Hop Aboard The Open-Topped Buses To See the City

There are a number of open-topped buses that cruise the streets of Paris. It's a great way to get a quick overview of the city, and also a fun way to get around. These are not, we want to emphasize, coach tours. They are there so you can hop-on and hop-off whenever you feel like it. (Make sure the bus has stopped, though!)

To ride these buses you need a 1-day, 2-day or 3-day pass, and we're going to tell you the best way to get ahold of these. We usually recommend a 2-day pass because one day is just too short to see everything. But, if you want to use the hop-on buses for your main means of transportation, then go for a 3-day pass.

Big Bus Paris 1-day & 2-Day Passes

Another reason to choose a 2-day pass over a 1-day pass is to save money! Instead of being twice the price, a 2-day pass costs only about 13% more — less than $5.00 extra.

The Big Buses travel two routes and between them they cruise by all the famous monuments and sights in central Paris — from the Eiffel Tower to the Arc de Triomphe to the Louvre to Musée d'Orsay to Île de la Cité to…well, you get the idea. You can see why you can use these buses as your main transportation!

Paris L'OpenTour Hop-On Buses

Paris Insiders Recommendation

"Go at your own pace" is the them of L'OpenTour and that's really what the open-topped buses are all about.

L'OpenTour gives you 4 routes to choose from, with over 50 stops. So you truly can cover all of central Paris and catch everything you want to see. In the summer buses leave every 10 minutes, so there's virtually no waiting time. If you can find it, the 3-day pass, at only 25% more, but giving three times the travel, is by far the better deal. There are special rates for children.

2 Day Hop-on Bus & Boat Pass

This is seriously fun. Did you know you can get around Paris by boat? The Batobus makes a watery circuit with 8 stops, from the Eiffel Tower to the zoo at the Jardin des Plantes with the Louvre, d'Orsay and other key stops in between. This pass allows you to get on and off whenever you please, as many time as you want.

As if that's not cool enough, they also throw in free, unlimited access to the hop-on buses of L'OpenTour, the company that runs four circuits with fifty stops. Now you're moving.