Boat Trip on the Seine River

Boat Trips on the Seine

A boat trip on the Seine combines a city tour with straightforward sightseeing. Most tours depart from the riverbank at the Eiffel Tower and pass major landmarks including the Louvre, Notre-Dame, the Musée d'Orsay, and several of the city's oldest bridges. A standard cruise runs about an hour and gives a solid overview of central Paris without covering the distance on foot.

Several companies run these cruises, and each has a different focus: some concentrate on straightforward sightseeing, others add a full dinner service with live music, and one runs more like a hop-on hop-off river shuttle than a fixed-route tour. Recorded or live commentary, usually available in several languages, points out the landmarks as you pass them, so there's no need to plan a route yourself.

Evening departures are consistently the most requested, since the bridges and monuments along the river are lit after dark. Booking online in advance is worth doing for popular time slots, particularly in summer, and usually comes with a small discount over the price paid at the dock.