Paris proposes new restrictions on city centre tours

Paris wants to ban tourist busses from the city centre with officials encouraging visitors to take more “environmentally friendly” options instead.

Emmanuel Grégoire, Paris’ deputy mayor, is encouraging visitors to walk, cycle or take public transport “like everyone else” and has said tourist buses are “no longer welcome” in the city centre. Speaking to Le Parisien newspaper, Mr Grégoire said the move is part of measures to curb mass tourism before it reaches the levels of Venice and Barcelona and claimed Parisians are concerned by the influx of these vehicles, which are becoming a nuisance in terms of noise, congestion and pollution.

The new legislation will apply to both hop-on, hop-off double-decker buses and international coaches owned by the major tour companies. Parking spots will be placed outside the city so that busses can no longer drive into the centre.

“We no longer want the total anarchy of tourist buses in Paris… Buses are no longer welcome in the very heart of the city,” said Mr Gregoire. “Tourists can do like everyone else does and switch to environmentally friendly mobility options or take public transport. We need change.”

Mr Grégoire asked tour guides to offer different kinds of tours instead such as walking or cycling tours. “Everyone has to adapt their work to the needs of the city,” he said.

Paris is one of the most visited cities in the world and received 50 million visitors last year, while France is the most visited country in the world, with 87 million visitors in 2018.