# Seine river cruise, Paris > A Seine cruise is one of the easiest and loveliest ways to see Paris: in an hour the boat glides past the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Orsay, Notre-Dame and a dozen bridges. The famous bateaux-mouches, long glass-covered boats with an open upper deck, leave from piers at the Pont de l'Alma, the Eiffel Tower and the Pont Neuf. Choose a classic sightseeing trip with commentary, a lunch or dinner cruise, or the Batobus river shuttle, which you can hop on and off at nine stops. Web page: https://yesgo.io/france/paris/seine-cruise - City: [Paris](https://yesgo.io/france/paris), France - YesGo score: 34/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 1 h - With kids: Fine with kids - Ticket: ≈ 1-hour cruise, dinner costs more - Hours: Daily, day and evening - Piers: Pont de l'Alma, Eiffel Tower, Pont Neuf - Batobus: 9 stops, 1–2-day pass - Duration: ≈ 1 hour, dinner 2–2.5 hours - Location: Central Paris, along the Seine - Coordinates: 48.86401, 2.30611 - Facts checked: 12.11.2026 ## Key facts - **≈ 1 h** — a typical cruise (source: English Wikipedia) - **1,000** — passengers on the largest boats (source: English Wikipedia) - **9** — Batobus stops (source: English Wikipedia) - **2024** — the Olympic parade of nations by boat (source: English Wikipedia) ## About a Seine cruise The Seine runs through the very centre of Paris, so in an hour on the water you see nearly all the main sights on both banks. The sightseeing boats, **bateaux-mouches**, are long, often glass-covered vessels with an open upper deck and an enclosed lower one, some carrying up to **1,000** passengers. A typical trip lasts about **an hour**, with live or recorded commentary in several languages. Bateaux Mouches is the trademark of the oldest river-cruise company, founded by Jean Bruel, but the name has long been used for all such boats. It literally means 'fly boats', yet it comes not from the insect but from the Mouche district of Lyon where the first ones were built. Today several companies operate on the Seine. ## What you see from the water - **The Eiffel Tower** — full height from mid-river. - **The Louvre and Tuileries** — the palace's long riverside façade. - **The Musée d'Orsay** — the former station with its clocks. - **Notre-Dame** — the Île de la Cité from the water. - **The Pont Alexandre III** — gilded statues above the river. - **The Pont Neuf and its masks** — the oldest bridge from below. ## The route A classic cruise leaves from the pier at the **Eiffel Tower** or the **Pont de l'Alma** heading upstream, past the Grand Palais and the [Pont Alexandre III](https://yesgo.io/france/paris/pont-alexandre-iii), the [Place de la Concorde](https://yesgo.io/france/paris/place-de-la-concorde), the [Musée d'Orsay](https://yesgo.io/france/paris/musee-dorsay) and the [Louvre](https://yesgo.io/france/paris/louvre). It slips under the [Pont Neuf](https://yesgo.io/france/paris/pont-neuf), circles the Île de la Cité and Île Saint-Louis with [Notre-Dame](https://yesgo.io/france/paris/notre-dame-de-paris), then turns back. On the return it often reaches the **Île aux Cygnes** with its small Statue of Liberty replica before heading back to the Eiffel Tower. In an hour you'll see both banks, dozens of bridges and quays listed by UNESCO. > **When to sail** The most beautiful cruise is at sunset or after dark, when the quays and bridges light up and the Eiffel Tower sparkles at the top of each hour. By day, façade details show better and photos are brighter. In summer grab an open-deck seat early; in winter choose the glazed cabin. Online tickets are usually cheaper than at the pier. ## Lunch and dinner cruises Many companies offer **lunch or dinner cruises**: you sit at a table by a panoramic window while the boat drifts past Paris by night. These last two to two and a half hours, often with live music, and cost noticeably more than a standard cruise. Book a dinner cruise in advance, especially for weekends and holidays, and check the dress code, as some boats ask for smart clothes. With children, a standard one-hour trip or a cruise with a light snack on board is easier. ## The Batobus river shuttle The **Batobus** is a river shuttle that works like a hop-on hop-off bus on the water. It has **nine stops**: Beaugrenelle, the Eiffel Tower, the Orsay, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Notre-Dame, the Jardin des Plantes, the Hôtel de Ville, the Louvre and the Champs-Élysées. A one- or two-day pass lets you board and alight as often as you like. Boats run every 15–30 minutes without commentary, but it's a handy way to travel between sights while admiring the city. The Batobus is best on a sunny day when you want to spend the whole day by the river. ## How to get there 1. At the **Pont de l'Alma** — metro line 9 Alma-Marceau or RER C Pont de l'Alma. 2. At the **Eiffel Tower** — piers on the quay below the tower, RER C Champ de Mars – Tour Eiffel. 3. At the **Pont Neuf** — the pier in the Square du Vert-Galant, metro line 7 Pont Neuf. 4. The Batobus — at any of its nine stops along the river. ## Tips for your cruise Short on time? Take a standard one-hour cruise in the evening, one of the best ways to see Paris quickly. To sightsee and reach museums too, get a full-day Batobus pass. The open deck is breezy even in summer, so bring a layer. For the best photos sit on the side facing the Île de la Cité as the boat turns, and hold your phone tight. A cruise rounds off a day at the Eiffel Tower or the [Trocadéro](https://yesgo.io/france/paris/trocadero) nicely: the piers are close by, and afterwards you can watch the tower sparkle from the water. ## Before you go Tick off what's ready — your ticks are saved in this browser. - [ ] Choose a cruise, dinner or the Batobus - [ ] Buy a ticket online - [ ] Reach the pier 20 minutes early - [ ] Grab a seat on the open deck - [ ] See the Eiffel Tower sparkle from the water ## Places in Paris: compare and choose Places in Paris rated by YesGo. - [Pont Neuf](https://yesgo.io/france/paris/pont-neuf) — YesGo score 52/100 (Yes, go) · 25 min · Free - [Pont Alexandre III](https://yesgo.io/france/paris/pont-alexandre-iii) — YesGo score 51/100 (Yes, go) · 20 min · Free - [Île de la Cité](https://yesgo.io/france/paris/ile-de-la-cite) — YesGo score 51/100 (Yes, go) · 2 h 30 min · Free, it's a city island - [Canal Saint-Martin](https://yesgo.io/france/paris/canal-saint-martin) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 15 min · Free - [Seine river cruise](https://yesgo.io/france/paris/seine-cruise) — YesGo score 34/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · ≈ 1-hour cruise, dinner costs more ## Don't mix it up A Seine cruise is a river trip through central Paris; a Canal Saint-Martin cruise is a separate route through locks and an underground tunnel in the north-east of the city. ## Tips - Lights at night. - Cheaper online. - A layer on deck. - Batobus for a full day. ## Questions ### How long is a Seine cruise? A standard trip is about an hour; a dinner cruise 2–2.5 hours. ### Where do I board? At the Pont de l'Alma, the Eiffel Tower or the Pont Neuf; the Batobus at nine stops. ### When is the best time to go? At sunset or in the evening, with the lights on and the Eiffel Tower sparkling. ### What is the Batobus? A river shuttle with nine stops and a one- or two-day pass. ### How much does a cruise cost? It depends on the company and format; check the operators' websites. ## How we checked Facts from English Wikipedia. Prices, schedules and exact pier locations weren't confirmed with official sources — hence the 'checking' badge. ## Sources - English Wikipedia: Bateaux Mouches, Batobus - Operator websites, bateaux-mouches.fr and batobus.com --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.