Tootbus Paris sightseeing bus tours of Paris
The first Hop on and Hop off bus tour company in Paris and running for decades, Open Tour has completely rebranded in mid-2021 to become Tootbus, operating in the UK including London and France in Paris.
A bit of history...
The Original Tour in London has been operating for over 50 years and Open Tour Paris run by RATP Dev as a subsidiary tour operator company is also a historical bus tour in Paris that has been operating for decades.
Unfortunately, with the Covid 19 pandemic hitting the tourist industry extremely hard, it was time to re-think the future, so Open Tour Paris merged with the sightseeing tour company in London, Bath and Bristol in the UK to form a single brand that was renamed Tootbus at the end of May 2021.
However, even then, with travel restrictions, lockdowns, social distancing and more to help stop the spread of Coronavirus, all tours were still not back up and running, so this meant that the new identity could also focus on the core components of its sightseeing activities to re-imagine and re-design these for both locals and tourists.
Eventually with a brand new look and focus, new tours and a completely upgraded fleet of tour buses Tootbus Paris run by the sightseeing division of RATP Dev who operate public transport in Paris started operating in July 2021.
Additionally, Paris, just like many other cities in France is trying to stop pollution from vehicles with a clean air initiative and by law, all vehicles have to have a Crit'Air vignette and sticker displayed in addition to the fact that some vehicles are not permitted to enter certain areas at specific times or even at all.
This is something you have to be aware of by looking at the regulations for going to France in the first place and also the French roads and driving in France, because of the Crit'Air vignette and many other regulations. So with this in mind, RATP Dev have upgraded all of the former Open Tour buses to be a green option for the new planet friendly Tootbus Paris, by either being fully electric or utilising bio-NGV-powered sightseeing buses in Paris.
In fact, RATP Dev and Open Tour Paris were already starting to make major investments to take into account the environmental impact of its practises, and with a deadline of 2024 within the Climate Plan laid out by Paris City Hall to end diesel use in the city, the rebranded Tootbus Paris is already three years ahead of this plan being fully implemented.
About Tootbus Paris
With the company now focusing on the city in order to re-build a relationship with not just tourists but also residents within the Paris region of Ile de France, Tootbus Paris is reaffirming its goal to become a key player in creating unforgettable memories for all its customers, both children and adults.
So as well as the traditional hop on and hop off option that most people will recognise, there are specific tours provided by Tootbus Paris that are not just focused on being environmentally friendly, but also being family friendly, which you can find out about further down.
You will therefore also find that rather than just the standard offering of the hop on hop off service, also known as HOHO tours, there are traditional nonstop tours that go beyond the original Paris by Night tour of Paris where you can see the famous sights of the City of Light lit up in all its glory.
Tootbus Paris have also gone digitalised with audio guides that are available as podcasts from the app stores and this sightseeing tour company is also aiming to provide the traditional open top tour buses as a way to discover Paris like an open air museum tour where you could discover more about some of the Paris monuments, landmarks, etc that you may then wish to visit.
Additionally, we would like to point out that WiFi is available on board, plus all buses have a canopy for the top deck in case of rain, and every Tootbus is also fully accessible to the disabled and wheelchair users as well, although not on the top open deck of course!
Currently there are 15 open top double decker buses in the fleet for Tootbus Paris, that are all ultra-low-emission buses with 9 of these being electric and the other 6 running as bioNGV, which is a Natural Gas for Vehicles and being bioNGV, this is a renewable energy using waste and is carbon neutral.
Tootbus Paris Tours
Whether you are looking for a non-stop bus tour of Paris or a hop on and hop off sightseeing option, Tootbus Paris has various options to suit virtually everyone with flexible tickets that are valid for up to 6 months from booking.
Paris Discovery
The first option we will take a look at is the Paris Discovery, which is the hop on and hop off or HOHO service, offered by Tootbus Paris and includes an audio guide available in French, English, German, Italian and Spanish, which can be downloaded and earphones are provided, but you can also use your own. There is also an audio guide specific designed for children, so they can also get more enjoyment out of the tour, and this is available in French and English.
This hop on and hop off tour starts from their main office on the Rue Auber by the Printemps Galerie Lafayette store and close to the Palais Garnier opera house where it also stops. Then it travels down to the Musee du Louvre crossing the River Seine onto the Ile de la Cite island and stops on the opposite bank so you can easily get to places such as Notre Dame Cathedral, the largest fountain in Paris called Fontaine Saint Michel and more.
