Paris Hop-On Hop-Off Map: Stops by Landmark

A Paris hop-on hop-off map shows three overlapping loops: the Big Bus Red Route with 10 stops, the Tootbus Blue Route with 10, and the Batobus with nine piers on the Seine. They share the big names, the Louvre, Notre-Dame, the Musée d'Orsay, the Eiffel Tower, and differ on the edges: only Tootbus stops by the Panthéon, only the Batobus reaches Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the Hôtel de Ville and the Jardin des Plantes. Here is each landmark, which line stops there and what to do once you get off.

Hop-on hop-off stops in Paris, landmark by landmark

Big Bus stop 9 at the Champ de Mars is listed as closed. Full stop addresses are on the Big Bus, Tootbus and Batobus pages.

Where to hop off in Paris and what is there

Louvre

The pyramid, the Tuileries Garden to the west, the Palais-Royal to the north. Allow two to three hours if you go in, 30 minutes for the courtyards and the garden.

Notre-Dame

The cathedral square, Sainte-Chapelle a few minutes away on the same island, and the Latin Quarter across the bridge. The best stop for a long lunch.

Musée d'Orsay

Impressionists in a former station. Across the river, the Tuileries. Behind it, the quiet streets of the 7th running to Saint-Germain.

Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Élysées

Climb the Arc for the view down the twelve avenues, then walk the Champs-Élysées down to Concorde and pick up the bus again there.

Trocadéro

The terrace facing the Eiffel Tower across the Seine. Get off here for photos, then cross the Pont d'Iéna on foot to reach the tower.

Panthéon - Luxembourg

A Tootbus-only stop. The Panthéon dome, the Luxembourg Gardens with their chairs and boat pond, and the Sorbonne. Our favourite stop for a slow afternoon.

Opéra Garnier

Served by Big Bus stop 10 and the Tootbus stop 1. The opera house, the department stores on boulevard Haussmann and their rooftop terraces, and the airport shuttle stop next door on rue Scribe.

Concorde

Tootbus and the Batobus only. The obelisk, the Tuileries at one end and the Champs-Élysées at the other. A good place to change from bus to boat.

💡 Pro Tip

Trocadéro first, the tower second

On either bus, I get off at the Trocadéro stop rather than at the Eiffel Tower stop. The view of the tower is from across the river, and the walk over the bridge takes ten minutes. The tower stop drops you underneath it, where you see four legs and a queue.

Pro tip by: Alesia Vakula

Travel expert and itinerary planning specialist

Paris neighbourhoods the hop-on hop-off loops miss

Montmartre and the Sacré-Cœur are not on the Big Bus or Tootbus stop lists, and neither is the heart of the Marais. For Montmartre, take the metro to Anvers or Abbesses. For the Marais, the Batobus Hôtel de Ville pier gets you to its southern edge.

That is the honest trade of any loop: the big monuments in two hours, the villages of Paris on your own feet.

💡 Pro Tip

Use the bus for the far side, walk the near side

If your hotel is in the Marais or near the Bastille, use the bus for the west of the city, the Arc, the Trocadéro, the tower, where things are far apart. The centre and the east are a walking city.

Pro tip by: Alesia Vakula

Travel expert and itinerary planning specialist

Want the loop timings?

Hours and frequency per company on the comparison page.

Want a day plan?

Stop-by-stop plans for 1, 2 and 3 days on our itineraries page.

Ready to book?

Every ticket, price and refund rule is on the tickets page.

Walking times between the main hop-on hop-off stops

Sometimes walking to the next stop is faster than waiting for the bus. These are realistic times at a sightseeing pace.

Rule of thumb: if the next stop is under 15 minutes away and the bus is more than ten minutes off, walk.

Metro stations next to the main stops

Handy when the pass runs out, the last bus has gone, or you simply want to get back to the hotel fast.

Right Bank or Left Bank: where each stop sits

Knowing which bank a stop is on tells you how far the walk to the next one will be, and where to eat in between.

The easiest crossings for a day on both banks are Concorde, the Pont Alexandre III, the Louvre and Notre-Dame. A classic shape: the Louvre and the Opéra in the morning, lunch across the river in Saint-Germain or the Latin Quarter, Orsay and the tower in the afternoon.

Using the stop map on the day

Save the route maps of your bus and the Batobus on your phone before you leave. Mark your hotel, the two or three stops you plan to use, and the nearest metro to each. With those four points on one screen, a missed bus or a closed stop never strands you.

💡 Pro Tip

Note the stop number, not just the name

Big Bus numbers its stops, and Tootbus names its stops after the nearest landmark. I write down the number or exact name of the stop I got off at. Coming back two hours later, it saves walking round the Louvre looking for the right corner.

Pro tip by: Alesia Vakula

Travel expert and itinerary planning specialist

Stops for the Eiffel Tower, compared

All three lines stop at the tower, but not in the same place. Which one to use depends on the plan: going up, or only looking.

For the view rather than the visit, the Trocadéro stops are the better choice: the tower faces you across the river and the walk over the Pont d'Iéna brings you to its foot in about ten minutes.

Stops for the Louvre, compared

Five stops serve the Louvre, spread around a palace that is very large on foot. Picking the right one saves a long walk round the outside.

For the museum entrance at the pyramid, the Tootbus stop is the closest. For the river and the Pont des Arts, use Big Bus stop 2 or the Batobus. Note the number or exact name of the stop you got off at: two hours later it saves a hunt for the right corner.

Prices are "from" prices in euros and vary by date and option; the price at checkout is the one that applies. Independent guide, not affiliated with Big Bus, Tootbus, Batobus or Bustronome.