Seine Cruise

Hi Kristen,

I took the Bateaux Mouches and found it to be very enjoyable. I assure you though, cruises on the Seine are made for tourists so every one of them is about as touristy as it gets.

The Bateaux Mouche I took in the evening - which is a very popular time to take the cruise as everything looks pretty spectacular when it is lit up. I took it on an evening in August when Paris is the busiest with tourists, and I only had to wait for the next boat to show up... though to be fair it was the second-last departure of the evening so the crowds may have been thinning out by that point.

The Bateaux Mouches had a nice taped commentary that ran in multiple languages and was very helpful. I may be mistaken, but I had heard that the Batobus line does not have a commentary, so you are paying for the novelty of being able to get on and off at your leisure.

As I said, this is pretty much as touristy as it gets in Paris, but I think it is something of great value to anyone visiting. I highly recommend that you do the cruise on the line that offers the best fit for what you are doing. If you want to use the Batobus as a means of transport in the city, then that is best. Otherwise, I would recommend you go with the Bateaux Mouches. Enjoy!

Kristen - A different alternative is the Paris canal boat tour. It leaves from near the Musee d'Orsay and goes up the Seine on much of the same distance of the Bateaux Mouches, but then turns into the Canal St. Martin and wends it way through a series of locks through less-visited Parisian neighborhoods. It ends near Paris' giant science and industry museum, which your son might also like.

Yes the Canal St. Martin boat tour is great, very interesting. Your son should like it a lot (you too).
I reserved online through their website. I was unable to get the link posted above to work. I'm sure you can find it by searching.

Thanks for the replies. I was checking the website for the Paris Canal Cruises. I think that this is more what I was looking for. Thank you. I wanted to see Paris from a nice relaxing cruises. I thought that an hour would be too short, and was afraid that the HOHO boat would be too much like a public bus experience.

Kristen the Batobus is like a bus on the water. We used it last May for our main mode of transport. As long as you stay away from the Eiffel Tower stop (one of seven), crowds shouldn't be a problem. After a few stops you learn which side of the bus to sit on (away from the sun) and we much enjoyed the experience. I recall we bought a 72 hour pass and they made no money from us. The early evening 'runs' are almost empty and it's like the boat's reserved for only you.

Saw the Bateaux Mouche boats (and others) go by and to me they weren't my cup of tea; unless you only want one trip up the Seine with 150+ other folks. We got several trips on the 'bus', and while a few trips were crowded, had a great time on the water.