the attitude (of passengers), the buses, the depot, regulation, the history AND #38 buses in other cities!!:
http://bus38.online.fr/indexeng.html
I love the internet!
It covers: the route, the job, the drivers, the attitude (of passengers), the buses, the depot, regulation, the history AND #38 buses in other cities!!:
http://bus38.online.fr/indexeng.html
I love the internet!
Mar 21st, 2011, 06:41 AM
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Well, as someone who has been visiting - and sometimes living in - Paris for 30 years, I'm not about to take a hop-on hop-off bus. But I will replace legs of the Metro with RonZ's specified buses to get to see more as I go - just like I will occasionally take buses around Manhattan if I'm not in too much of a rush to get from Point A to Point B.
bardo, that site is wonderful! Yay internet - and thanks for digging it out!
bardo, that site is wonderful! Yay internet - and thanks for digging it out!
Mar 21st, 2011, 08:53 AM
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Thanks for this great information. Just discovered the bus last year and love being above ground and able to see Paris. Where can you buy Le Bus?
The following ratp resources were very helpful to me. They are loaded with an incredible amount of information. It took me a bit of time to be able to navigate about and I know there is much more here to be discovered.
•http://www.ratp.fr/en/ratp/c_21879/tourists/ This page will find your route via bus or rail or both. Amazing!
(Under "Travelling" select "Itineraires", enter from and to, time, mode (bus), criteria, and then "search." The information is provided in two forms. First, a map, that can be enlarged, that shows the bus route and walking required route in different colors. Second, directions in English. Click on "route map".)
•http://www.ratp.fr/
How to navigate to the interactive bus map:
Select language flag. Under "Travelling," select "Plans." Select "Plan interactive." In the upper left, click on the language flag, click on the encircled "Bus", then select daytime, evening, or Sundays and holidays. Try all the tabs, click on a line, and begin to learn how to access the info provided.
The following ratp resources were very helpful to me. They are loaded with an incredible amount of information. It took me a bit of time to be able to navigate about and I know there is much more here to be discovered.
•http://www.ratp.fr/en/ratp/c_21879/tourists/ This page will find your route via bus or rail or both. Amazing!
(Under "Travelling" select "Itineraires", enter from and to, time, mode (bus), criteria, and then "search." The information is provided in two forms. First, a map, that can be enlarged, that shows the bus route and walking required route in different colors. Second, directions in English. Click on "route map".)
•http://www.ratp.fr/
How to navigate to the interactive bus map:
Select language flag. Under "Travelling," select "Plans." Select "Plan interactive." In the upper left, click on the language flag, click on the encircled "Bus", then select daytime, evening, or Sundays and holidays. Try all the tabs, click on a line, and begin to learn how to access the info provided.
Mar 21st, 2011, 12:55 PM
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There was a bus 69 stop across from the apartment we stayed in two weeks ago. We looked at it longingly but never took the leap and actually road it, eventhough it has such a good route. Next time.
Mar 21st, 2011, 05:56 PM
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This is great information, thanks so much. RonZ, I have printed out your bus tour to take with us in May and hope we get a chance to try it out.
If we buy a carnet are these tickets only good for a single journey or can we use these to transfer between buses, I believe they are good for 90 minutes?
If we buy a carnet are these tickets only good for a single journey or can we use these to transfer between buses, I believe they are good for 90 minutes?
