Formerly known as Open Tour Paris, the company was purchased by Tootbus (which incidentally was previously known as the Original Tour brand in London), so now The Tootbus Paris hop-on hop-off open top bus is one of the two dominant classic double decker sightseeing operations in Paris which run all year round.
The other operator is Big Bus which we also detail on a dedicated page. There used to be a clear difference between Big Bus and Open Tour Paris hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus services. But it appears this is not so obvious now.
Previously, Big Bus was the cheaper option as it concentrated on the main sightseeing attractions, while Tootbus Paris was more comprehensive venturing out beyond the centre of Paris.
This is no longer the case with Tootbus adapting their routes to now focus on the centre of Paris too.
Tootbus now offers one core route with two main tours sharing it.
The tours are called Must See Paris and Paris Discovery. Paris Discovery is the cheaper tour (without Seine River Cruise), Must See Paris includes a fantastic river cruise exploring the 37 bridges of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The route has 10 stops and focuses around the centre of Paris.
Must See Paris and Paris Discovery tours come in the shape of 1, 2 and 3-day tickets. During your experience, you can hop-on and hop-off as much as you like.
Tickets state 1-day, 2-days, 3-days but are actually for 24-hrs, 48-hrs and 72-hrs respectively. The ticket is activated at first use and then will last until the same time the following day and so on. The 2-day and 3-day passes must be used on consecutive days, so for example you cannot use it on Monday, then not use it on Tuesday and Wednesday and then use it again on Thursday.
The Paris Kids' Tour is a 90-minute tour where guides will surprise the children with a mix of cultural and fun entertainment including amazing stories about museums, monuments, historical sites, popular tales and animated films all powered by riddles and games. At the end of the performance children will be offered some sweets.
The Paris by Night tour is a 2-hour non stop tour of Paris at night including a multilingual audio and kids' commentary.
Each Christmas you can also enjoy a 90-minute non-stop evening tour of Paris to see the twinkling Christmas lights.
With Tootbus you even have the option to combine your hop-on-hop-off bus tickets with a visit to the spectacular Versailles. Included is transportation to Versailles as well as your entrance ticket. Family discounts are available as they are on every tour.
The route has 10 stops and will take you to the following areas of interest: the Opera, the Louvre Museum, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Orsay Museum, Concorde, Champs-Elysées, Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, Grand Palais. You can alight at certain stops and not be too far away from other tourist attractions too.
Buses run seven days a week year round. Buses run every 20-30 minutes.
Paris Discovery, Paris Must See all start at 9.30 with last departure at 5.00pm
Paris by Night departs at different times depending on the time of year (see website through banner link above for more details). The tour lasts 2 hours.
The Kids Paris Tour runs every Saturday throughout the year. It lasts 90 minutes and usually runs from 2.30pm.
Audio-guide on bus devices in French and English
Commentaries for children in 2 languages: French and English.
Tootbus Paris tickets
• Hop-On Hop-Off Tour • Audio commentary • Free Wi-Fi • Various tours available • 1, 2 or 3-day tickets
Combine Paris Tootbus hop-on hop-off bus pass with Vedettes de Paris.
With this popular river cruise option you can enjoy a one-hour guided cruise on the Seine to admire the most wonderful monuments and bridges of Paris. Unlike the Batobus (which is hop-on, hop-off) you will also have a guide to accompany you during the entire cruise.
Tootbus Paris and river cruise tickets
• Hop-On Hop-Off Tour with Seine River Cruise • Audio commentary • Free Wi-Fi • 4 different routes
Tootbus have a great app feature to offer you: Tootwalk. Tootwalk allows you to enjoy four free walking tours, all ready to download and use at your own convenience when you get off at each stop.
Pick up the tour whenever you want, right where you left off.
The app is a great way to get intimate detail on exactly the area you are in - so you can properly discover Paris at your leisure.
You have four 1-hr tours, including:
1. Emily in Paris (from the hit TV series)
2. Paris the Fashion Capital
3. The Parisian art of living (with break at La Durée)
4. Around the Iron Lady
For more information on each of these walking tours, see the website using banner link above.
The standard hop-on hop-off buses operate during the daytime and start running down late afternoon, early evening.
This 2-hour open-top bus tour of Paris at night shows Paris in a different perspective showcasing the impressive illuminated streets, monuments and squares.
In summer, tours will partially take place during sunlight as it does not get dark until much later in the evening.
Tootbus Paris bus night tour tickets
• Paris illuminated at night! • 1.5 hour tour from the top-deck • Audio commentary • Free Wi-Fi
Very similar to Tootbus Paris, but has only one route very similar to the core central route of Tootbus Paris.
The Big Bus option has 11 stops covering all the major sightseeing attractions in the centre of Paris including the Eiffel Tower, Champs-Elysees, Notre Dame and the Louvre. This is supplemented by a shorter route that serves the Montmartre area, north of the city centre.
Like Tootbus Paris there is a River Seine river cruise option but it is a 1 hour set cruise with Les Bateaux Parisiens not the Batobus service available with Tootbus Paris.
Big Bus hop-on hop-off bus details
Combine the Big Bus Paris hop-on hop-off bus pass with the similar hop-on hop-off Batobus river boat shuttle service.
Available for 2 or 3 days, you have access to more than 19 stops using both means of transportation and enjoy the exceptional views of the monuments of Paris and the River Seine from the rear terraces of the boats and the top decks of the buses.
Combination tickets for Big Bus and Batobus river cruise
• Hop-On Hop-Off Tour with Seine River Cruise • Audio commentary • Free Wi-Fi • Free rewards voucher book