From there the service continues to the Musee d'Orsay, then back over the River to the Place de la Concorde right by the Champs Elysees Gardens, the famous Horses of Marly Paris statues and within easy reach of Tuileries Gardens. The next stop on the Paris Discovery Tootbus Paris tour is on the famous tree lined Avenue des Champs Elysees close to the impressive Arc de Triomphe and having gone round this monument in Paris, the next stop is Trocadero by the Palais de Chaillot with its museums and the Trocadero Gardens.
Once again the hop on hop off Paris discovery tour crosses the River Seine and stops at the icon of France, the Eiffel Tower, that is set within the Champ de Mars and it is also close to the Musee Quai Branly and the River Seine cruise boats such as Bateaux Parisiens.
Tootbus Paris hop on hop off discovery tour, also referred to as the Iconic Paris Tour, then travels along the river before stopping by Les Invalides with its canons, museums and the Tomb of Napoleon and this stop is also only a short walk to get to the impressive Grand Palais, although if you continue on the bus you will pass this before going to back to the start point.
The sightseeing tour buses run daily from 9:30am and last departure is between 4:30pm and 6pm depending upon the time of year, with a frequency of between 15 to 30 minutes and being able to start the hop on and hop off tour at any one of its stops, the 24 hour, 48 hour or 72 hour ticket starts upon first validation on board the bus and as of 2023 the Paris Discovery iconic tour is €37.80 per adult and €19.80 per child between 4 and 12 years of age for a 1 day ticket. Under that age, they go free, but over that, they are charged adult rate.
Paris Discovery Tootbus Iconic Paris Tour Stops
1 Haussmann / Grands Magasins / Galerie Lafayette - 11-13 Rue Auber
2 Opera Garnier - Avenue de l'Opera / Rue de la Paix
3 Musee du Louvre - Place du Carrousel
4 Notre Dame / Quartier Latin - 15 Rue du Petit Pont
5 Musee d'Orsay - Rue de la Legion d'Honneur
6 Concorde / Tuileries - Place de la Concorde
7 Champs Elysees / Lido Cabaret / Arc de Triomphe - Avenue des Champs Elysees
8 Trocadero / Palais de Chaillot - 50 Avenue du President Wilson
9 Tour Eiffel - Quai Branly
10 Pont Alexander III / Invalides - Place de Finlande
11 Haussmann / Grands Magasins (start & finish point)
Must See Paris
The Tootbus Paris tour called Must See Paris incorporates the above hop on and hop off tour with a River Seine cruise on Vedettes de Paris, which as we mentioned earlier, has their dock at the foot of the Eiffel Tower on the Port de Suffren.
This then enables you to enjoy the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the designated Seine riverbanks, plus you can see the 37 bridges in Paris that cross the river including the oldest bridge in Paris called Pont Neuf and the most elaborate called the Pont Alexander III. Not forgetting you can get to see numerous monuments in Paris from a completely different viewpoint such as La Conciergerie where Queen Marie Antionette was once held prisoner before her execution.
You will find Vedettes de Paris river cruises operate daily at least every hour and sometimes more frequently depending upon the time of year, with first dearture from 10:30am and last departure from 6pm, although in the height of the season the last departure is later. Yet the schedules do not apply on specific days such as Bastille Day on 14th July and change according to seasons and any severe weather conditions.
And talking of booking, for a 1 day combined Must See Paris ticket, this is a cost of €49.50 per adult and €25.20 per child as of 2023.
Tootbus Paris sightseeing bus tour maps
Map - Paris daytime bus tours
Map - Paris night time bus tours
Map - Paris kids bus tours
Paris Express
The Paris Express tour by Tootbus Paris covers the same route as the Paris Discovery Hop on and Hop off service for those of you that would just like to utilise one of the tours in Paris and take advantage of the fabulous photo opportunities from 4 metres up in the open air top deck of the double decker buses, weather permitting of course!
You can start the tour at any one of the bus stops on the Iconic Paris Discovery Tour, and upon validation of your ticket on board the bus, it is then valid for 2 hours, but you can still get off the bus and jump on another if you wish, time allowing of course.
Just as the Iconic Paris Tour on the Tootbus Paris Discovery hop on and hop off service, the buses run daily from 9:30am to 4:30pm the earliest with a frequency of between 15 and 30 minutes at a stop, and as of 2023 this is a cost of €30 per adult and €20 per child between the ages of 4 and 12, with those under 4 going free, and those aged 13 or over being charged the same as the adult rate.
