Paris - Cruising the Seine

The Eiffel Tower lit up before the glittering show

The Seine is a 777 kilometre long river in northern France and it flows through Paris. There are 37 bridges in the French capital so it's not surprising that a river cruise is a popular way to see the city.

There are a few companies that offer these cruises varying in price, and they are very expensive when they include a meal. 

Everyone taking photos of Musee d'Orsay

Chef and restaurateur Alain Ducasse has come up with a more environmentally friendly way to cruise the Seine with his electric boat that is described as "a floating restaurant," and the prices are jaw-dropping, but probably a good deal compared to dining in his restaurants on land?

In any event we opted for the cheapest cruise without food and Bateaux Mouches fit the bill at 17 euros per person. 

We were strategic about going at sunset so we could catch Paris at dusk and then evening within the one-hour cruise.

Getting to where the boat was docked was quite the hassle, as other companies have their boats docked in the same area. Some guests were dressed up obviously for the dinner cruises, whereas the rest of us queued up en masse and tried to catch the 7.30pm sailing.

Unfortunately we couldn't quite catch it with hordes of people in front of us, but instead we got on another one around 8pm and sat on the upper deck (like everyone else).

Catching the Paris sunset on the water

It was still pretty good timing, the sun was just setting so there was a warm pink hue in the sky when we set off. 

There is no commentary on what you're seeing, including the Louvre, Notre Dame, Musee d'Orsay, the Grand Palais, and Les Invalides. Along the way we went under several bridges, each different in decor. By the Tuileries Gardens we saw the 2024 Olympic cauldron lit up with fire via a floating hot air balloon. We all caught that on our phones.

The highlight of course was seeing the Eiffel Tower in all it's glory. We could see it quite close up, and by the time we reached it, it was almost 9pm, when it would be pulsating with lights. 

We passengers had hoped the boat would slowdown at least so that we could see it at 9pm, but the captain didn't care and our cruise continued on, though we were able to catch a bit of the Eiffel Tower with its flashing light show as we craned our necks.

By the time we docked, it was dark, so we probably had the best opportunity to see Paris as night gradually fell over the city.