The buses are slower than the metro but you'll have the advantage of seeing more on the way. Parisian buses run from 06:30am to 8:30pm Monday to Saturday; on Sundays and French public holidays the service is limited. Some buses run until 12:30am. The Noctilien is a night bus running from 12:30 to 5:30am every day and serving Paris and its surrounding areas, including Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports.

The bus system uses the same tickets as the metro and the RER. When riding the bus within the city limits you'll need only one ticket (or two depending on your destination) but if you use the Noctilien you'll have to buy an additional number of tickets corresponding to the number of zones (1-5) you cross on your way after the 2 first zones; it's better to ask the driver how many tickets you need. You can also use a travel pass on the buses but be careful not to insert the ticket into the slot inside the bus as it will be invalidated, just show the pass to the driver.

54 quai de la Rapée, 75599 Paris
Tel: 08-92-68-77-14
http://www.ratp.fr