Boat trip in Paris

Canal St Martin has the locks. Opinions will vary on it's merit.

Susan ,, its considered bit long,, and for some too long, as in a tad boring.I would consider a visit to the Canal St Martin just to walk along it, , but only if I had more then 4 days( in another of your posts you mention that duration) alot more really , I think for your visit you should consider a one hour Seine cruise,, there are multiple companies that do them, I think the night time one is best, seeing all the monuments and bridges lit up is pretty nice.. and they leave fairly often.

Skip it. We did it on our last day and it was very boring. If you have seen one lock, you have seen a lock. Don't waste valuable Parisian time on this. We only had it on our list because we spent almost 2 weeks there. I don't recommend the Seine boat cruise either. Everybody loudly talks on the boat, the seating is uncomfortable (plastic chairs). I would have rather taken the time to get across the river and take a picture of the Eiffel all lit up from a distance. If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them.

To offer a different perspective, I really enjoyed it (I really love boats and the water... in any form). I found it to be a quiet interlude on a busy day, and it was interesting seeing some of the less touristy parts of the city. I did have 10 days in Paris on that trip. If your time is very short and other things are higher on your list, you might want to focus on those activities; it doesn't take you past typical tourism sites.

Canauxrama on Canal St Martin was mildly interesting but an hour too long. It did, however, give my tired feet a nice rest. Knowing what I do now, I'd skip it.

We did the trip on the Canal in March and really enjoyed ourselves - it was an enforced time of leisure. We got off at the first stop, rather than at the final stop and walked through the park. We then had a meal at a really great little restaurant in an area we would never normally have visited. I do agree with the posters that if you have a rushed trip maybe it would be a bit long.

I agree about walking along the Canal St. Martin - it's lovely and peaceful and you can watch pleasure boats going thru the locks or continue on walking, you choice. Re: the Seine river cruise. I'm sorry Sandy had such a bad experience. She must have been on a Bauteau Mouche boat - huge, full of tour bus crowds, crowded, etc. Avoid these if you can! Try one of the smaller cruise lines. They're much more enjoyable and a great way to enjoy the river. I prefer the Vedettes du Pont Neuf myself but there are several.