Paris by Night Open-Top Bus Tour

The Eiffel Tower and the Trocadéro at night

The tour starts near the Eiffel Tower, which is lit in a warm golden glow every evening and sparkles with thousands of flashing lights for five minutes on the hour after dark. From the top deck you see the iron lattice from below, then the bus climbs to the Trocadéro, where the terraces of the Palais de Chaillot frame the most famous view of the tower across the Seine.

For anyone searching for the Eiffel Tower at night, this is the easiest way to see it from several angles in one evening without queues. Have your camera ready as the bus approaches the Trocadéro, and keep an eye on the clock: if you pass the tower close to the hour, you may catch the sparkle from the open deck.

Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Élysées and Place de la Concorde

From the Trocadéro the bus continues to the Arc de Triomphe, the monumental arch commissioned in the early nineteenth century to honour the French armies, standing at the centre of a great star of twelve avenues, with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier beneath it. Floodlit at night, it looks especially grand from the open top deck as the bus circles the roundabout.

Then comes the descent of the Champs-Élysées, the most famous avenue in Paris, lined with lit-up boutiques, cinemas and cafés. At its lower end the Place de la Concorde opens out with its Egyptian obelisk, more than three thousand years old, and its two fountains, with views towards the Tuileries Garden and the Madeleine church.

Opéra Garnier, Pigalle and the Moulin Rouge

The route then turns north to the Opéra Garnier, the opulent nineteenth-century opera house with its gilded facade, green copper dome and statues, which looks spectacular when illuminated. Around it run the grand boulevards laid out in the Second Empire, with the famous department stores that are decorated with elaborate window displays at Christmas.

Further north the bus reaches Pigalle at the foot of Montmartre and passes the Moulin Rouge, the cabaret with the red windmill that has been a symbol of Parisian nightlife since 1889. You see it from the bus in all its neon glow, and the hill of Montmartre with the white dome of the Sacré-Cœur rises beyond.

The Louvre, the Seine quays and Notre-Dame

Heading back to the river, the bus passes the Louvre, where the glass pyramid glows in the middle of the palace courtyard at night. The route then follows the Seine quays, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with the bridges and the bookstalls lined up along the riverbanks and the reflections of the lights on the water.

Crossing to the Île de la Cité, you see Notre-Dame Cathedral, reopened in December 2024 after its restoration, with its Gothic towers floodlit against the night sky, and the Conciergerie and the Palais de Justice nearby. It is one of the most atmospheric moments of the Paris night bus tour, especially on clear autumn and winter evenings.

Musée d'Orsay and Les Invalides

On the Left Bank the bus passes the Musée d'Orsay, the former railway station that now holds the great collection of Impressionist art, with its two huge clocks lit from behind. The route continues along the Boulevard Saint-Germain and towards the vast esplanade of Les Invalides, whose gilded dome shines above the tomb of an emperor and the army museum.

The loop then returns to the Eiffel Tower, about two hours after departure. Is the night bus tour worth it? For first-time visitors it is a relaxed way to see the illuminated monuments of Paris in one evening, seated and with commentary, and it makes a perfect first-night orientation before you explore each place by day.