Paris Night Bus Tours and the Christmas Lights Tour
A Paris night bus tour is a single evening loop, about two hours, past the lit-up Eiffel Tower, the Champs-Élysées, the Louvre and the bridges of the Seine. You do not hop off: the bus leaves at a fixed time and brings you back. Tootbus runs Paris by Night from its Louvre stop and, in the Christmas season, a Christmas Lights tour. Big Bus runs a two-hour night tour leaving at 20:30. The Christmas tour starts at €33.15.
Paris night bus tour times by season
| Tour | Departure point | When it runs | |
| Tootbus Paris by Night about 2 hours | Louvre stop, place du Carrousel | 18:00 in winter, 21:00 from spring to autumn | Book |
| Tootbus Christmas Lights 1h30 | 23 boulevard des Capucines | Daily from late November to early January except New Year's Eve, 18:00, and in December also 20:15 | Book |
| Big Bus Night Tour 2 hours | see your voucher | 20:30 | Book |
Tootbus pauses its regular Paris by Night tour over the holiday season and runs the Christmas Lights tour in that slot instead. Times are the ones Tootbus and Big Bus publish; they can shift slightly from one year to the next.
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The Paris Christmas Lights bus tour
From late November to early January the Tootbus Christmas Lights tour leaves every evening at 18:00 from boulevard des Capucines, by the Opéra and the department stores, with a second departure at 20:15 in December. The only night off is New Year's Eve. The loop takes about 90 minutes and the audio guide runs in nine languages.
The tour makes a point of the Champs-Élysées, which it says carries 150,000 lights, and of boulevard Haussmann, where the shop windows of the big department stores are part of the show.
- Arrive 20 minutes before departure. Tootbus does not wait for latecomers.
- At the meeting point the driver scans the ticket straight from your phone.
- Free cancellation until 24 hours before.
What to wear on an open-top Paris night tour
The upper deck at 21:00 in October is cold, and colder still at speed along the river. Dress for standing still in the wind, not for the walk to the bus.
- Outside summer: a warm layer, a hat and gloves.
- Summer: a light jacket; the evening breeze on the river is cooler than the street.
- Rain: the lower deck is covered if you give up halfway, which is no shame.
- Phone: fully charged, plus a small power bank; the Eiffel Tower sparkle on the hour is the shot everyone wants.
- Photos: flash off, night mode on, phone held against the rail at red lights.
Sit at the front of the upper deck if you can: fewer heads in the frame, and the rail steadies the phone. Then put it away for a stretch. The best view of the night is often the quays, and you only see them once.
Night bus + Seine cruise
Big Bus night tour with a Bateaux Parisiens cruise from €46.80, or Tootbus Paris by Night with Bateaux-Mouches from €45.
Day pass + night tour
Tootbus sells its day pass with the night tour as one option. Good if you want the city both ways on the same trip.
Best time of year for a Paris night bus tour
Darkness is the whole point, and in Paris it arrives late in summer. Around the June solstice the sun sets close to 22:00, so a 21:00 departure starts in daylight and only the second half of the loop is properly lit. From October onwards the same bus runs in full darkness from the first stop.
That makes autumn and early spring the sweet spot: dark by the time the bus leaves, not yet the cold of December. In winter Tootbus moves its Paris by Night departure to 18:00, which suits families and anyone who wants dinner afterwards.
In November and December, the Christmas Lights tour replaces the regular night loop and adds the decorations of the Champs-Élysées and boulevard Haussmann.
What you see on a Paris night bus tour
- The Eiffel Tower sparkle. After dark the tower flashes with thousands of lights for five minutes at the start of every hour. Most night loops pass it at least once.
- The Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe. The avenue lit from end to end, the Arc floodlit at the top.
- Place de la Concorde. The obelisk, the fountains and the lamps, one of the best-lit squares in the city.
- The Louvre pyramid. Glowing from inside, with the old palace lit around it.
- The Opéra Garnier. Gilded statues on the roof picked out against the night sky.
- The bridges. The Pont Alexandre III with its lamps and gold, reflected in the river.
The route varies a little between operators, but the big lit landmarks are on all of them.
Night bus, night cruise or both
| Night bus tour | Evening Seine cruise | |
| Length | About 1h30 to 2 h | About 1 h |
| View | Streets, squares and the Champs-Élysées | Bridges, quays and the tower from the water |
| Weather | Cold on the open deck | Covered seats inside |
| Best for | Seeing the whole city lit up | A calm hour on the river |
If you can only do one, take the bus for the range and the boat for the atmosphere. The combos at the top of this page put both in one booking.
Getting back to your hotel after a night tour
Night tours end back where they started, usually by the Louvre or the Opéra, both well served by the metro. Trains run until after midnight on weekdays and later on Friday and Saturday nights, so a tour that ends around 23:00 leaves plenty of time.
Taxis wait at the ranks near the Opéra and along rue de Rivoli. If you are staying far out, check your last train before you board; a ride back costs more than the tour.
Night tour with children
A night tour can be the highlight of a family trip or a cold, tired ordeal. The departure time decides which.
| Option | Departure | Works for |
| Tootbus Paris by Night, winter | 18:00 | Young children: already dark, back for dinner |
| Tootbus Paris by Night, spring to autumn | 21:00 | Older children and teenagers |
| Big Bus night tour | 20:30 | Older children |
| Christmas Lights tour | Early evening in the festive season | The most family-friendly of all |
The Christmas Lights tour runs past the shop windows of boulevard Haussmann and the lights of the Champs-Élysées. Book the early departure, wrap everyone up for the open deck, and bring a snack for the ride: two hours without stops is long for small children.
Photos on a night bus tour
- Upper deck, front row if it is free: the view of the lit bridges is wider there.
- Turn off the flash. It lights the back of the seat in front and nothing else.
- Use night mode and hold still when the bus stops at lights. The Concorde and the Arc are the best stops for it.
- Film the Eiffel Tower sparkle rather than photographing it. Five minutes of flashing lights look better moving.
Then put the phone away for a stretch. The best view of the evening is often the one along the quays that you only see once.
Big Bus night tour or Tootbus Paris by Night
Both are two-hour panoramic loops with no stops, past the lit-up Eiffel Tower, the Champs-Élysées and the bridges. The differences are in the timing and the starting point.
| Tootbus Paris by Night | Big Bus night tour | |
| Length | About two hours | About two hours |
| Departure | 18:00 in winter, 21:00 spring to autumn | 20:30 |
| Starting point | Louvre stop, place du Carrousel | Shown on your voucher |
| Festive season | Replaced by the Christmas Lights tour | Check the product page |
| Sold | Alone or with the day pass | As an option of the bus ticket |
Choose by the time that fits your dinner, then check the departure point on the voucher before you set off. In June the sun sets around 22:00, so autumn and early spring give the darkest, most impressive loops.
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.