Tootbus Paris: Blue Route, Timetable and Tickets

Tootbus Paris runs the Blue Route, a hop-on hop-off loop of 10 stops from the Opéra and the Louvre to Notre-Dame, the Panthéon, the Musée d'Orsay, the Champs-Élysées and the Eiffel Tower. Its fleet runs on electricity or gas, which makes the buses quiet on the upper deck. Passes last 24, 48 or 72 hours from the first scan, the commentary comes in 10 languages, and the pass starts from €28.

Tootbus Paris Blue Route stops

Between the stops the loop passes Sainte-Chapelle, Les Invalides and the Grand Palais. The Panthéon - Luxembourg stop is the one Big Bus does not have, and it puts you a short walk from the Luxembourg Gardens.

Tootbus Paris timetable by season

Published by Tootbus for its Blue Route. The last full loop leaves from stop 1, Opéra - Grands Magasins.

Tootbus calls these times approximate, and its app shows the buses live, which is the better guide on the day.

💡 Pro Tip

Use the app, not the timetable

The Tootbus app tracks every bus on the map. Before walking to a stop, I check where the next one is. Waiting ten minutes in a café beats waiting ten minutes on the pavement at Concorde.

Pro tip by: Alesia Vakula

Travel expert and itinerary planning specialist

What the Tootbus Paris pass includes

• Unlimited rides on the Blue Route for 24, 48 or 72 hours after the first validation
• Audio guide in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese and Arabic
• A children's commentary in English and French
• Free earphones on the bus, and free WiFi
• Five self-guided walking tours in the Tootbus app

No exchange desk and no paper: the driver scans your phone at whichever stop you board.

Tootbus + night tour

Your day pass plus a two-hour Paris by Night loop from the Louvre stop. Times on the night bus tour page.

Tootbus + Versailles

The bus pass plus entry to the Palace of Versailles, sold as one booking. More combos on combo tickets.

Is the Tootbus 72-hour pass worth it

Only Tootbus sells a three-day pass in Paris, and it suits a particular trip: three or four days, a hotel away from the centre, and a plan that mixes museums with walking. You treat the bus as a scenic shuttle between the Louvre, Orsay and the Eiffel Tower and never touch the metro on those days.

For two days or less, the 24 or 48-hour pass is the better buy.

💡 Pro Tip

Start the Blue Route at the Louvre, not the Opéra

Stop 1 at the Opéra is where tour groups load. The Louvre stop on place du Carrousel is the second stop on the loop and usually far calmer at 09:30. You lose nothing, the bus comes back round to the Opéra at the end.

Pro tip by: Alesia Vakula

Travel expert and itinerary planning specialist

Tootbus Paris in winter and in summer

The timetable above changes how you use the pass. From November to March the last full loop leaves the Opéra at 17:00 and buses come about every 15 minutes, so a pass bought for a winter afternoon gives you less than you think. Start before 13:00, ride the whole loop once, and keep the afternoon for a museum near a stop.

From late June to late September it is the opposite. The last full loop leaves at 19:00, buses come every 7 to 10 minutes, and the evening run along the Seine gets the low sun on the stone. That is the loop we would save for the top deck.

Spring and autumn sit in between, with a last loop at 18:30. Whatever the season, Tootbus warns that big city events change the traffic, and its app shows live diversions.

Tootbus Blue Route stop by stop: what is next to each

The Panthéon - Luxembourg stop is what sets the Blue Route apart: it opens up the Left Bank, its gardens and its student streets, which no other loop reaches.

Tootbus family ticket and age bands

Tootbus splits its prices into three bands: adults from 13, children from 4 to 12, and an infant band for 0 to 3. It also sells a family ticket for two adults and two children, which is worth comparing with four separate tickets on your date.

• Children get their own commentary channel in English or French on the bus devices and in the app.
• The app shows every bus live on a map, which takes the guesswork out of waiting with tired children.
• Five self-guided walking tours come free in the app, a good way to fill the time between two rides.

For the Wednesday Kids Tour with a live guide, see our family page.

How the Blue Route feels on board

The fleet runs on electricity or gas, and you notice it on the upper deck: no diesel rumble, no fumes at the lights, and the commentary is easy to follow without turning the volume up. On a warm day the ride along the quays to the Pont Alexandre III is the calmest stretch of any Paris bus loop.

The loop starts at the Opéra, runs down to the Louvre and over to the Left Bank by Notre-Dame and the Panthéon, then back along the river past Orsay to Concorde, up the Champs-Élysées and round to the Trocadéro and the tower. Ride it once from the Louvre stop and you have seen both banks in two hours.

💡 Pro Tip

Plug in your own headphones on the top deck

The free earphones work, but the wind on the open deck drowns them out at speed. A wired pair from home makes the difference between hearing the story of each bridge and catching one word in three.

Pro tip by: Alesia Vakula

Travel expert and itinerary planning specialist

Getting the most from a Tootbus pass

1. Download the app before you go. Live bus positions, the kids channel and the five walking tours are all in it.
2. Scan at the Louvre stop. Calmer than stop 1 at the Opéra, and you still ride the full loop.
3. Use the Panthéon stop. It is the one place no other loop reaches, and the Luxembourg Gardens are right there.
4. Mind the season. The last full loop leaves at 17:00 in winter and 19:00 in summer.

Tootbus with a cruise, Versailles or Disneyland

The Blue Route pass is sold alone or with an add-on in one booking. The add-ons are not equal: one fits into the bus day, the other two need a day of their own.

The 72-hour pass is the comfortable partner for both: two city days on the bus and one day away. All the bundles are side by side on our combo tickets page.

Tootbus commentary languages

Ten languages play on the Blue Route, chosen once at the start of the ride, plus a separate kids channel. For some travellers this is the deciding detail.

Russian, Japanese and Arabic speakers will not find their language on Big Bus, which makes Tootbus the natural pick for them; Korean speakers are the opposite case. Bring your own wired earphones: the free ones work, but the wind on the top deck drowns them out once the bus picks up speed.

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.