Hello, For our first day we would like to take a hop on hop off buss because one person in group cannot walk a lot. Would you recommend Toot bus of Big bus? We are staying near Luxembourg garden and plan to uber to first stop in morning. We have tickets to musee l’orsaybon the afternoon. Thank you.
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
7706 posts
Im going to assume you are only talking about Paris, and not every city in France. And your tickets are for the Musée d'Orsay.
The HOHOs may be fine as a way to do an expensive drive by tour of the sites covered by the routes used by the buses, and just visiting a couple of the attractions. But given the traffic in central Paris, they are a very inefficient means of transportation. Using city buses or the metro will be more time efficient.
As for which one - look at the routes, stops, and especially the frequency of buses and then compare prices. I think they cover the same route and stops. Rick has recommended just riding the city #69 bus if you only want to see some of the famous landmarks.
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
17524 posts
Depending on where exactly your hotel is you might be near a Ho-ho bus stop. I sat on the terrace at Le Rostand restaurant (6 Place Edmond Rostand,) and watched the Toot Bus pick people from a stop right in front of there across from Luxembourg Gardens. I did not go to the website for the Big Bus to see where their route is.
I have not done a HoHo but honestly I would not be able to do a bus tour on my arrival afternoon if that is what you are thinking. It would put me right to sleep!
Posted by
Bend, OR
2285 posts
We did a HOHO bus for the first time in Potsdam, Germany last May and only because the employee trying to sell us tickets kept lowering the price while I kept shaking my head no. Yes, we drove past points of interest but they were in the distance and you still have to get off and walk if you wanted to see them. I can’t imagine what this would be like in Paris traffic. IMO, figuring out which sites you really want to see and using the public buses would conserve time, walking and be less expensive.
Posted by
124 posts
We did the Hop on Hop off bus on our first day in Paris, picking it up a the Champs Elysses (close to our hotel) stop. It was convenient, gave us a layout of Paris and dropped off us at the Notre Dame. It was raining that day and we were a bit jet lagged after a 23 hr flight. We did the Big Bus, but also used a mixture of taxis and Ubers on the other days
Posted by
Northern Minnesota
1130 posts
We had a 2 day pass for HOHO in Paris. We caught it at the Eiefel Tower. The first day we rode it around and listened to the tour info. We kept on it after a lap and then got off at a stop to explore more. Day 2 we used it like a HOHO exploring the rest of the stops.For us it worked really well. The rest of the days we walked the city.
It's the only time we have taken a bus like this.
Posted by
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
31 posts
I love a HOHO bus but use it for what it is: a great way to get an overview of a city. It isn't transportation.
We get on first thing in the morning, take drinks and snacks with us, get a good seat, and ride the entire route. It's also a fun way to get a birds eye view of Paris. Yes, you may sit in some traffic but it is Paris and there is always something magical to see.
Make sure you get the headphones.
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
9578 posts
The quality of HOHO buses and their value vary greatly by city, and I think Paris is one of those cities where they can be worthwhile, as the major sights are spread out, and something like the Arc de Triumph may be worth only a drive by and a few pictures, rather than trekking to it to visit. You'll likely get a 24 hour ticket, I am not sure they are that great as transportation, but good for an overview of the city. Honestly, there probably is very little difference between the companies.