L’Open Tour

I agree with the others, definitely get the two day pass. If you’re an avid traveler whose schedule is filled, it doesn’t hurt to have an extra to take the bus. We did the two day and the first day was spent just exploring all the different areas of Paris on a few of their routes. Some of the drivers speak English better than others so a little luck could make your day. The second day of ours was a trip to Versailles but after we had 5 hours to do nothing because check out policy must be done by noon and if you have a 7pm train, you don’t have much. We had the dilemma as we didn’t stay in Paris for our Euro trip and only spent a night here but just keep that in mind.
Also, the company could do better with their routes. Paris is an extremely tough city to drive in (especially a bus). Like many cities in Europe, streets haven’t been expanded and there are so many dense areas that traffic often is at a standstill for more than 15 – 20 minutes. If you’re staying close to Gare du Nord, the yellow route is the only one that stops there at the station. From there, you can take the green route (the most popular) goes around Louvre, Eiffel Tower and is called the Grand route. But the only way you can get into the blue and orange routes is from yellow to green to either blue/​orange which you can get off at the Louvre stop to do. So if you live near Gare du Nord, you’re stuck to take those stops to get to those routes (don’t bother taking a cab cause you won’t get far and language is still a barrier).
And the buses don’t operate after 6:30 for the yellow route, and the other routes close within the same hour or so. We got stuck on the last yellow bus for the day, and had to use the metro to get back because green, blue, and orange were going to be closed. That’s the main issue. By the time you take yellow especially in the later hours of the service, traffic won’t allow you to get to the change stop to green on time, and that will subsequently delay your change to the other two. So do all your hop on hop off shenanigans in the earlier hours of the day and you should avoid these setbacks.
But, metro is the quickest way to get around so don’t bother using taxis and buses if you get into a similar situation.

L’open tour stopped service two hours early leaving us stranded even when they said they kept running until 8:30. They stopped at 6:30 drivers kept going by and shrugging. On another right moment they let us sit in the baking sun 100 degrees in Paris that day waiting to change drivers. No announcement to information. Also the audio near the Eiffel Tower had the two commentators on at the same time so you couldn’t hear. I saw Big Bus keep running late and I’d try them next time.

Visit Date: March 21, 2015
We weren’t going to take the hop on/​hop off bus but when we met my friend in Paris because she came in to visit during the middle of our stay she persuaded us to take the tour. She also treated us to the tour so we couldn’t argue with that.
To me the bus tour unless I’m sitting in the open air isn’t very good for photography but my husband loved it because by the end of our trip he was done with walking.
It is definitely a cheap way to get around Paris. We chose to take this tour on our last day there but if we decided to take it sooner we would have most likely gotten a three day pass. With this bus you can get off and on the bus as much as you like for as long as it runs for the day. This enables you to get transportation around the city and manage to see a few sites each day too. The bus driver gives you free headphones when you purchase tickets so that you can plug the headphones into a nearby jack and listen to Paris History while riding along the tour.
Besides Metro this is probably the second cheapest way to get around Paris besides walking.

The tour promotes that a bus comes every 30-​minutes (winter). However, we actually spent more time waiting for buses than visiting some of the sites. We estimated that we spent 70% waiting for or sitting on a bus and only 30% at actual sites (which is pretty impressive since most sites have a line up).
In one case we waited 1hr 30mins in the cold, and in that time: 6 of the Big Bus Tours buses drove by and the 30 other people who were waiting with us dwindled down to about 12… the rest caught cabs or found an alternative means of transportation. This slows down the day and limits the number of sites you are able to visit; so, if you’re expecting to be able to experience 4 routes and lots of sights, don’t get your hopes up (we could only do 2 – 3 sites in one day within their schedule).
There are frequent problems with the audio: static, plugins not working, stories cut off before you hear the ending, two commentators speaking over top of each other, and in the English version, the left and right are often wrong (e.g. look to the right and you’ll see two serpents… when in fact they are on the left). We did discover that the kids version of the narration was far more entertaining than the adult version and after a while, it’s nice to just listen to French music and not the lame commentary. We are still wondering about the horses along the Champs Elysées (which are not there) and the woman who jumped off the Eiffel Tower in a flying suit (the story cuts out just before the punch line).
The reason we gave the tour one star is because often drivers wouldn’t even stop at the predefined stops. And, you are left to figure out where to get off and yell to let you off. For example, we wanted to get off at the Musee d’Orsay stop, but the driver seemed determined to race between Notre Dame and Place de la Concorde. We saw the museum go by, yelled to stop (in French because we speak French), and he finally stopped just as we were turning onto the Place de la Concorde bridge. As such, we had to walk back, and after our museum visit, search for the proper stop because we did not know its actual location.
One benefit to the entire experience: we learned the word «stupid» in several different languages as we listened to people complain about the tour at the bus stops. Do yourself a favour and find a different Hop on Hop off tour.

