Hi, I'm excited to finally visit Paris!
I would like to do a Seine River Cruise and am hoping for recommendations (my search here turned up posts from a decade or more ago).
I loved the Bosphorus tour I did during the day when everything was visible, but the nighttime tour in Paris sounds possibly magical.
As this will be in April, I wonder if that would make it too chilly for me to enjoy a nice dinner.
Any recommendations on specific tours and daytime or evening excursions?
Thank you!
tlouisem,
You have Bateaux Mouches and Vedettes de Pont Neuf that are equivalent. Each about one hour and cover the same distance. Vedettes have a live narrator. Bateaux Mouches is a recording (I think). We prefer Vedettes. They run often, are inexpensive, and although narration is in French, the guide has always added some info in English, in our experience. You can reserve ahead of time online (sometimes with a small discount), or try on the spot. We reserved ahead, and got in line a bit early to get seats on top. It is colder (if at night, and not in the heat of summer), but your view is better. Last time I looked up sunset time for Paris for that day so we could be on the boat when the lights went on at the Eiffel Tower.
Boat rides that include a meal are somewhat controversial. While eating you miss seeing the sights. and reports of the meal quality are mixed. Search the forum for recommendations. One or two companies have good reviews. For me, I would choose to not take a dinner cruise for the above reasons....overpriced so-so meal and missing the views. I believe the meals are not outside, another reason for missing the sights as they are better seen from the top deck.
Bonne chance et bon voyage!
The big 3 river cruise companies, Bateaux Parisiens, Bateaux Mouches, or Vedettes du Pont Neuf all run the same basic circuit of about 1 hour. The only difference is the starting point. They all do night cruises as does Golden Travel. I personally prefer Vedettes du Pont Neuf as the starting point is more centrally located, the boats are smaller, everyone remains seated (no people standing in front of you), and the commentary is live.
For diner cruises, I recommend any of these which are mostly indoors:
https://calife.com/
https://donjuan2.yachtsdeparis.fr/en
https://www.ducasse-seine.com/en
https://www.marina-de-paris.com/en/book-your-cuise/maxims-dinner-cruises/
I mean, YOLO, right? Do both, a daytime and a nightime. I've been to Paris 3x and I think I've done 5 cruises between Bateaux Mouches and Vedettes Pont Neuf. Under $20 each. Sunsets on the Seine are definitely something else...
Thank you so much for this input and the recommendations! This is so helpful! I'll probably skip the dinner and opt for a sunset tour and check lighting time for the Tour Eiffel. I'll check the recommended companies.
Thanks for helping make my visit special. :)
...skip the dinner and opt for a sunset tour...
That's what we have done several times. No splitting of our attention between food and sights. A nice dinner can be had before or after the cruise.
Keep in mind that Sunset in Paris in April is roughly 8:30-ish (±). So the first possible "twinkling" of the Eiffel tour lights will be at 9:00pm (Sunset 8:29 on April 1st, and 9:02 on April 30th). Another good reason to have dinner beforehand, as it may be harder to find a seat anywhere other than a brasserie or café after that time.
Be sure to filter your Search by Type and Date so you get recent posts, not 10 yrs old!
I like Vedettes de Paris https://www.vedettesdeparis.fr/en/, a much smaller boat with an electric engine and a real, live guide in English and French. I wouldn't take any of the others mentioned. You can buy a drink aboard, sit back and enjoy the ride. FYI, for anyone bringing children or grands, they have an excellent interactive family cruise with questions for the kids.
They are at the foot of the Eiffel Tower next to the big ones. I've taken about every company that has given these rides in the last fifty years and go out of my way to ride in the smaller boats.
What about O Chateau champagne tasting river cruise? Thoughts on this?
I went on one, without drinks, at least 20 years ago. We were almost the only people on the boat that day, a O Chateau sold a combo ticket.
But this is not really a tasting because they want 79 euros for you to chug three full glasses of champagne in one hour, a fermented wine filled with air. If this were really a tasting, you'd have small tastings of 5 or so, where you'd learn something about the grapes, soil, techniques, how to evaluate the bubble size and taste. Instead, your take-away will be a distended stomach filled with air. Others may have different opinions. Wine cruise
Enjoy a wine bar or a trip to the Champagne houses.
