An in-Seine Cruise: The Best of Paris by Boat

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Ah, Paris. It’s a city that just begs you to take a stroll through city streets and narrow lanes, finding interesting bistros and immaculate gardens. But a boat cruise down the Seine is also tremendously popular. So popular, in fact, that many well-travelled bloggers might insist it’s worth skipping.

And so I’ll just go ahead and say it: they’re wrong. You’re in Paris. If this is your first time going to Paris, you embrace your tourist-ness and go with the flow.

OMG, puns are awesome!!!

But I do want to suggest a few options to consider for an experience that is more fun, without all those awful tourists (present company excluded, of course).

Whatever Floats Your Boat

Before we get too far, I would like to point out how horrible the title of this article is. Oh yeah, I am well aware – it’s bad. Unfortunately, I have a deep, abiding love of bad wordplay. So I’m keeping it.

My stubborn, mule-headed nature is part of my charm. All my friend(s) say so.

Also, you might wonder why I’d say that some would deter you from a river cruise in Paris. When I look around the travel world lately, it seems full of folks who want to deter tourists from doing “touristy” things. Perhaps they want to encourage you to think outside the box. Maybe they want you to have more “authentic” experiences. Perhaps they enjoy “slow” travel.

And there’s nothing wrong with any of those things. Those are great travel ideals.

Well, except maybe for the pompous attitude and the false narrative around the concept of “authentic”. I’m convinced that “authentic” is literally “anything you experience that didn’t involve paid actors or con artists”. Although even con artists could technically be an authentic experience, albeit one that no one ever wants to have.

But, honestly, some people simply do not have the money to invest in custom itineraries or more unusual experiences. And most don’t have generous enough leave policy for immersive, “slow” travel. Or maybe some of us are too old to be interested in backpacking.

I do recommend looking for quirky, personalized experiences that will make your trip magical, absolutely. But I also won’t shame you for wanting to go to Paris or Rome. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to go to popular places and do popular things. Generally, they became popular for a reason.

Except Venice. I can’t really explain that one.

What I’m saying is this: You do you, dear tourist. You do you.

Don’t Rock the Boat

I’ll say this, though: I hate crowds. So if I find a way of avoiding crowds, I’ll let you know. I’m not going to be giving you tips about attending festivals or the coolest music scenes in any city anywhere. Ever. Why? Because I hate crowds.

And so we’re back to one of the most popular tourist activities in Paris: a boat tour down the River Seine.

The problem is that it’s popular because it’s a great thing to do! Paris is a seriously fantastic city to walk through, and is very walkable in general. But are you sick of walking, already?

Hop on a boat!

Is your time in the city limited but you want to at least get a peek at most of the attractions?

Well, most of them are along the banks of the Seine!

In Good Company

These tours, and tour operators, abound in Paris. Actually, this is probably true of every European city with river and canal cruises. If you head to Paris without a planned tour, you’ll likely be able to get a tour anyway. It’s not a requirement to book in advance. BUT you’ll probably end up on whatever random tour operator you’re near during the course of the day, whenever you get tired.

It’ll probably be when everyone else is tired, too.

And you’ll be on a big boat, packed with tired grumpy tourists with sore feet. This is not the experience I’m recommending! I mean, it could be nice, still, if you don’t mind the people. I guess. And some people love spontaneity and wouldn’t recommend any plans. “Live in the moment” and “Carpe diem” and such.

I’m not one of those people. I think you can have a great Seine cruise, but I think planning for a preferred time, place, route, and operator makes more sense than just… hoping it turns out okay.

So if you would also like to avoid the cramped, sardine-ness of it all, you do have a couple options to have a more relaxed, pleasant river cruise. I’ve provided my recommendation (because we had a great experience on their cruise!), and then I’ll mention a couple more promising choices that I opted against. It’s never bad to have flexibility.

Recommended:

Canauxrama: Their Seine cruise leaves from Pont Neuf and lasts 90 minutes. The boats are smaller than many companies. Probably still a capacity of 200 people, but certainly small enough to deter the big bus tour groups. These tours provide live narration (not pre-recorded) in English and French, and they even include some bad (but funny) jokes now and then! The tickets, less than $20/person, are not the cheapest but were still affordable.

Why did we choose Canauxrama? Smaller boats and a 7pm departure in October. A 7pm departure meant a sunset cruise for us! We wanted to see the city illuminated at night. Oh, and to see the Eiffel Tower sparkling, which happens on every hour after dark. As it turns out, Canauxrama was the only operator with a 7pm departure. Decision, made.

