What to Expect on a Paris Night Tour
The practical side of an evening out, in the order it happens to you. Nothing here is difficult; it is simply the set of things people wish they had known before they walked out of the hotel, whichever of the tour paris by night you have booked.
How cold it will actually be
Colder than the daytime forecast, and colder again if you are moving. Paris drops several degrees within an hour of sunset, and an open bus deck, a convertible car, a boat deck or a bicycle adds wind chill on top of that. One operator puts it plainly in its own listing: evenings here turn chilly, bring extra layers.
From October to April, dress as though you were going to stand still outdoors for two hours, because on most of these tours you are. The 2CV tours carry blankets; nothing else does.
What to wear
Comfortable closed shoes on everything, and essential on the segway and bike tours. Two departures set an actual dress code: the Moulin Rouge requires smart dress and turns away shorts, Bermudas, flip-flops, sportswear and sports shoes, and the dinner cruise asks for smart casual. Everything else is as you like it.
What a phone camera can and cannot do
More than you expect if you brace it, and very little if you do not. A modern phone night mode holds three to five seconds of exposure, which is plenty for a floodlit facade and hopeless from a moving boat or car. Rest the phone on a railing, a wall or a seat back rather than holding it, and take the Eiffel Tower sparkle as video rather than stills.
Tripods
Fine on a bridge, useless on a vehicle. A tripod on a cruise deck or a bus top will not help, because the platform is moving, and several operators will ask you to put it away. If night photography is the real reason for your evening, take a walking tour and use the bridges — Pont Alexandre III and the Pont de la Tournelle are the two that repay it.
How much of the time you are outdoors
It varies more than the durations suggest, and in January it matters more than the price does. Use the table to work out what you are signing up for before you book.
| Format | Time outdoors | Shelter | Winter verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dinner cruise | None unless you go on deck | Heated saloon | Comfortable |
| Lights cruise | Optional deck time | Indoor seating | Comfortable |
| Private car | Only at the stops | Heated vehicle | Comfortable |
| Vintage 2CV | Most of it | Roof and blankets | Manageable with layers |
| Open-top bus | All two hours | Top closes in rain | Cold — dress for it |
| Golf cart | All two hours | Open sides | Cold — dress for it |
| Segway or bike | All of it, moving | None | Cold, but you generate heat |
| Guided walk | All of it, on foot | None | Manageable if you keep moving |
If somebody in your party feels the cold, the answer is a cruise or a private car rather than a warmer coat.
Whether Paris is safe at night
Central Paris is busy and well lit into the small hours, and the areas these routes cover are among the most policed in the city. The sensible precautions are the ordinary ones: keep a phone out of an open pocket on the métro and around the Champs-Élysées, and do not walk a long way alone once the trains have stopped.
A guided departure removes most of that question, and for a solo traveller that is a real part of what the money buys.
Tipping
Not built into the price and not expected. Gratuities are explicitly excluded on nine of these listings, and in France a tip is a thank-you rather than an obligation. Five to ten per cent for a driver or guide who made the evening is normal, and nobody will be put out if you leave nothing.
Toilets and comfort stops
All three Seine boats have facilities on board. The open-top bus does not stop for two hours, and neither do most of the driving tours, so use one before you board. On the walking tours your guide will know where the nearest public facility is.
What happens if the weather turns
Almost everything still runs. The cruises, the private cars and the buses are unaffected; the bus simply closes its top; the segway and bike tours run rain or shine and hand out raincoats; the 2CV roof stays up. If open air was the reason you booked, use the free cancellation and move it to another evening rather than getting a wet version of the tour you wanted.
Getting home when it finishes
The métro runs to roughly 01:15 on weeknights and about 02:15 on Fridays and Saturdays, with last departures around 01:40. After that, 47 Noctilien night bus lines run from 00:30 to 05:30 through Châtelet, Montparnasse, Gare de l'Est, Gare Saint-Lazare and Gare de Lyon. Times differ by station and line, so check your own before you go out.
Several of the tours on Paris Night Tours drop you back at the address they collected you from, which removes the question entirely. If yours does not, work out the route home before you leave rather than at midnight on a platform, and see the planning page for the rest.