How long does it take the HoHo bus to get from the Eiffel Tower to the Louvre?

[budmeister]

I will have 5 hours in Paris, with a drop off and pick up at the Eiffel Tower. I am trying to get an idea of timing. Is there an especially nice stop in between for a snack/lunch and walk with atmoshere? Or is the area around the Tower good for that?:rolleyes:

[JD3]

We took the hop on/off last week (there are 2 companies).We used L'Open Tour by Grayline(the lime green and yellow buses). The total loop is said to take 2 hrs, but I would say it was actually more like 2-1/2. It should take about 1/2 hr to get to the Louvre.We found the times to be a little unreliable as sometimes at 1 stop, a driver sat for like 15-20 minutes. A nicer(and faster) way might be the hop on/off boat that they operate as well.

 

If you want to get a nice "flavour" of Paris, look at a map and find your way to Rue Cler.It is about a 10 minute walk from the Eiffel Tower.It is a great street, with an open air market, bakeries,crepes, gelato, sidewalk cafe's and shops, with tons of atmosphere.

[Hlitner]

IMHO the HoHo is not an efficient way to get from point A to point B. If you just want to drive around Paris for the day than its fine. But the way to truly enjoy Paris is to walk, soak up the atmosphere, window shop, etc. Also keep in mind that the HoHo is quite expensive (nearly $40 per person), makes frequent stops, and sometimes will wait for no apparent reason. For getting from the Eiffel Tower over to the area around the Louvre it would be much faster to take the Metro. In fact, you might want to just take the Metro to the Place de la Concorde and walk from there down the Rue du Rivoli to the Louvre. Paris is a city of neighborhoods in a way similar to places like New York City. We have spent weeks in the city and still have yet to see a big fraction of the place, so in a few hours you really need to pick and choose. For lunch, we prefer to be in the 5th or 6th (around the Blvd St Germain) but this is not on your route. In your situation we would probably look for a place near the Louvre.

 

Hank

[iancal]

I would not go HOHO. I would try to find a city tour bus or get a guide. HOHO is very good in Paris, but it can be slow. As other posters noted, you could wait 15-20 minutes for a bus. If you still go the HOHO route, I would use a cab or the Metro between these venues depending on the day/time. Five hours is not a lot, and I doubt that you waste as little time as possible waiting for busses or trying to locate sites. You could also do the Bateau Mouche (Sp) boat tour...I think it leaves from the Pont Alma.

[budmeister]

Thank you for these replies! They are a great help. My drop off will be from the RC Paris on Your Own excursion. Does anyone know where to go from there to get to the regular bus stop or the metro station?

[rich40245]

I'll second the recommendation to use the Metro, especially when time is limited.

For the Eiffel Tower, the closet Metro stop is Bir-Hakem, just down stream along the river. But, you could cross over the river on Pont d' Iéna, walk along the Trocadéro Fountians to Place du Trocadéro. There you will find several restaurants, along with a metro stop. Also, at the top of Trocadéro Fountians is a great picture spot, for the tower.

 

Bir-Hakem has the advantage of getting you close to the Louvre without changing lines. (It stops at Musée d'Orsay, across the river from the Louvre.) From Trocadéro, you will have to change metro lines.

 

To save some time, if there are any line to get into the Louvre, avoid the main entrance (the one under the big glass pyramid), and use one of the other entrances.

http://www.louvre.fr/llv/pratique/venir.jsp?acces=1

[Hlitner]

Thank you for these replies! They are a great help. My drop off will be from the RC Paris on Your Own excursion. Does anyone know where to go from there to get to the regular bus stop or the metro station?

 

Over the years we have found that the tour buses use several different drop points. It seems to depend on the actual tour company, traffic conditions and other intangibles like special events in Paris. Sometimes they will drop at the Place de la Concorde which is between the Louvre and Arc de Triomphe. There is a metro station at that location and its also a major bus stop. Other times we have heard of folks being dropped near the Eiffel Tower which also offers easy access to the metro and many bus lines. No matter where they drop you it will be close to at least one Metro station. It is possible that you will not even know your drop point until you get on your bus.

 

Hank

[criscruise]

Thank you for these replies! They are a great help. My drop off will be from the RC Paris on Your Own excursion. Does anyone know where to go from there to get to the regular bus stop or the metro station?

 

We are going to Paris in December. Haven't had the opportunity to put this to practice yet, but plan to in December. This site lists the different types of public transportation. You can even enter a departure point and destination and it will tell you the best way, bus, metro, train and how much walking is involved. Fares and times are also listed.

Good luck. Have a great time.

 

http://www.ratp.info/touristes/index.php?langue=en

[O_George]

I will have 5 hours in Paris, with a drop off and pick up at the Eiffel Tower. I am trying to get an idea of timing. Is there an especially nice stop in between for a snack/lunch and walk with atmoshere? Or is the area around the Tower good for that?:rolleyes:

 

If you only have 5 hours in Paris I would not use the hoho bus. The times at various stops will vary not to mention a million other things that could hold up the bus. I recommend that you map out the exact places you want to visit and either cab it or walk depending on the distance. Because 5 hours in Paris is hardly enough time to really do anything but maybe you can at least see the major landmarks.

[cpgrneyes]

A little off-topic, but one of the best tips I got about the Louvre is to get the "American tour" which is about 1-1/2 hours, hits the highlights, and gets you to places you won't otherwise be able to see.

[therhodes]

If you have never been to Paris before, I would not spend any of your 5 hours trying to see the Louvre! It is massive and even just trying to see Mona or Venus is going to take a while.

 

With only 5 hours for a first trip, I would use the HOHO. You will get a chance to "see" all the major tourist attractions with a stop somewhere along the way for lunch in one of the wonderful cafes. You cannot do any of the sites justice in that short period of time, so really just seeing them would be a great thing.

 

Stopping at any of the major sites will eat into your 5 hours. A simple visit to Notre Dame will take over an hour, the Pantheon if you want to go the crypts another hour +.

 

I, personally would use the 5 hours to get a quick "overview" of this absolutely beautiful city and plan to head back for a few days or a week or two to really see all that it has to offer. Many of the best things in Paris are not the tourist highlights....many things that you just happen to find enroute to somewhere......neat little streets with super cafes, shops, galleries, markets etc.

 

Enjoy Paris however you choose to see it. It is one of my favorite cities.

 

Linda.

[Cruise Junky]

Totally agree with Linda, it's just not enough time to take in the Louvre. There's so much to see in Paris that you could spend weeks. Do the HOHO and just take in the highlights and then plan a return trip ;).

 

The only exception would be if seeing the Mona Lisa is on your bucket list of things you absolutely must do! The louvre buildings are incredible and I love to just hang out in that general area, you could get in and out pretty quick if it's a must for you. If it's not bucket list material, just take in the highlights.