But truly, it was a great tour. In October (shoulder season), there are probably fewer Seine cruise departures and fewer tourists. Our boat probably didn’t have more than 40 guests, and I had the upper deck to myself for most of the ride. Even the guide’s narration was entertaining.

It was a wonderful return on the investment of a few extra euros for this ticket, I have no doubts about that at all.

Other Options:

Batobus: Well, it’s like a transport alternative to the Metro. If you’re not wanting a Seine cruise/tour, but just want nice views of the river to get from Point A to Point B. There are about eight stops along the way, and you can depart as needed. A bus stops by each stop every 20-25 minutes. There’s not much difference in a one-day vs. two-day ticket, so the two-day is probably the better deal. This isn’t a good option if you really want a tour – no narration of the sights, just transportation. Then again, if you’d just like a breaking from the incessant walking now and then… maybe this is your ticket?

Vedettes de Paris – If you’d rather have an option that leaves from the Eiffel Tower side of the city, this fits the bill. They’ve got smaller boats – around a 250 person capacity. And their boats usually have an outdoor seating option, which is a nice feature in good weather or if you want nicer photos. The do one-way or round-trip options, which could be appealing depending on your plans for the day.

Vedettes du Pont Neuf – It seems this operator is very similar in experience to most other operators on the river. But… they also operate “smaller” boats (around 300 person capacity). Many of the boats have outdoor seating. They offer 1-hour tours and also leave from Pont Neuf area. And the tickets are slightly cheaper than Canauxrama, with deals frequently offered online.

Useful Tips

So let’s say you’ve decided when you want to cruise and which operator you want to use. You’re buying your ticket online and will be ready for your post-pandemic adventure! Or you’re being a rebel and have decided to wing it. And that’s fine, crazy person. What next? What else do you need to know?

1. Departure: Be absolutely certain where your departure point is! Some companies leave from multiple docks. Know where your departure is, how to get there, and how long it will take. You’ll want to arrive probably about 30 minutes early.
2. Tipping: Some companies might expect some gratuity for guides or any bar service, so you might have a very small amount of cash on-hand. Luckily, Paris does not have the exorbitant tipping expectations of the United States, so this should not cause undue anxiety.
3. Paris Pass: If you invest in the Paris Pass, a cruise with Bateaux Parisiens is included. I don’t recommend that company, due to boat size alone, and I don’t recommend the Paris Pass, either. But many people get it, and you should know the benefits if you do buy the Pass!
4. Splurges: There are tons of options, guys. Just tons. I’m only talking about 60-90 minutes tour cruises here. You can have whatever your heart desires – brunch, champagne, dinner. There’s probably a special Seine cruise for that. You’ll pay much more, though, but your crowd will also be greatly reduced. I did not experience any of these options, but it’s worth a google if it sounds appealing.
5. Timing: If you’re also a crowd-avoider, traveling in shoulder season is optimal – for nice cruise weather, April or October would be good. Just keep in mind that season/month does impact how many tours are offered! If you’re not able to travel in shoulder season, look for the very earliest or latest cruises offered. These typically have fewer people.
6. Duration and Route: This varies a bit – most are 1-hr tours. Canauxrama offers 90-minute tours. Many stick to a route between the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame, whereas ours headed down to the Statue of Liberty before heading back. If you have a tight schedule or easily bored travelers, the shorter option might be a better fit.
7. Big Boats: These boats are big enough to accommodate big bus groups, and still they usually have seats available without pre-booking. When I call them big, I mean some boats seat up to 1,000 passengers on a 1-hr cruise. And this is absolutely fine. It’s just an hour, many have outdoor/upper deck seats, and you’ll see the same sights. Bateaux-Mouches are a big name in the Seine cruise game. I just don’t link them, or similar operators, because I wouldn’t choose to use them myself.

Lagniappe

Our departure from Pont Neuf seemed convenient for having dinner on Ile Saint-Louis before heading over to Ile de la Cite. The bistro we stopped at was informal, a great place to relax and enjoy a light dinner and Berthillon sorbets to end our meal. It’s about a mile to the boat from where we sat, so we ran out of time to explore further. But heck, these islands are nice.

There are many things I’d still love to see about Paris. But wandering through the Ile Saint-Louis and relaxing at Luxembourg Gardens wouldn’t be such a bad way to spend a lazy day, either. With many stops for snacks, of course.

Someday, I will certainly return to do exactly that! And it would probably even be a lovely way to spend a day before an evening cruise on the river.