L’OpenTour bus tours of Paris
OpenTour is a firm that operate tour buses in Paris with three very different routes around the capital city, plus they also run bus tours in three other cities in France, which are Marseille and Nice, both within the Provence-Alpes Cote d’Azur region and Lyon in the Rhone-Alpes region.
About OpenTour buses in Paris
If you have never been on holiday to Paris before, or are in the city for a limited time, then going on one of the bus tours in Paris is a great way of getting around and seeing many of the different sites that you may not get a chance to see otherwise.
The OpenTour company have large double decker buses with open tops and are very easy to spot, and originally bright yellow and green colour, they now have the colours of the French flag, being red at the front section, white in the middle and blue at the back section of the bus, and they operate every day of the year on three different routes around the city of Paris.
The idea, is when you purchase a pass, you can hop on and off the tour buses to visit the monuments, landmarks and tourist attractions around Paris, then jump on another bus and go and see some more, and there are actually over 40 different stops on the l’OpenTour routes.
Also when using L’OpenTour buses not only will you get to see some fantastic views of Paris from the open tops when the weather is nice, but you can also learn more about the city of lights and its different landmarks through the commentary provided on the free set of headphones that is supplied with each ticket purchased. These are of course available in the French language, but by selecting a certain channel, the commentary is also available in English, German, Spanish, Russian, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese and Japanese to name a few of the 12 languages.
Another major benefit to the OpenTour bus tours of Paris, is the fact that the three different routes are interconnected, which means that you can easily switch between them, letting you go and see a different area of Paris such as Montmartre without having to finish a whole tour.
However, if you also fancy going along the River Seine, then L’OpenTour are also linked with the Batobus water bus, which has eight stops, and you can purchase a ticket that combines the two, so that you then get to see the monuments in Paris from a completely different perspective.
The different passes available for the OpenTour
The L’OpenTour company offers different passes depending upon your requirements, but please do bear in mind that if booking a ticket for more than one day, the passes must be utilised on two consecutive days.
You can obtain a standard one day pass for the three routes, which is a cost of €35 for an adult as of 2020 or a two day pass for only €39 and a three day pass for only €43, and a child from the age of 4 to 15 is only a cost of €18 for any of the durations mentioned, yet children under the age of a four are free.
But if you want to utilise the Batobus water bus as well, then you would need the Paris A la Carte or Combo Pass, which is a cost of €48 for an adult for two consecutive days as of 2020, but for only €4 more, you can obtain a three day pass. Children aged 4 to 15 are a cost of €22 and under the age of four, they are again free of charge.
Alternatively, at certain times OpenTour provide special offers like when you can also get a pass to visit Musee Grevin, the Waxwork Museum in Paris combined with the Tour Bus routes, which is an ideal way of having a fun day out with the children, yet there are other special offers.
Now everyone realises that the festive season is a time of magic, twinkling lights with an even better atmosphere to enjoy, and Paris is often called the city of lights for a very good reason, yet during this time of year, it is even more impressive.
So if you happen to be going on holiday to Paris during the festive season, then OpenTour provide a Christmas Lights Tour when night falls and this normally runs from 7th December through to 6th January letting you soak up the atmosphere.
In addition, there is also a Night Pass that allows you to see the famous monuments in Paris just like the Eiffel Tower all lit up and as of 2020 this is a cost of €28 for an adult and €17 for a child between 4 and 15 years of age, but if you wish to experience both day and night, then this is also possible with L'OpenTour at a cost of €50 for an adult and €22 for a child on a one day pass for the daytime hop on and hop off service and the night pass tour or €54 for a two day pass and the night tour.
Access to OpenTour bus tours in Paris
You will find the OpenTour office located at 13 Auber Street, 75009 very close to the Palais Garnier Opera in Paris and here you can purchase any of the passes including paying with American Express card. Alternatively, you can purchase a ticket directly from the bus driver on any bus via cash, credit or debit card but not Amex, yet cheques are also not accepted.
But we would like to point out that even if you do not purchase your ticket until say for example 2pm, then it will still finish the same day, it is only if a one day ticket is purchased after 4pm that the pass will be valid for use the following day.
As mentioned before, OpenTour Bus Tours in Paris run every single day of the week including on Sundays and National French holidays and even small dogs that can be carried in a basket are allowed on the buses.
There is a large square on the windshield of each bus that indicates the line you are on, as each of the three tour routes has a different colour, for example, the Paris Grand Tour is the Blue route. From April through to October the buses run from every 10 minutes to 25 minutes depending upon the route, whereas from November through to March they only run approximately every 30 minutes.
The first tour route starts at 9:30am and they run all day until around 7:30pm, plus you will be pleased to know that some of the buses do have disabled access and people in wheelchairs are welcomed although wheelchair spaces are limited. Those with folding wheelchairs where a person can occupy a normal seat are also welcomed, which is the same scenario for pushchairs that must be foldable. But for more information you would need to contact L’OpenTour by telephoning them on: +33 (0) 1 42 66 56 56.
And as well as the free set of headphones, you also get a booklet that provides discounts for selected places, stores, tourist attractions in Paris and much more, but please note that the tickets do not cover you for entry into museums, monuments or any other form of public transport in Paris.
The main OpenTour office is located in the 9th Arrondissement of Paris on the Rue Auber close to the Palais Garnier Opera House and this is also the very first stop for where the main tours start from including any special tours like the Christmas Lights Tour.
Also, you can book online in advance, but tickets cannot be exchanged or refunded if you change dates, so do bear this in mind, however, when you do book online, all tickets are valid for 1 year and are not activated until the first time you use them, but you can also contact the company for a discount on group bookings of over 15 people.
Paris Open Tour bus sightseeing tour maps with stops and timetables:
Open Tour Bus Map and Timetables - PDF
Open Tour Bus Map and Timetables - Image
