See the City of Light from the comfort of an open-top double-decker bus.
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Quick Guide
Paris Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus Tours
Tickets & Prices
Most hop-on-hop-off passes in Paris are available in 24-hour, 48-hour, and 72-hour options, and all of them include unlimited rides during that time window.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Big Bus Tours | Tootbus | Batobus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ticket options | • Bus Only: 24/48 Hours • With Cruise: 24/48 Hours | • Bus Only: 24/48/72 Hours • With Cruise: 24/48/72 Hours | • Riverboat: 24/48 Hours |
| Routes | 1 route (10 stops) | 1 route (10 stops) | 1 route (9 stops) |
| Bus frequency | Every 7-20 minutes More Frequent | Every 15-20 minutes | Every 25-40 minutes |
| Audio languages | 8 languages (English, Mandarin, French, German, Italian, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish) | 10 languages (English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, Arabic) | 14 languages (English, Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish) |
| Kids audio guide | ✓ | ||
| Walking tours | Vox app (Essential & Explore tickets only) | 5 themed walks included with all tickets | |
| 1-hour Seine River Cruise | ✓ Included with select tickets | ✓ Included with select tickets | |
| Eco-friendly buses | Standard fleet | ✓ 100% electric or gas | |
| Real-time bus tracking | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Free Wi-Fi | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Free earphones | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Themed tours / Packages | • Night Tour (2h) | • Paris by Night (2h) • Paris Kids Tour (90min live-guided) • Christmas Tour • Bus + Versailles packages | |
| Flexible booking | Free date changes | Free date changes | Free date changes |
| Free cancellation | Free cancellation | Free cancellation |
Detailed Pricing Tables
| Ticket Type | Adults | Children (4–12y) |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Hours (Bus Only) | €45.00 | €26.00 |
| 48 Hours (Bus Only) | €58.00 | €33.00 |
| 24 Hours Essential (Bus + Cruise) Most Popular (Save €5 vs buying separately + free Vox walking tour ✓) | €59.00 | €35.00 |
| 48 Hours Explore (Bus + Cruise) (Save €5 vs buying separately + free Vox walking tour ✓) | €73.00 | €40.00 |
Paris Discovery (Bus Only)
| Ticket Type | Adults | Children (4–12y) | Family (2 Adults + 2 Children) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Hours | €48.00 | €24.00 | €124.00 |
| 48 Hours | €54.00 | €32.00 | €140.00 |
| 72 Hours Best Value (only €19.67 per day) | €59.00 | €35.00 | €153.00 |
Must See Paris (Bus + Seine Cruise)
| Ticket Type | Adults | Children (4–12y) | Family (2 Adults + 2 Children) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Hours + Cruise (Save €5 vs buying separately ✓) | €62.00 | €38.00 | €162.00 |
| 48 Hours + Cruise (Save €5 vs buying separately ✓) | €68.00 | €42.00 | €178.00 |
| 72 Hours + Cruise Best Value (Save €5 vs buying separately ✓) | €73.00 | €45.00 | €191.00 |
| Ticket Type | Adults | Children (4–11y) |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Hours Budget Pick | €23.00 | €13.00 |
| 48 Hours | €27.00 | €17.00 |
Find Your Perfect Bus Tour
Traveling with Kids?
Choose Tootbus. The dedicated children’s audio guide keeps young ones engaged, and the Paris Kids Tour is a hit with families.
Want Best Value?
48-hour pass offers better value than buying two separate 24-hour tickets. This takes the pressure off and lets you explore at a more relaxed pace.
First Time in Paris?
Big Bus’s Essential ticket (€59) or Tootbus’s Must See Paris (€62) both include river cruises and cover all major landmarks. They’re similarly priced, but Tootbus gives you 5 free walking tours.
Tight Schedule (1 day)
Batobus at €23 for 24 hours can’t be beaten. It’s peaceful, avoids traffic, and hits all the riverside monuments.
