Cruising the Seine

Take a sightseeing or dinner cruise on the Seine River in Paris

Is there anything more romantic than slipping down the current of one of the world's great rivers past 18th century palaces?

Well, perhaps killing the canned P.A. sightseeing commentary and getting rid of all the other camera-clicking tourists would help the romantic mood, but if it's mood you're after you can always do it as a more refined dinner cruise (described below).

Classic Seine River cruises

The classic hour-long float down the Seine with canned multilingual commentary is offered by several companies for about €10–€13:

Bateaux-Mouches depart from the Pont de l'Alma on the right bank (tel. +33-(0)1-42-25-96-10; www.bateauxmouches.com; Métro: Alma Marceau).
Bateaux Parisiens leave from pont d'Iena at the foot of the Eiffel Tower year-round, or from quai Montebello at Notre-Dame from late March to early November (tel. +33-(0)1-46-99-42-12; www.bateauxparisiens.com; Métro: Bir-Hakeim, RER: Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel).
Les Vedettes de Paris also departs from the Port de Suffren at pont d'Iena near the Eiffel Tower (tel. +33-(0)1-44-18-19-50, www.vedettesdeparis.com; Métro: Bir-Hakeim, RER: Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel).
Les Vedettes de Pont Neuf leave from—surprise!—the pont Neuf at the tip of Île de la Cité (tel. +33-(0)1-46-33-98-38; www.vedettesdupontneuf.com; Métro: Pont Neuf, RER: Châtelet or St Michel).

Night cruises and dinner cruises on the Seine

After dark, the boats sweep both banks with mega-powered floodlights—illuminating everything very well, but sort of spoiling the romance.

These tend to be touristy too, unless you opt for a more refined and romantic lunch or dinner cruises, which are considerably more expensive—anywhere from €30 for somethgin simple to €140 for jacket-and-tie dinners—and the food is only so-so.

The setting, however, can't be beat.

The hop-on/hop-off Batobus

A less contrived alternative to a day-time cruise is the Batobus (tel. +33-(0)825-05-01-01 costs €0.15/min; www.batobus.com), a kind of water taxi with no piped-in commentary that stops every 15–25 minutes at eight major points of interest: Eiffel Tower, Champs-Elysées, Musée d’Orsay, Louvre, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Notre-Dame, Hôtel de Ville, and Jardin des Plantes.

You get an unlimited pass (hop on and off as often as you like) for:

1 day: €15
2 days: €18
5 days: €21

Tips

Planning your time: Most basic cruises last about an hour. Dinner cruises can last anywhere from 90 minutes to 4 hours (most are 2-3 hours).
Free cruise with a sightseeing discount card: Get a free Seine River cruise on Bateaux Parisiens with the Paris Sightseeing Pass (note: this is one activity not covered by the Paris Museum Pass).
Take a Seine cruise with our partners at Viator.com:

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This article was last updated in March 2012. All information was accurate at the time.

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