Are these tours worth the going rate of 25 Euros? Rick Steves has suggested taking a regular city bus to see the sights in his guidebook which of course would be substantially cheaper. Is there an advantage to taking the Tour Busses as opposed to just hopping on a city bus? Do the Tour Busses stop at the sights for a few moments?
Thanks for your input!
Posted by
Sunnyvale, CA, USA
290 posts
Hi Donna, I spent the first week of January in Paris & took one of the hop on / hop off bus tours.
The buses stopped near all the attractions. We used it one day to get a good orientation of the city and the commentary was very informative. We would hop off, see a sight like Napoleon's Tomb and then hop on the next bus. We were able to cover all the tour routes and covered more ground in a faster time frame during the day then using the city transport as these buses only stop near sights. I got some great pictures of sights from the top of the double decker bus. Night time you are better off taking the Metro due to severe traffic jams that would slow you down. Don't forget to get your Carte Orange at Republic or Norde Garre station (pardon my spelling) if you are staying in Paris for more than 3 days. It will get you on all the metro and buses. You will can either take a picture at one of the booths or a bring passport size picture from home to attach to the it. Have fun!
Posted by
Exeter
3 posts
I ALWAYS include the CityRama Illumination tour for when I take friends to Paris. It is pricey but I wouldn't exchange it for anything! You receive headphones in your language to describe/give history of sites. They go as close as possible to site and even stop traffic for a moment to give riders a chance to take photos. We always get off the bus at Place de l'Opera because, at that time of night, we figure there are more people around and taxis are more plentiful. I would think their office location would be more deserted at that time of night??? During the week, we nearly see everything covered on the tour but, it's part of the "experience" to see it by night! You've paid enough to come that far, might as well see it all! Would you miss the Eiffel Tower or the Mona Lisa?!!!! CityRama tickets can be purchased in advance to be sure you have a seat. The office is located on the Rue Rivoli(actually set back just a little) even with the back corner of the Tuilleries.
Posted by
USR, NJ
277 posts
I am confused. I thought this blog was "To the North" Paris here?