Tips for Choosing Ticket Duration
Think about your energy levels and travel style. Most people underestimate how tiring sightseeing can be. A 48-hour pass means if you’re exhausted on day one, you can take it easy and still have tomorrow to finish exploring.
If you’re staying in Paris for 3+ days, consider the 72-hour Tootbus pass. It works out to less than €15 per day, which is incredibly cheap for unlimited transportation plus walking tours.
For families with young kids, the 48 or 72-hour passes are lifesavers. You can hop on when little legs get tired, hop off for snacks or bathroom breaks, and never feel rushed. Kids get tired and cranky – having that extra time takes the pressure off.
Evening & Themed Tours
Both Tootbus and Big Bus offer evening tours that showcase Paris’s sparkling night lights. Tootbus’s Paris by Night costs from €35, while Big Bus’s Night Tour is from €32 – basically identical pricing. These 2-hour tours show you the City of Light in all its glory, with monuments beautifully illuminated.
For families, Tootbus has a dedicated Kids Tour with live guides in French, making it educational and fun. The guides tell amusing stories and play games about Paris’s attractions. During the holiday season (November 24 – January 3), both operators run Christmas-themed tours where you’ll see festive lights and decorations throughout the city.
Want to visit Versailles? Tootbus offers a combo package with round-trip transport and palace entry starting from €115. This is actually great value since organizing Versailles separately can be complicated and more expensive.
FAQs about Ticketing and Pricing
Where can I buy tickets?
You can buy tickets online (recommended), at operator booths near major stops, or directly from the driver. Booking online saves you time and sometimes gets you a discount. Use the booking module on this page for the best prices. Both operators send digital tickets to your email immediately after purchase, so you can board right away.
Do children get discounts?
Yes. Children under 3-4 usually ride free when sitting on an adult’s lap (check specific operator policies). Kids aged 4-15 get reduced rates. Both operators offer family discounts when you book multiple tickets together. Tootbus particularly caters to families with their dedicated children’s audio guide included on all buses and their special Paris Kids Tour.
What’s your cancellation/refund policy?
Most hop-on-hop-off tickets in Paris come with flexible cancellation policies, especially if you book online. Both Big Bus and Tootbus Paris allow free cancellation and date changes up to 24 hours before your tour.
Are combo tickets with attractions available?
Yes, and this is where you can save money. Big Bus offers combos with Seine River cruises, the Batobus hop-on-hop-off boat, night tours, and wine tastings at Galeries Lafayette. Tootbus has even more variety with packages that include Paris by Night tours, round-trip transport and entry to Versailles Palace, Christmas Lights tours, and their themed walking experiences. If you know you want multiple experiences, book the combo upfront.
What’s included with my ticket beyond the bus?
This varies by operator and ticket tier. Big Bus’s Essential and Explore tickets include a one-hour Seine cruise and the Vox walking tours app. Tootbus’s Paris Discovery and Must See Paris tickets include five themed walking tours through their app at no extra charge. Both provide free Wi-Fi on buses, complimentary earphones (though you can bring your own), and access to their mobile apps with real-time bus tracking. All commentary is multilingual, and Tootbus includes a dedicated kids’ audio guide on every bus.
Route Maps & Stops
Paris has two major hop-on-hop-off operators offering comprehensive routes covering around 30 stops across the city. Both routes hit the essential landmarks and give you easy access to Paris’s most famous neighborhoods.
Big Bus Tours Route
Download Big Bus Paris route map (PDF).
Classic Route – Red Route
- Duration: Approximately 2 hours 15 minutes for a full loop.
- Frequency: Buses every 7-20 minutes.
- Operating hours: First bus at 09:45 from Stop #1; last full loop also at 17:30 from Stop #1.
