Paris Night Tour

The HOHO may be a good way to get an overview of the main monuments etc but it is lousy and expensive transportation. The metro or buses work much better for that. You waste a lot of time waiting for HOHO buses.

A great night walk is to start at Concord and walk up the Champs Elysees to the Clemenceau metro stop which is at the Grand Palais. Turn left there and walk between the Grand and Petit Palais and across the Pont Alexandre. This is the fancy bridge from the end of Midnight in Paris. Time it so you are on the bridge at the top of the hour when the Eiffel Tower Twinkles. You have a great view of the Tower and then aheadof you to the gold dome of Invalides and back towards the illuminated glass roof of the Grand Palais. It is one of the prettiest walks in Paris. It is also a great spot for the Christmas card shot. Use a flash which will illuminate you but of course not the sparkling Eiffel Tower behind you which will look great in the pictures.

You can then retrace your steps to the Champs and walk up to the Arc du Triomphe or you could proceed across the bridge and walk down the left bank to Notre Dame which is also a stunning sight at night.

Carol I would not book via Viatour. They are NOT a tour company.. please read up on them. They are simply a middle man agency that books other companies tours for you .. and the problem seems to be if there is any issue you are stuck in the middle. The tour company will not deal with you .. and Viatour will just turn around and say tough.. deal with tour company.

Best to book whatever you choose direct.

There are two HOHO tour companies. Both do not require pre booking.. you can simply board the buses at any of their stops and pay then . Why pay more? They are L'Open Tour or Cars Rouge. I prefer L'Open Tour because they have more stops and routes. The problem however is going in April weather may suck.. I see no advantage to using a HOHO if you have to sit on lower enclosed level due to rain.. the best part of HOHOS is being able to ride up top and enjoy the views of the neighborhoods as you pass through them. Metro or buses are best options. Some folks swear by riding bus #69 for a good overview.. only 1.70 euros for a bus ride.. of course no hop on and off privlidges.. but hey .. at 1.7 you can hop on and off quite a few times and still come off ahead!

Bike tour.. google Fat Tire Bike Tours.. I really enjoyed them.. others like Blue Bikes.

Walking tours.. book direct.

Hi Jane Thanks for the advice. It was actually the Seine River HOHO not a bus that I was considering. Would your purposed walk be ok for my daughter and I to do on our own in the evening or is it best to go with an organized group
Thanks Carol

Thanks Pat I did check out Viator and thank you for the heads up I appreciate it. I think we will just go with local Metro. Could you recommend if point to point is best or if I should get a pass?
Thanks Carol

Go to a window in a metro station and buy a carnet of 10 tickets. they can be used on the metro or the bus.

BG is right. for your stay a carnet should be fine.. that is simply ten one way tickets good for metro or bus.. sold at a discount to buying singles. A single is 1.70.. a carnet of ten tickets is 13.70 . You can buy them at metro station windows.. or at the machines.. or easiest is to go into a Tabac and ask clerk.. most Tabacs sell them.

Please remember when using the metro to keep your ticket until you exit the station.. some tourists throw them away after entering the metro trian.. then as exiting the station can be stopped by metro inspectors...and they can be out of uniform, but will have id.. they will ask for your ticket.. and scan it to see that you had it validated.. if not its an on the spot fine.

We did a Gray Line Night Tour of Paris. They subcontract it out. You can go to Gray Line Tours.com and view their selection. Sometimes we booked our tours before we got to Paris; other times we have booked after we have arrived.