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Number 3 of 20 in Paris

Seine river cruise: Paris from the water in an hour

Paris was built along its river, and its best buildings face it. A sightseeing boat shows you most of them in about an hour, sitting down.

A sightseeing boat full of passengers passing under a stone bridge on the Seine.
Daniel Stockman, CC BY-SA 2.0
What it is
On the water
Time to allow
1 hour
Cost
Ticket
Best time
At dusk, as the lights come on

Paris this week

    Why a Seine cruise is worth it

    Almost everything on a first-timer's list stands on the banks of the Seine: the Eiffel Tower, the Musée d'Orsay, the Louvre, the Île de la Cité with Notre-Dame and the Sainte-Chapelle. The riverbanks in the centre of Paris have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991, and a boat is the only way to see them as one continuous front.

    It is also the least tiring hour you will spend in Paris. After a day of museums and stairs, you sit on an open deck and the city comes to you. The boats pass under a couple of dozen bridges, the gilded Pont Alexandre III and the Pont Neuf among them.

    Sightseeing boats have worked the river since the Universal Exhibition of 1867. Parisians call them bateaux-mouches, after the Mouche district of Lyon where the first of them were built. In July 2024 the same boats carried the athletes down the river in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

    What to see

    1. The Eiffel Tower from below

      Most cruises start or turn at the foot of the tower. From the water you see all of it at once, which you never do from the Champ de Mars.

    2. Pont Alexandre III

      The most ornate bridge in Paris, a single low arch with gilded statues at each end. The boat passes directly under it.

    3. The Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay

      The two museums face each other across the river: the long palace front of the Louvre on one bank, the clocks of the old Orsay railway station on the other.

    4. Notre-Dame and the islands

      The boats circle the Île de la Cité, where Paris began. The cathedral, reopened in December 2024, is seen from the side and from behind, with its flying buttresses.

    How to do it well

    • Take the last cruise before dark if you can: you leave in daylight and come back with the monuments lit.
    • Sit on the open upper deck, on the side nearer the bank you want to photograph. On the way out from the Eiffel Tower the Louvre is on the left.
    • The standard cruise lasts about an hour. Lunch and dinner cruises last two hours or more and cost several times as much: book them for the meal, not the view.
    • Boats leave from several places: beside the Eiffel Tower, from the Pont de l'Alma and from the Pont Neuf. Check which pier your ticket is for before you set out.
    • It is colder on the water than on the street. Bring a layer, even in summer, for an evening cruise.

    Where it is

    Address

    Piers by the Eiffel Tower, at the Pont de l'Alma and at the Pont Neuf

    Nearest station

    Pont Neuf, on line 7, for the boats of the Pont Neuf

    Museums and sights nearby

    Distances are in a straight line.

    Tickets and tours: Seine river cruise

    Seine river cruise: common questions

    Is a Seine river cruise worth it?
    Yes, on a first visit especially. In about an hour it shows you the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay and Notre-Dame from the river they were built to face, and it is the one sightseeing activity in Paris you do sitting down.
    What is the best time for a Seine cruise?
    Dusk. A boat that leaves about half an hour before sunset gives you the buildings in daylight on the way out and lit up on the way back.
    Where do Seine cruises leave from?
    From several piers. The main ones are beside the Eiffel Tower, at the Pont de l'Alma, and at the Pont Neuf on the Île de la Cité. Each company uses its own pier, so check the one on your ticket.
    How much time do you need for a Seine cruise?
    Allow 1 hour. That is this site's estimate for an unhurried visit.

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