Paris Weekend Break

Sightseeing tours Paris

There are a number of different ways to see Paris and one of the best, especially for a first time visitor, is to take some form of guided tour.

In Paris the “tour” options are open and varied. You can choose an open topped bus tour, a river boat cruise, or either of these options with the added flexibility of hopping on and off the transport at your own convenience. The Metro underground, rail and tram, can also supplement a “self made” tours modes of transport and area of coverage.

Formal Tours

There are a good selection of companies offering bus and boat tours of Paris and these range from the municipal transport services of the city of Paris to private tour operators, all with differing routes, themes, prices and tour durations.

Tours can be selected to include differing numbers of stops and to cover different zones or attractions of the city. A river boat tour can also include a lunch or dinner and taking a tour a night gives a completely different outlook on the city.

Don’t waste a minute

How you choose to fill your time in Paris is very important when you only have a weekend available, so think carefully about what you want to see and the best way to see it. Some kind of tour may offer a stress free way of seeing a lot with a minimum of hassle and forward planning.

If you think that a sightseeing tour might be a good option, formulate some ideas around the kinds of sights that you want to see and then hunt around (using the links in the blue boxes on this page).

There are plenty of company tours, bus and rail passes that you can research and buy before your break. Doing this, in advance of your trip, will help you to make the most of your time in Paris.

There is nothing worse than getting somewhere and then spending the first day deciding what and how to see everything.

Tours of specific sights

Many of Paris's main attractions, especially those of historic importance, offer some kind of guided tour facility in the venue itself, but you may be able to save time and get discounts by arranging these in advance.

Paris tourist pass

Like London, New York and many other tourist cities, you can make an advanced purchase of a special tourist pass that will give you automatic admission to most of the key buildings, galleries, museums and visitor attractions in Paris. To obtain further details about this, see our Paris Pass page.

What kinds of sightseeing tours are available in Paris

Use the links in the descriptions below to get a summary of each tour type.

Bus tours The easiest and most flexible way to get an “all in” guided tour of Paris is by using one of the municipal or specialist bus tour companies. A wide range of itineraries and schedules are available and all are economic.

Seine river boat cruises (Bateaux Mouches) A Seine boat cruise offers a novel way to see Paris and its riverbank buildings. The Bateaux Mouches are wide boats that can seat several hundred passengers at a time. Most tours include a live or recorded commentary and lunch or dinner is optional.

Walking tours Walking tours give you the best possible “close up” look of Paris with a knowledgeable guide and several operators provide a selection of tours with different themes and routes.

Helicopter tours For something more adventurous there are at least four different companies offering Helicopter flights over Paris with spectacular aerial views of the city and its landmarks. These trips normally stretch beyond the ciy boundaries and offer a once in a lifetime experience. Some companies also offer hot air balloon flights.

Paris Metro (tube) If you plan your itinerary in advance, then using the Metro (tube and bus) is a great way to put together your own sightseeing tour of Paris. This will enable you to see what you want in your own time.

Paris Tourist pass Obtaining a Paris Tourist pass (in advance of your trip) is a time saving way of gaining access to (and avoiding queues at) a vast number of tourist attractions. You will see adverts for these passes on various pages of this guide and we would recommend anyone visiting Paris to buy one. To find out more, click on any link mentioning them. For more details, click on Paris Pass.

To find out more about the city's municipal bus, tube, rail, tram and river boat services, go to our Paris Public Transport page.

Local sources of tour information

• A more local and last minute way to find out about available tours is to check the brochure rack of your hotel's lobby or reception. Most hotels holda selection of tour guide leaflets (although they may be affiliated with the companies they promote).
• All our pages provide Resource Boxes which usually have a "rolling" selection of themed ads for each of the Paris Weekend Break topics that we feature, so if you cannot see something on this page that fits the bill now, check back in a few minutes time, some of the ads will probably have changed.