The whole hop-​on-​hop-​off service is very popular nowadays. In the UK I used BigBus which I was very satisfied with unlike L’Open.
Depending on which «line» (basically 4 different routes that cover different areas) of 4 you use, the wait time in between busses varies. So for example the «orange line» states 30 minute wait. We waited for 1 hour and 15 minutes only to move on to a different stop for the «green line» to have to run after it to have them stop to let us in (easy, as the bus happened to hit a red light). But had it not been for that, my boyfriend would have purchased the vouchers for BigBus (competitor company of L’Open).
Next, the audio narrator (female voice) through out the tour apparently had another voice over (male voice)… Very confusing. As if that wasn’t enough; the headphones they give (generic so I did not expect anything great) caused static and constant sound interruption because of the lack quality of the recording in addition to the headphone make up. Also, don’t bring your headphones as they are not compatible. The plug fits in but no sound comes out. :(
Also, the staff did not seem approachable, nor happy.
This might be biased based on our experience with BigBus… maybe had it not been for that, I would have appreciated this company more. But considering both companies are priced about the same and cover the same points, I would recommend to go with a different company. But I also only stayed for three days so although L’Open covers 60 stops; a majority of them I had no interest or intention of getting out to see, just take a picture maybe.

For first timers in Paris. I’d definitely recommend using them. It gets you the lay of the land. It hits all the tourist attraction and the price is very reasonable.
Definitely get the 2 day pass.
Plan accordingly and make sure you know when the last bus leaves a designated route.
The buses are double decker buses with an open top (no roof on the upper deck).
You’ll be provided ear phones for the pre-​recorded tour guide description of each stop and the attraction located in that area. It has several languages to choose from.
It’s a hop on hop off bus. You can get off at any stop. Go to the attraction you want and catch the next bus to continue your sight seeing.
A really great way to see Paris.
2014 Review #333/​365

L’Open Tour seemed like an efficient way to view Paris but there were a couple of issues. The bus is extremely uncomfortable and even worse it doesn’t progress quickly enough around Paris as not only does it stop for a while to load/​unload at major tourist sites, the drivers often take smoke breaks. Additionally, at 32 euros per person not cheap. Almost would be more reasonable to hire a private driver to give a tour especially if you have multiple people in your group.

Like most tourists in Paris, I did the logical thing and did the L’Open Sightseeing bus tour. Ideally, it was my source of transportation to the major sights of Paris without having to do it manually via the Paris metro /​bus or do it expensively via the taxi. I researched them online before arriving in Paris. The prices were pretty pricy, but it gets manageable when you do multiple days. Prices start at 32 euros for a day pass, but its good at 42 euros when you buy a 3 day affair. The L’Open sightseeing bus tour offers 4 tour routes in and around the main tourist sights, the most famous would be the green line. I myself did the green line and the orange line for a 2 day pass. The other two lines didn’t interest me much. The overall experience was neat, since it was pretty amazing to be playing tourist and seeing new sights you’ve been dreaming about seeing for a long time, but not until recently.
It was truly great to have done this sightseeing tour and not just wandering around town looking for something to entertain myself with. The L’Open bus tour has several office locations in the heart of Paris. Since my hotel is near the Tour Eiffel, I started my tour there. Its great that you can buy the sightseeing tickets right on the bus, so you don’t need to find the ticket office and not waste any more vacation time. The L’Open bus tour weaved in and out of the streets of Paris, near the major sights we’ve come to see in Paris. I do love the green grand tour route, since that’s what most people think of Paris. You would see the Eiffel Tower, Champs Élysées, Arc di Triomphe, and the Invalides, among other iconic sights while visiting Paris, France. The nifty thing was that you can buy your tickets right there on board. They accept major credit cards, but on that day, it wouldn’t accept mine, so I paid cash for my ticket.
The driver was professional, as a cashier doing customer service and driving the bus too. With all that said, the L’Open bus tour is the best bet for your tourist dollar. It really beats sightseeing via the Paris metro for sure, since everything is pretty much hand delivered to you here — minus meals and other incidentals. For a minimal price, it’s like you have your own source of transportation while not having to pay for taxi. The price was a little bit expensive, but being a tourist in Paris, it’s the right thing to do. The L’Open bus tour sports 4 different routes, only identified by the color coding that’s provided on a map upon purchasing a ticket pass. The orange tour let me see the other sights of Paris, but the stops didn’t really interest me. I skipped the purple and the yellow line on this trip, but did manage to catch some of the sights on the purple line on my last day before leaving Paris.
For the most part, I sat on the top of the bus and it felt pretty good to be a tourist in Paris. The weather was cool enough to where you do get chilly, yet not cold per say. It was about 50 degrees when I was there. There were parts of the tour were traffic was very congested — especially on the champs Élysées and at the Arc di Triomphe. The ride was great, but sometimes bumpy. An entire tour takes roughly 1 ½ hours. Definitely well worth it if you don’t want to be driving or limited to the Paris metro. It’s pricey, but you do get a cross section of Paris when you don’t see it otherwise.
I enjoyed my time with L’Open sightseeing bus tour. It was a good experience.
Support local!
B

