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Best Seine River Cruise

We found it! After taking so many of these boats for fifty years, I can say that the little VEDETTES de PARIS filled the bill.

We went on a family-oriented cruise with a French and English speaking trained guide who asked the children questions. The cruise is advertised as Croisiere familiale, or Family cruise and it's child friendly. They offer a couple of family cruises a day, but everyone is welcome. You don't have to have a child with you to enjoy!

You can find the company at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. It's the smaller one, with smaller boats that are all converting to electric motors. When the owner realized the impact all the boats were having on the health of the Seine, she decided to convert to electricity from diesel. My husband heard about this on French radio.

Another difference: you won't see all the tour buses parked here like you will for the Bateaux Mouches and other large boats.

But the most important difference is that this has a live, human guide, not a fuzzy tape recorded in four languages. Bon voyage.

Posted by
731 posts

Thank you Bets. I looked at their offerings and for us, the evening aperitif cruise would work for timing, but it does not have commentary-music instead. How important is the commentary on any of the Seine Cruises? We have chosen Vedettes du Pont Neuf as the likely Seine Cruise, but I like the idea of a smaller boat and electric too!

My husband has more historical interest, I’m there for the visual. Commentary necessary?

Posted by
10621 posts

A cocktail cruise would be a different experience, a nice one, but different.
Previously, on the large boats, the recorded commentary was a waste of time, inaudible, in four languages. By the time I heard English or French the monument was long past.
Maybe others have experience?

Posted by
731 posts

Thank you again. We may weigh the importance of commentary and make our choice from there. Most often, I’ll take the beverage over garbled commentary! Beverage isn’t free mind you, but certainly would be welcome.