OpenTour is a firm which operates tour buses in Paris with different routes around the capital city but also run bus tours in other locations such as Marseille and Nice, within the Provence-Alpes Cote d'Azur region.
If you only have a small amount of time if you go for a holiday in Paris then one of the easiest and most convenient tours you can take is the OpenTour, allowing you to visit many places, which you may not see or discover otherwise.
The tour buses are large double decker buses with open tops to allow you to take advantage of the great views. The buses are also very easy to spot due to their bright yellow and green colour scheme which operate daily throughout the whole year around Paris.
The idea behind these bus tours in Paris is that you can buy a pass, jump into a bus and jump off as you wish, to see monuments, tourist attractions, museums and more that it stops at, and then when you wish jump back on another bus allowing you to visit many different places at your own pace and in fact the bus has over 50 different stops.
When using the L'OpenTour buses it does not only provide a great way to find and experience some of the incredible tourist attractions in Paris, it can also help you learn more with the commentary provided on the free set of headphones which are supplied with each ticket for the bus. The commentary obviously being available in French but also English, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, Japanese and Chinese.
One more additional benefit to the l'OpenTour buses is that the four different routes throughout Paris are all interconnected meaning you can jump off and join another route without any hassle or having to finish an individual tour at a time allowing you to see more around the city of Paris and go where you wish.
Although if you wish to also travel along the River Seine you're in luck, as the L'OpenTour is linked with the Batobus water bus which has eight stops allowing you to see monuments of Paris from a completely different angle as well as being able to buy a ticket which combines both of them to experience both ways.
There are many different passes, or tickets if you prefer to call them, which you can obtain while you are on holiday in Paris, although it is to be noted if you buy a ticket which lasts for more than one day that is has to be used over two or more consecutive days.
A one day pass can be brought which covers all four routes and is at a set price for an adult, and cheaper for children from the age of 4 to 11, and for under fours it is free.
As said above you can also get a pass which covers both the L'OpenTour and the Batobus water bus as well but for that you would need the Paris A la Carte Pass, which is a two day pass, or if you prefer a three day pass for a little extra.
Also as mentioned above there are different tour routes you can take, and even if the tour buses are easily spottable, each bus then has a different colour code on the windshield to identify which route it belongs to.
To begin with you have The Paris Grand Tour which starts at 13 Rue Auber, and has the colour code of green, which takes you around some of the most famous tourist attractions in Paris.
Firstly you can find the Musee du Parfum, the renowned Printemps to go shopping which is followed by the Palas Garnier Opera House, Place Vendome and eventually the Palais Royal and its gardens.
Afterwards the next stop starts at the Musee du Louvre which is famous for holding the Mona Lisa art work, where you can then also visit the Jardin des Tuileries Gardens, the I M Pei Pyramid of the Louvre, the Jeu de Paume and the triumphal arch also known as the Arc de Triomphe de Carrousel.
From there you can head to Pont Neuf which is the oldest bridge in Paris over the River Seine where you can get to see the Conciergerie and the Saint Chapelle which are found on the Ile de la Cite island, then to the amazing architecture of the Notre Dame Cathedral and if you wish to go further you can head to the Ile Saint-Louis.
Following from there the tour heads to the Musee d'Orsay where you can also find the Place de la Concorde and also the oldest
monuments of Paris; the Luxor Obelisk and the Musee Orangerie.
The bus then takes you down the Champs Elysees Avenue where there are three different stops which begins with the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, followed by the Avenue Montaigne and the Metro station called George V which is close to The Lido - a famous cabaret in Paris that features the Bluebell Girls, the next stop being on to the Arc de Triomphe and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
From there you can venture to the Jardins du Trocadero where you can experience the Palais de Chaillot and its museums in Paris, and the incredible view towards the Eiffel Tower.
On the note of the Eiffel Tower, easily one of the most well known and famous landmarks of Paris, the next stop is just that, where not only can you see the great monument you can also see the River Seine, the Champ de Mars, Musee du Quai Branly and tour boats.
