We were in Paris last week and I LOVE LOVE LOVED our trip (will post a full review w/pics as I have time...) but I wanted to review the bus tour. I love the concept of a citywide bus tour. We did one in London and it was FANTASTIC. We took L%26#39;Open Tour in Paris and the route was great, but I was really disappointed with the tour in general :( I speak a good bit of French, but really wanted the English commentary - they give you headphones where you can listen in several different languages.
Anyway, the headphones were broken on the majority of the top level of the bus. The bus driver%26#39;s attitude was %26quot;tough luck%26quot;... The rest of the day as we got on and off, it was hit or miss whether our headphones worked... they really made a difference when they worked!
Maybe they just need a little technology tweaking.... but I just had to give my 2c. We were dissapointed :(
Amy
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Sorry to hear about the missed /messed up commentaries.... how about the hop on/off points? Does the bus come frequently or was it late? did everyone get on who wanted to or did some have to wait for the next bus? (i%26#39;ve read this is common for the one in Rome).
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The 2 times we hopped off/on were at/near Sacre Coeur and the Eiffel Tower. We waited both times for at least 20 minutes... which was a bit frustrating. After the Sacre Coeur wait, we said %26#39;forget it%26#39; and didn%26#39;t get off anymore. The bus was PACKED but there was not an issue that we witnessed with people being left behind.
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We just did l%26#39;open tour today and yesterday and it was awful! We waited an average of 50 minutes to catch buses despite the brochure claiming they%26#39;d come every 30 minutes. On one trip the driver turned off the route before we reached the changeover bus stop and he started to head back up the hill we had come from. Everyone realised he was shortcutting the turnoff and had to scramble to get off the bus at the next exit and walk all the way back to the original destined bus stop in a hurry, to catch the connecting bus. Later that afternoon, another bus driver pulled up mid way down the Champs Elysees just after 6pm and told everyone to get off the bus as he wasn%26#39;t going any further as it was his quitting time - despite the brochure saying it would finish the bus route.He then did a U-turn at the next lights in the middle of the Champs Elysees and drove back the way we had come, leaving us all standing on the sidewalk in the dark. Unbelievable!! We walked for 10 mins trying to hail a cab. Today, as a group of us waited at the bus stop near Notre Dame the bus approached but did not come near the pavement but stayed in the middle lane of traffic and was going to drive by. We waved furiously at him and he waved furiously back in a rude way. Eventually he was stopped by the next traffic lights and several of us rushed to the middle of the road to try and get on the bus - mind you this was the last bus of the evening and it was getting dark. He was angry and not impressed that we were doing this but opened the doors and let us on as we were weaving through traffic to get to him. When questioned, he shrugged and said it was too difficult for him to get into the lane close to the bus stop. Also, the headphones only worked sporadically. I would definitely not recommend this bus tour to anyone!
Judy
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