We only had one day to tour around Paris and so we decided to use l’open bus tours. We were very disappointed. It was difficult to match the recorded dialogue with what you were seeing and during the second half of the tour the driver was driving so fast that the recording would cut off in the middle of describing one site to jump to the next. In the middle of the tour you would be waiting for so long at stops that you wanted to rip out your ear buds so you wouldn’t have to listen to French muzak anymore. It was very crowded so that sometimes we had to stand and couldn’t use our earbuds at all. We still saw some beautiful sites but we were spoiled in London by an awesome live tour guide on big bus tours so that this tour paled in comparison.

One of the best and best bang for your buck hop on and off lines I ever used. This tour had 4 Lines, 1:30 hours each, and went essentially through all of Paris.
All of the stops were easy to get to and went to all the places we wanted to see, the maps were easy to use, and the audio guide was very useful and interesting.
We preplaned where we wanted to hop off and munch food and easily hoped back on every time to continue sight seeing. On some of the lines we were lazy and just rode out the whole thing and noted where we wanted to come back to.
You can buy the tickets right on the bus or in their office, cash or credit, which is a double win for me for convenience.
Wish this bus company existed in other countries

We went with this bus company because they have hop on and hop off at 50 different sights, there are ample buses in service and the wait is never too long. We got the 2 day pass and it turned out really well. In August 2014 the cost is 36 Euro per adult for a two day pass. The one day pass is something like 31 or 32 so it makes sense to do the 2 day because you are sure to use it.
The company offers 4 different color lines. We did 3 of them, orange and blue on day 1 and green on day 2. We went by all of the must-​see sights and it was so convenient to get off when you want.
The one comment I have is that at the end of day 2 we wanted to convert to a 3 day pass, but you can’t do it on the bus and have to go to the main office which is a pain. If you can buy bus passes on board why can’t you upgrade on board? Seems strange to me.
In any event, this is a great way to get around and see Paris. I would recommend for sure.

It was cool!
We visited in April 2012. It suited its purpose in giving us access to various places in the city. Buses were easy to catch and ran frequently. Only issue was the ticketing process… there has to be a better way to ticket folks. We lost one of our tickets and it was impossible to get a replacement which was not cool.

It is 30 euro a day, so a cheap way to get to all the sites. The problem is that some buses full quickly and you don’t get a seat or a spot upstairs. It is nice there are 5 lines around Paris to hop on and off. The tour guide sound sucks though.

Randomly chose this tour because we we simply didn’t plan and the hotel recommended it. The bus stops at each stop every 30 mins so you can get off and get back on with the one-​day pass. Unfortunately, we only were able to catch the bus once because it didnt wait long enough for us to beat the exact 30-​minute time. Other than that, I had no issues.

We got the 2-​for-​1 day deal, and it was very well worth it. We had a predetermined map before we found out about this bus, and it turns out that the bus stops were located almost exactly where we needed to go (or within 10 minutes walking distance). All the stops are so convenient, and very easy to find.
I just wish that the bus ran longer! It starts around 9AM and stops around 6PM. But it’s a very good way to see Paris. I definitely recommend it to everyone who is on a time crunch. You will see Paris in half the amount of time it takes to ride the metro! One caveat is that it may not be worth it if you don’t get the 2-​for-​1 day deal… it can be quite pricey.

While the tour can give you a rough overview of Paris and drives in the general vicinity of the major monuments and sites, the audio commentary is confusing and mostly out of sync with the sites you are driving past… many of which are hard to view from the bus as it doesn’t stop directly in front of the sites. The winter weather/​rain made it even more difficult to view the sites from the inside of the bus with its very limited view inside. The driver of one bus didnt even stop where we were supposed to connect with one of the other lines. And after waiting a half hour in the cold, when our bus arrived at 5:45, we were turned away by the driver even though the busses are supposed to run until 6pm. The bad Paris traffic doesnt help and even if you dont hop off you will be lucky to see everything in one day. Overall this just isnt worth the price and you will be better off with a tour book and a metro pass.

