London and Paris - 3 days each

Old Sep 18th, 2017, 07:06 AM
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London and Paris - 3 days each

Hi. Is the Hop On Hop Off a good idea in London and Paris? Thank you in advance!!
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Old Sep 18th, 2017, 07:08 AM
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Definitely not for London. Expensive, and you're stuck in traffic for much of the time.
Use the tube/regular busses and walk.
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Old Sep 18th, 2017, 07:11 AM
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>>Hi. Is the Hop On Hop Off a good idea in London and Paris?
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Old Sep 18th, 2017, 07:23 AM
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I've done both for 3 days. In Paris you will want to group the sites you want to visit by geographic location. Use the metro to get to the area and walk. I have done the HOHO in London, but that was prob. 20 years ago. I enjoyed it (open top bus), but my list of sites wasn't as numerous as in Paris, so it was kind of neat to just sit and listen. The major problem (for me at least) of using the metro/tube is you kind of lose perspective of the geography. You go down and pop up somewhere else.
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Old Sep 18th, 2017, 08:06 AM
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HoHo for London is about 20 pounds/day I think.
All central London's busses and tube will set you back 6.50 a day.
You will not get the running commentary, though.
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Old Sep 18th, 2017, 08:17 AM
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In Paris, the metro stations are often works of art by themselves, and the more interesting areas are best seen by walking.

In London, it's debateable, but I would say no. I like London's buses and using a HOHO would take up too much valuable time. I would do a city tour of some kind to orient yourself and then use transit.
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Old Sep 18th, 2017, 10:12 AM
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London is much larger than Paris is, so if you want to get the lay of the land, get off and walk around a bit, this is possible.
Be sure to get the route map and where the stops are, so you can get back to your hotel.

If possible, take the earliest train you can to Paris, so you'll have more time to explore.

Paris is more walkable than London is. So I would recommend getting Metro carnet tickets that anybody can use. Since you're going to be just 3 days in Paris, I think one carnet would suffice. You can buy one or two more if you run out.

The HOHO bus in Paris is a waste of time, because the city sites are not spread out as much as London's are. You'll be walking the rest of the time.

I would recommend the nighttime Seine cruise, though. Night falls around 7:15 so it would be better to go around 8:30 PM.
vedettesdupontneuf has discount tickets you can print yourself.
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Old Sep 18th, 2017, 10:25 AM
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https://www.londontoolkit.com//whatt...s_discuss.html

A look at the 3 main companies doing HOHO London buses. IMO taking these and sitting on open-air upper deck can be a great way to orient yourselves to London and to get off at sights - you get commentary en route - yeh it's a very touristic thing to do but they are very popular - I love to walk around London but did do the buses a few times - I would recommend doing them your first day.
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Old Sep 18th, 2017, 10:35 AM
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>>A look at the 3 main companies doing HOHO London buses. IMO taking these and sitting on open-air upper deck can be a great way to orient yourselves to London and to get off at sights - yeh it's a very touristic thing to do but they are very popular -
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Old Sep 18th, 2017, 10:43 AM
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Popular does not make them 'worth it'.>

Worth it is subjective;

whether or not first-time London travelers enjoy them is the thing to see - not jaded veteran travelers who may have forgot what it was to be in London the first time (probably had horse-drawn carriage tours then?)
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Old Sep 18th, 2017, 10:51 AM
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I think much would depend on the sites you wish to see. If you are not very interested in going in to churches and museums, or have limited ability to walk, then I think this can be a good idea. Otherwise, I would study a guide book, pick your top choices of things to see, group them geographically, and then either use public transportation (excellent in both cities) or taxis.
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Old Sep 18th, 2017, 10:53 AM
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I did both and enjoyed both. But I took it did the whole loop and disembarked. No on no off.
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Old Sep 18th, 2017, 06:47 PM
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Here are the regular London bus routes passing major sights/attractions:

https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/do...ral-london.pdf

Of course, you still have the problem of slow movement through traffic and the fact that London is fairly spread out that you also get with HOHO buses, but with that map you can see where to mix and match bus and tube - much more cheaply.
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Old Sep 18th, 2017, 09:26 PM
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Check the weather before going on the London bus.
It's just that simple.
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Old Sep 18th, 2017, 10:44 PM
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I am a fan of HOHO buses in major cities to get the lay of the land. I stay on the bus from start to finish on each route, then go back to the sights I want to explore further. I think this is the most efficient way to see a lot in the shortest amount of time.

As others here have said, there are alternate ways to get around both cities. However, on the tube or metro, you will be mainly underground, and won't see much. This method gets you to destinations, but does not show you each city.
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Old Sep 19th, 2017, 02:57 AM
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Wow....thank you all so much for the valuable info. Very helpful!!!
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Old Sep 19th, 2017, 07:34 AM
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In Paris, we liked the hop-on-hop-off Batobus, a boat on the Seine which goes to the eight major tourist attractions. It's affordable, and pleasant to see the city from the river.
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Old Sep 19th, 2017, 07:40 AM
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I have done it in both cities, so first hand experience in both. Absolute waste of time and money in both cities, IMHO, and both were kind of wretched with sitting in traffic, usually at places where you could not get off, inhaling fumes if you were outside, seeing little if you are inside.
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Old Sep 19th, 2017, 07:52 AM
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I've often found that a HOHO bus is a good way to counteract jet lag when arriving in a city after an intercontinental flight, providing the weather cooperates and you can sit up top, especially if I am unfamiliar with the city.

Even though I have visited Paris many times over the years, on my latest visit I did take a HOHO bus the morning of my arrival and found that it was a nice way both of getting over jet lag and reacquainting myself with the city.

In London, however, I always go for a walk rather than try a HOHO bus.

I also agree that it most cities public transport is a much cheaper and effective way of getting around.
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Old Sep 19th, 2017, 08:05 AM
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In London, however, I always go for a walk rather than try a HOHO bus.?>

What's the difference Paris and London in this regard? Paris is immenently more walkable than London to see the main sights?

But yes I think it is the horrendous traffic on London that is the major bane for HOHO buses -being stuck in traffic with fumes like sassafrass says. But I've always enjoyed riding thru London traffic on top deck of ordinary double-deckers and riding outside is great - too bad they have to move at a snail's pace.

And yes London's regular TfL buses are so nice too - go everywhere and not underground where you see nothing and take your door to door practically- get a bus map and a day bus pass and take the bus between sights - yeh you lose the commentary but a good guidebook should more than make up for that.
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