- Main starting point: Stop 1 — Louvre-Pyramide / Big Bus Information Center
Stops include:
- Stop 1: Louvre-Pyramide / Big Bus Information Centre — 11 Avenue de l’Opéra
- Stop 2: Louvre – Pont des Arts — 56 Quai François Mitterand
- Stop 3: Notre-Dame — 3 Rue Lagrange
- Stop 4: Musée d’Orsay — 58 Place Henry de Montherlant
- Stop 5: Champs-Élysées — 156 Avenue des Champs-Élysées
- Stop 6: Grand & Petit Palais — Avenue Winston Churchill
- Stop 7: Iéna (facing Shangri-La) — Avenue Iéna
- Stop 8: Tour Eiffel — Quai Branly, Entrée 2
- Stop 9: Champ de Mars — Avenue Joseph Bouvard
- Stop 10: Opéra Garnier — 15 Rue Scribe
Route Highlights: The Classic Route is the easiest way to take in Paris’s most famous sights without juggling metro lines or maps. You’ll roll past icons like the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and Notre-Dame, plus get sweeping views along the Seine and the Champs-Élysées.
Tootbus Tours Route
Tootbus operates a main hop-on-hop-off route with 10 stops covering the essential sights, plus additional themed tours.
Download Tootbus Paris route map (PDF).
Downtown Route – Blue Route
- Duration: Approximately 120 minutes for a full loop.
- Frequency: Buses every 10–15 minutes in peak season (about every 20 minutes in off-peak).
- Operating hours: First departure at 9:30 AM; last departure at 6:30 PM during the main season.
- Main starting point: Stop 1 – Printemps/Galerie Lafayette.
Stops include:
- Stop 1: Printemps / Galeries Lafayette — Department stores, Haussmann shopping district, Café de la Paix
- Stop 2: Opéra Garnier — Palais Garnier opera house, Place de l’Opéra, luxury boutiques
- Stop 3: Musée du Louvre — Louvre Museum, Palais Royal, Tuileries Garden
- Stop 4: Notre-Dame / Quartier Latin — Notre-Dame Cathedral, Shakespeare & Company, Sorbonne University
- Stop 5: Musée d’Orsay — Impressionist art museum, Seine river views, Pont Royal
- Stop 6: Concorde — Place de la Concorde, Hôtel de Crillon, entrance to the Champs-Élysées
- Stop 7: Champs-Élysées / George V — Avenue des Champs-Élysées, Arc de Triomphe views, flagship stores
- Stop 8: Trocadéro — Trocadéro Gardens, Palais de Chaillot, best views of the Eiffel Tower
- Stop 9: Tour Eiffel — Eiffel Tower, Champ de Mars park, Seine cruise boarding points
- Stop 10: Pont des Invalides / Place de Finlande — Les Invalides, Alexandre III Bridge, Seine riverside walks
Route Highlights: The Tootbus Blue Route is a smooth loop that connects Paris’s top landmarks — from the Eiffel Tower to the Louvre and Notre-Dame. You’ll ride along the Seine, through elegant squares and shopping avenues, getting a complete view of central Paris without needing to plan a thing.
Which Operator Has the Best Routes?
If you want to see all the main Paris landmarks quickly and easily, Big Bus Paris is your best bet. It runs one clear route that hits the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Notre-Dame, and Champs-Élysées, with frequent buses and simple audio commentary.
If you prefer a slower pace or are traveling with kids, go with Tootbus Paris. The buses are electric and quieter, and the company offers kid-friendly audio, walking tour options, and combo passes with river cruises or night tours.
What to See & Do
Listen to the Audioguide in Your Language
Both Big Bus and Tootbus include audio guides in several languages, so you can follow along and get a deeper understanding of different landmarks and the history of the area.
Hop Off for Food and Coffee
Paris is a food lover’s paradise, and the best part of a hop-on-hop-off tour is how close it gets you to the good stuff.