Tootbus Kids Tour
A first for bus tours, Tootbus Paris has launched a tour specifically designed with children in mind, which follows a similar route for children to get to see the most iconic landmarks in Paris.
Designed to be a family friendly, educational, yet a fun experience, with live guides and on board bespoke entertainment combined with various tales, amazing stories about different Paris tourist attractions, monuments, historical places and museums in Paris, not forgetting animated films with riddles and games this is a bus tour with a difference that everyone can join in on and will enthral the kids.
The Tootbus Paris Kids Tour starts at their main pick up point at 11 Rue Auber in the 9th Arrondissement of Paris, and has a duration of 90 minutes from start to finish, with children being offered sweets at the end of the bus tour when it returns to the start point.
You will find that the Tootbus Paris Kids Tour starts at 2:30pm every Saturday, also during French school holidays the bus tour runs daily at the same time, but for certain holidays such as the Autumn vacation, or Fall as it is known in America, there is an additional tour scheduled for 11:30am, and as of 2023, the cost is €28 per adult and the same cost per child aged between 4 and 12 years.
Paris By Night
As the name suggests, this is one of the very popular night bus tours in Paris where you can get to see the City of Lights in all its glory with famous landmarks all lit up, on the unique Toootbus Paris by Night 2 hour tour.
With a completely different route you can not only get to see famous sites like the Arc de Triomphe and the smaller Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, but the tour also takes you round Place Vendome with its monument and probably the most famous of all hotels in Paris called The Ritz Paris.
Plus you can get to see the iconic windmill of the Moulin Rouge cabaret in the Montmartre area, the Petit Palais that was constructed for the 1900 World Fair at the same time as the Grand Palais, along with Madeleine Church, the banks of the River Seine and numerous bridges, some of which you cross like the Pont au Change, the theatre and fountain at Place du Chatelet in addition to Tour Saint-Jacques and many, many more.
Lasting 2 hours with an audio guide available in French and English, the meeting point is the Musee du Louvre, Place du Carrousel, but there is also an additional stop on route at Place de Clichy / Caulaincourt at 130 Boulevard de Clichy. With the Paris By Night tour running daily starting at 7pm from the Musee du Louvre point, the cost is €20.70 per child between the ages of 4 and 12, yet for those aged 13 and above, they are classed as adults and the cost is €29.70 per adult as of 2023.
Christmas Lights Tour
For those of you who are lucky enough to be in Paris for the festive season, not only will you be able to experience the Christmas markets, the Christmas lights, which are more magical and in greater abundance than any other time of the year, you can also experience the magic on an open topped double decker tour bus with Tootbus Paris.
With a completely unique audio commentary in French or English and one specifically designed for children as well, you can even enjoy traditional Christmas songs while on this 90 minute tour of Paris seeing the magnificent sparkling lights, and as an added bonus, because it is winter time, a complementary blanket and sweets for children are also provided along with a complementary hot drink for adults.
Running daily from the last week of November through to the first week of January except for 24th December and 31st December, the Christmas Lights Paris Tour starts from 11 Rue Auber at 6pm at a cost from €35 per adult and €25 per child as of 2023, yet please bear in mind that tickets are limited and the 2022 Christmas Lights Tour sold out completely and very quickly.
Buying your Tootbus Paris Tickets
You will find that tickets can be purchased from Tootbus Paris staff at their office or from the bus driver at any stop for the hop on and hop off tours in Paris and become valid straight away for either the 1 Day (24 hour), 2 Day (48 hour) or 3 day (72 hour) ticket option you have chosen.
However, you can also purchase your tickets online for original Hop on Hop Off tours and these are then able to utilised at any time within 6 months, and become validated or start the first time your ticket is presented to the bus driver for your chosen duration.
There are also other tours available that we mentioned earlier, which can all be purchased online and are for a designated dated and time due to the fact that spaces are limited and they get booked up very quickly, although if your plans change, these can be cancelled or amended without any fees if sorted a minimum of 5 working days prior to the date.
We would also like to point out that if you download the Tootbus Paris app, you can also enjoy self-guided walking tour options of commentary, as well as the specific audio guides related to the bus tours in Paris.
So as you can tell, there is something for everyone with Tootbus Paris that has completely re-invented itself from the original Open Tour Paris, but still incorporating the hop on and hop off service or HOHO tours, yet many unique others to delight all ages.
