Paris (& London) by bus, avoiding the Metro (& Tube)

TfL.gov.uk

For London Maps there is no overall London map on line but see this page-
https://tfl.gov.uk/maps/bus?intcmp=40401

(NOTE however that the Central London map goes out of date this weekend due to various service changes- notably to the 11 and 25 routes).

I mention the 11 and the 25 as those were two of the best sightseeing routes. You can still do the whole route but by switching buses at Victoria.

You can plan any journey on the TfL journey planner-
https://tfl.gov.uk/plan-a-journey/

(after you have put in start and end points, on the next screen, you can choose bus only or any other combination of modes.

All bus fares are £1.75, if you switch bus or buses within an hour of starting (an unlimited number of times) further journeys are free. You'd be amazed how fare you can get under that 'hopper' fare. There are lots of bus journeys which are almost as fast as their tube equivalents.

When in Paris and London I often prefer bus travel to the metro or tube. In Paris I use the RATP app, Citymapper app and google maps. In London you could use the TFL Go app, as well as Citymapper and google. They all have features where you can be very specific and choose buses only.

CityMapper will provide options that are bus only or bus and walking. For both cities.

Or tram, come to think of it.

Thank you all so much!!! This is very helpful!

Are there cheaper rates when using an Oyster card rather than tapping a debit or credit card?

And when using a debit or credit card, does the daily cap still apply? Do you know the amount of the daily cap?

RATP for Paris- https://www.ratp.fr/plan-de-ligne/img/bus/Plan-des-Bus.1680165616.png

London is the same fares Oyster or Contactless- £5.25 daily cap [3 £1.75 fares], or £24.70 weekly cap (weekly is defined as being Monday to Sunday).

I greatly prefer the bus in Paris. The RATP app is fantastic. You can even experiment with it before you leave the US. It clearly shows where the bus stops are and how many steps to them. Also transfers are clearly marked and they are much easier on the bus than on the Metro, where you might walk a long distance between different lines. Also, if you have mobility issues, the bus is only one or two steps up/down. And of course, you see beautiful Paris. The app even tells you how crowded it’ll be.

It’s nice that the City Mapper app gives a comparison of the current travel time and cost for all the various routes.

I had a laugh, seeing that they list the cost for walking in calories! Maybe that will motivate us to walk more. ;-))

In London TfL also do a whole series of walking maps, which may seem odd for a transport company.-
https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/walking/
I very rarely use Tube now in London Zone 1- almost always the bus- as I see far more.

Another vote for Citymapper. I even use it in my home city.

If you use Google maps, when you search directions and click on public transportation, there's an option to select which modes of transport you want. So you can unselect trains, etc and only pick buses.

The London buses move far faster now than they used to do. There are many journeys which are almost as fast as the tube. A lot of work has been done on bus priority measures. Even down Oxford Street, which used to be a notorious bottleneck, they keep moving at a decent pace now. They are a very realistic alternative to the tube.

The bus is generally good in London. We use it because it’s more accessible for people with mobility issues than the Tube. However, it can be really slow at certain points, and if there are roadworks, demonstrations, or anything else going on that closes roads, you can find yourself a bit stuck.

Citymapper works well but it’s not responsive to events that throw off the bus route temporarily. If you can walk to the next stop that’s in operation or to a different route then you will not have any problems.

I wouldn't trust google maps for transportation. It doesn't show cancellations (just removes then entirely, which is little use- I saw that live earlier this evening) and the number of bus and coach stations it shows in my home town is remarkable. There are actually none, and no coach service to anywhere, but there are at least 4 according to google maps.
It is a 6 minute drive from home to my local hospital, but Google can't even get that right. It takes you on a route that no-one would ever take, and which I don't even think you can legally drive. I wouldn't even walk that way because it is so much out of the way