Now, these buses may be all modern and electric, but they seem to have missed a trick with the audio technology. No Bluetooth?! And the audio tour is only available in English and French. At least there’s a special guide for the kids to listen to on the journey. But all you can hear to start with is accordion music and voilà – the sights of Paris start to fly by and you can feel the wind in your hair.

And then the audio commentary on one of the two opera houses in Paris kicks in. I was pleasantly surprised! I really hadn’t expected to be treated to so much information presented in such an interesting way. And it’s so much more than just a history lesson on each of the sights in turn. You also get to hear the latest on culture and events in Paris, while learning about the French savoir-vivre.

The little testimonies thrown in along the way are really funny. It’s nice to hear the stories of people who have moved to Paris from abroad or elsewhere in France. I could certainly relate to them all in one way or another. 😀 In the English version of the tour, the French take a fair hammering. So what about the French version? Hey, it turns out the French don’t always take themselves too seriously. Mind you – tourists don’t get let off the hook either.

Some bits of the journey went faster or slower than others depending on what the traffic was like. I also quite liked sitting up on the top deck, soaking up Paris from a whole new perspective. I have to admit that I couldn’t cope with worrying about photos and videos while taking in the sights. But I did manage to capture the moments on my second journey. I’m really proud of my video of the journey down the Champs-Elysées to the Arc de Triomphe – coming soon 😉 You can’t actually see all that much through the wraparound windshield and there was a fair bit of reflection. But it did keep the wind at bay, so I can’t complain.

The stops are announced nice and clearly to give you time to stand up and head down the stairs before the bus comes to a stop. The bus stopped for a bit longer at the Eiffel Tower, so I took the opportunity to admire the Iron Lady up close.

I got off the bus when it arrived at its final destination (all the way back at the first station).

A friendly smile was all it took to persuade the bus driver to take a photo of me in front of the bus. And that was it for the day.

I was already looking forward to my adventure the next day!