Hop off near Saint-Germain for a croque monsieur or French onion soup, or head to Rue Cler for cheese, wine, and people-watching at the market. Grab a macaron from Ladurée on the Champs-Elysees or a fresh crepe near the Eiffel Tower.
Take a Seine River Cruise
If your ticket includes a river cruise, take it. Seeing Paris from the Seine gives you a whole different view of sites like Notre-Dame, the Musée d’Orsay, and the Eiffel Tower, and more. It’s calm, quiet, and one of the best ways to end a busy day of sightseeing.
Explore Iconic Neighborhoods
Every neighborhood in Paris has its own vibe, and that’s what makes exploring by bus so fun. Montmartre is creative and a little chaotic. You’ll see artists painting in the streets, historic cafes, panoramic views of the city, and the white-domed Sacré-Cœur Basilica at its summit.
The Champs-Élysées is perfect for window shopping and people-watching, and is lined with high-end stores and cafes.The Latin Quarter is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Paris and typically draws a younger crowd thanks to its student population from the nearby Sorbonne University.
Top Paris Landmarks on the Tour
Click on the link to learn more about the attractions and find top things to do.
The Eiffel Tower is the highlight of any Paris trip, and seeing it up close never gets old. The lines to go up can be long, but even from the ground, it’s one of the best views in Paris.
The Musée d’Orsay used to be a grand railway station, but it now houses one of the best collections of Impressionist art in the world. Even if you don’t go inside, the building itself and the riverside setting are worth slowing down for.
Even with parts of it still under restoration, Notre-Dame is worth seeing up close. The detail in the stonework is intricate, and you can still feel how old and important it is. If you walk along the river, the view of the cathedral from the Seine might be the best in Paris.
The Louvre is one of the biggest museums in the world, and it’s easy to get lost inside — in a good way. If you plan to visit, give yourself time. The main highlights are the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory of Samothrace, but even the building itself is worth seeing up close.
Champs-Élysées & Arc de Triomphe
The Champs-Élysées is Paris’s most famous avenue, lined with luxury stores, cafés, and theaters. It runs straight to the Arc de Triomphe, one of the city’s major landmarks and a great spot for panoramic views of Paris.
During the French Revolution the Place de la Concorde was used for royal executions, but now its one of Paris’s most grand public squares. It’s surrounded by historic buildings and features fountains, statues, and the Luxor Obelisk that marks the beginning of the the Champs-Élysées.
Montmartre is Paris’s artistic hub, known for its hillside views, street painters, and café-lined squares. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can climb all 280 steps of the Sacré-Cœur for a panoramic view of the city.
Grand Palais & Petit Palais
Two stunning buildings facing each other on Avenue Winston Churchill. Both are free to enter and often host art exhibitions, and their architecture alone makes them worth the stop.
Trocadéro
This is where you’ll get that postcard-perfect Eiffel Tower photo. It’s a wide plaza with fountains, and it’s one of the best spots for sunset views across the Seine.
One of Paris’s most beautiful buildings, the Opéra Garnier is a masterpiece of marble, gold, and chandeliers. You can admire it from the bus or stop to take a guided tour inside.
FAQs
Is the bus wheelchair accessible?
All Big Bus and Tootbus vehicles in Paris are wheelchair accessible, though space is limited. It’s best to arrive a few minutes early to make sure staff can assist with boarding if needed.
What happens if the bus is full when it arrives?
During peak season (summer and holidays), buses can fill up, especially at popular stops like the Eiffel Tower and Louvre. If a bus is full, you’ll need to wait for the next one – usually just 10-20 minutes away. To avoid crowds, ride early in the morning or later in the afternoon. Midday is busiest. The app’s real-time tracking can help you plan around busy times.
What happens in bad weather?
The buses run in all weather conditions. Both operators have covered lower decks with windows, so you can stay dry and warm while still seeing the sights. In severe weather (heavy storms, flooding), services may be temporarily suspended for safety. Check the operator’s website or app for service updates.