Following on you can go towards Les Invalides which is where the Tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte I is and several museums including but not limiting to Musee Rodin within the Hotel Biron, the Musee de l'Armee and more.
Afterwards the tour takes you to the Rue Saint-Honore and then finally to Place de la Madeleine with the Eglise de la Madeleine church, finishing the tour circuit after a very extensive and unmissable trip, but yet this is only one of the routes the tour buses can take you on.
Another route, Saint-Germain Tour around the Montparnasse area, with the colour code orange starts at 4 Rue du Petit-Pont in the Latin Quarter. The first stop being at the Luxembourg Gardens and the Musee du Luxembourg, with the Pantheon not far away.
Further on you can find the Observatoire and the Musee Zadkine, yet not too far away you can also experience the amazing Catacombes. But then you can continue to the Tour Montparnasse that is the only skyscraper with incredible views and features the highest restaurant in Paris, plus the tour stop is additionally close to Musee Bourdelle.
At this point you can always swap routes to one of the other three as you arrive at Les Invalides which also houses Musee de Plans Reliefs, or you can go on and continue the Saint-Germain area with the Musee Maillol then onto towards a different area of the Latin Quarter with the Thermes de Cluny, the Musee National du Moyen-Age and Arenes de Lutece, the Roman Arena.
Another route is the Montmartre - Grands Boulevards Tour which heads around the Montmartre area of Paris and is another great tour which is identified by yellow on the windshield of the l'OpenTour buses and starts at 13 Rue Auber an then towards the first stop where you can find the Moulin Rouge with the famous red windmill.
The next stop takes you to the Funicular that takes you up to the Place du Tertre famous for its artists, the Sacre Coeur Basilica and the Espace Dali museum is nearby, but to continue on with the journey you next see the Gare du Nord train station which is where the Eurostar arrives, with the Musee du Cristal also near.
Following on it takes you to the Republique and then the Grands Boulevards where Musee Grevin waxwork museum is found, then tour continues on to the Opera Garnier, followed by Place Vendome and finally to Madeleine and its church.
The Bastille - Bercy tour route goes by the colour of Blue and starts at the Notre Dame Cathedral, followed by stopping at the Petit-Pont in the Latin Quarter near Eglise Saint-Severin, which is where you can also change to the Montparnasse Saint-Germain tour route, or orange route.
If you follow on the original route you will stop next at Musee de la Prefecture de Police, next; the Institute du Monde Arab and the Pavillon de l'Arsenal. Afterwards it goes onto the Place de la Bastille and the new opera house the Opera Bastille.
Continue on and you will see the Gare de Lyon train station and the Viaduc des Arts, later on you will see the Gare d'Austerlitz and Jardin des Plantes, which is where Musee National d'Histoire Naturelle can be found as well, not forgetting that Arenes de Lutece and the Therms de Cluny are also near.
After a bit you will also see the museum Maison Victor Hugo dedicated to the writer who wrote the Hunchback of Notre Dame, as well as the Colonne de Juillet or July Column as it is also known, followed by the Marais area, Place des Vosges, the Rue de Rivoli and the Musee Carnavalet.
This tour route also has a close stop to Musee Picasso and the Hotel de Sully, and finally it finishes at Hotel de Ville close by to the Pompidou Centre.
But not only can you swap between those magnificent routes there are also the opportunity to be able to catch a special offer which OpenTour sometimes provides, such as getting a pass to visit Disneyland Paris as well as the bus routes, allowing you to make the best of both for an affordable cost.
Additionally, Paris is also known as the 'City of lights', and for a good reason! As during the festive season the whole city is covered in amazing lights; which for the very occasion from nearly the start of December to January this bus tour in Paris gives you a Christmas Lights Tour when night falls to allow you to see the many different and unique side of Paris while it is lit up. But due to its popularity, and the limited seats reservations are normally made in advance.
So as it can be seen there are very many different routes to help you spend the best of your time while on holiday in Paris to see the many museums, places and tourist attractions in Paris and more, with commentary in many languages to help enjoy your time, especially if you only have a short time to spend in the city.