So I’ve been on the L’ Open Paris bus tour twice now, both times the 2 day package and it was much better the 1^st time around than the second. However it is the best way to see all of the city really quickly. With 4 different routes this tour shows you more of Paris than some of the others. So despite some questionable drivers this time around it is worth it.

La tournée a été le meilleur que j’ai jamais connu.
Je le recommande à tous ceux qui né connaissent pas la ville. Toutes les principales attractions sont décrits informative. J’ai reçu une large impression de Paris.
Merci pour une belle journée

Because we only had a few days in Paris, we decided to take the tour so we could be sure to cover all the tourist sites. I highly recommend starting early and NOT hopping on and off until you go around the second time so that you can see everything and THEN decide which areas you want to further explore by foot. We completed all 4 routes in about 4 — 4.5 hours.
This is perfect for people who want to see everything in a day or people who simply don’t have enough time (like us).

PASS on this tour. My husband and I usually love double decker bus tours because it helps us get a feel for the city, we get some interesting commentary from the pre-​recorded audio, and we can hop on and hop off if we see something interesting. The L’Open tour was a major let down in every area.
Here are my gripes:
*There are several different routes which is nice because you get to see all of Paris but inconvenient because you have to switch buses to do so. Plus, as you read below, this would take you FOR-​EV-​ER!
*The bus moves incrediblyyyy slow. You are at each stop for a prolonged period of time and it is just so boring because the commentary stops once you get there. This, to me, is a total waste of time.
*The commentary is not interesting at all. We took a Seine river cruise later that night and got more from their commentary in an hour than we did in over 3 hours on the bus.
*Half of the outlets for the headphones don’t even work so you have to hop around to find a seat with a working jack. If the bus is full then you’re out of luck.
*They are EXTREMELY overpriced, even for just the day-​long pass, especially when you take all of the above into consideration. I believe we paid 31 € each… ridiculous.
As I said we usually love these bus tours and we’ve always had great luck with the City Sightseeing company in other cities. The L’Open Tour was recommended to us by our B&B owner as the best bus tour in the city and I trust his opinion-​I think L’Open probably is the best option out of the other buses… but that doesn’t mean it’s a good option. If you want to see the city and get great information I recommend doing some research on a Seine river cruise (we went with Vedettes du Pont Neuf) or finding some other option instead.

Bustour durch Paris in 4 Runden. man kann die Busse tauschen, ein und aussteigen. Erklärung vom Band in versch. Sprachen. Stops manchmal recht lang, da immer wieder Zusteiger die beim Fahrer bezahlen müssen. Ansonsten ok, wenn man mal einen Überblick bekommen will und nicht mit der U-​Bahn fahren will

Wow, did I not enjoy my l’Opentour experience. In theory, it is a great idea: a bus that comes along at regular intervals, stops in all the touristy «hot spots», and provides educational commentary along the way. And I love a good Trolley Tour! (I’m looking at you, Boston).
There were so many things that I hated about this trip, though. The earphones they provided were horribly uncomfortable, and I had to get three different pairs before I got a pair that worked. The bus is truly open up top, which is great. But when it’s 30 degrees and raining, it would have been fabulous if there had been a door, or a curtain, or really any sort of barrier to keep the rain from sloshing down the stairs. There may have been heat on the bus, but it was impossible to tell. But then again, it was l’OPENtour… so I guess caveat emptor and all that.
The routes were fine, but it took an inordinately long time to go between stops (lots of long waits at each stop). And one particularly frustrating thing was that the maps they provided were really rudimentary, so if you wanted to walk around a bit at one stop and pick up the bus somewhere else along one of the routes, it was nearly impossible to find a bus stop based on the map. You just had to figure out where other city buses stopped, and hope to happen upon a bus stop that was also an Opentour stop. Then once you found a stop, it was hit or miss when (or whether) a bus would come along. I waited between 10 minutes and a hour for a bus to come along.
Given that Paris is ridiculously easy to get around on the Metro and that you can creat your own bus tour using public buses for a quarter of the price, I would definitely not do this again, even in the nicest weather.

Ok, c’est un truc de touristes.
Ok c’est un peu la honte de l’avouer, mais J’ADORE l’Open Tour.
Imaginez vous. Il fait beau, vous êtes à Paris, qui est, il faut le reconnaître une des plus belles villes au monde. Vous y vivez mais vous avez tendance à né plus la regarder.
VIVE L’OPEN TOUR.
C’est nos autobus à impériale à nous.
Pas si cher, original et une super excursion à faire.
Vous organisez votre itinéraire, c’est pas si cher.
LE PLUS: parfait pour une première date originale.