Paris Panoramic Double-Decker Bus Tour with Audio Guide

The Eiffel Tower and the Trocadéro, where the loop begins

The bus leaves from Place de Sydney, a small square beside the Eiffel Tower on the Left Bank, and the first minutes are spent circling the tower itself. Built for the 1889 world's fair and 330 metres high, it was the tallest structure in the world for four decades and is still the symbol of Paris; the upper deck gives you the whole lattice through the windows, from the four iron feet to the antenna. The route crosses the river to the Trocadéro, the hill with the Palais de Chaillot of 1937, whose terrace offers the classic head-on view of the tower before the bus turns west.

On the evening and late-night departures this is the highlight of the loop: the tower is lit in gold after dark and sparkles for five minutes at the top of each hour, and the loop is timed so that you see it from the bus. If the tower area is ever unavailable, the bus goes to the Montparnasse Tower instead.

The Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Élysées

From the Trocadéro the bus climbs to Place Charles-de-Gaulle, the star of twelve avenues around the Arc de Triomphe. The arch, begun in 1806 to honour the armies of the Empire and finished in 1836, is 50 metres high and carved with battle scenes and the names of generals; beneath it burns the flame on the tomb of the unknown soldier of the First World War, rekindled every evening. The bus circles the arch, which is the best way to see all four facades without crossing the busiest roundabout in Paris, then turns down the Champs-Élysées.

The avenue runs almost two kilometres from the arch to Place de la Concorde, lined with cinemas, flagship shops and cafés in the upper part and with the gardens of the Grand Palais and Petit Palais in the lower part. The audio guide tells the story of the avenue as you ride it from the upper deck, with the obelisk of the Concorde straight ahead.

Place de la Concorde and the Opéra

Place de la Concorde is the largest square in Paris, laid out in the 18th century between the Champs-Élysées and the Tuileries Garden. In its centre stands the Luxor obelisk, a 3,300-year-old granite monument from the temple of Luxor in Egypt, raised here in 1836 and flanked by two fountains. During the Revolution the square held the guillotine, and the audio guide explains both chapters as the bus crosses it. To the north the twin colonnaded palaces frame the Rue Royale, with the Madeleine church at its end.

The bus then follows the grand boulevards to the Opéra, the opera house opened in 1875 that remains the most ornate building of the Second Empire, with its green copper dome, gilded statues and the famous grand staircase inside. This is the heart of the department-store district, and the stretch between the Concorde and the Opéra shows the Paris of wide avenues and uniform cream facades laid out in the 19th century.

The Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay along the Seine

From the Opéra the route drops to the river and runs along the Louvre, the former royal palace that became the world's most visited museum, whose facades stretch for almost a kilometre along the Rue de Rivoli and the quay. The upper deck is high enough to see over the courtyard walls to the glass Pyramid and the Tuileries Garden beside it. On the far bank stands the Musée d'Orsay, the railway station of 1900 that was turned into the museum of 19th-century art in 1986, recognisable by its two great clocks facing the river.

The quays between the two museums are the most photographed stretch of the Seine, with the Pont des Arts, the Pont Royal and the domes of the Institut de France in view. The audio guide covers the history of both museums and the bridges; if you plan to visit the Louvre or the Musée d'Orsay later, this is a good way to decide which to see first.

Notre-Dame and the Île de la Cité, then back to the tower

The eastern end of the loop reaches the Île de la Cité, the island where Paris was founded, and Notre-Dame Cathedral, begun in 1163, damaged by fire in 2019 and reopened in December 2024 with its spire rebuilt. From the quays the bus gives a clear view of the twin towers, the flying buttresses and the new roof, with the Conciergerie's towers and the Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in the city, further along the island. Depending on traffic the route may also pass the Invalides, with its gilded dome, on the way back along the Left Bank.

The tour returns to the Eiffel Tower area and ends at Rue Jean Rey, a few minutes from the starting point and close to the Bir-Hakeim metro station on line 6 and the Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel RER station. Allow about 90 minutes in total; in heavy evening traffic the loop can take a little longer.