Batobus Paris: the Hop-On Hop-Off Seine River Cruise, Stops and Prices

It gets sold as "the hop-on hop-off Seine river cruise", but the Batobus makes more sense if you think of it as a bus on the water. You buy a pass, board at any of the nine stops, get off at the Musée d'Orsay, and catch a later boat two hours afterward to the Jardin des Plantes. Nobody tells you the story of the Pont Neuf over a microphone. This page covers the stops in order, pass prices, hours by season, the rules for luggage and wheelchairs, and then the sightseeing buses that sell "a cruise included": depending on the ticket, it is not the same boat. For every type of cruise on the river, go back to our Seine river cruises overview.

Batobus & bus

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Batobus & bus

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Batobus & bus

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Batobus & bus

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Batobus & bus

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River shuttle or cruise: what the Batobus really is

The Batobus presents itself as a way of getting around, an alternative to the Métro between the big sights. The practical consequence is simple: there is no guide. The crew sometimes points out a monument, but the commentary is something you pick yourself, on the company's free web app (French, English, Spanish, German, Italian) or at the ticket office. Bring earphones and a charged phone.

The boats have 180 seats, a heated cabin and an open deck. The operator, the Compagnie des Batobus, is based at the Port de la Bourdonnais and belongs to the same group as Bateaux Parisiens, which is why its main stop sits at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.

In our view the difference matters most if you only have an hour. A one-hour Seine river cruise does a non-stop loop with commentary and runs into the evening. The Batobus asks for time: about two hours for the loop, a stop at every landing, and a last departure in the late afternoon outside the high season. Excellent for a day of museums, a poor choice if you want to see the river at 9 pm.

Batobus Paris stops: the nine landings in order

The official route has nine stops. The boat heads upstream along the Left Bank as far as the Jardin des Plantes, then comes back down along the Right Bank to the Concorde and returns to the Eiffel Tower. Allow about a quarter of an hour between two stops.

Older pages and route maps still show a stop at Beaugrenelle, near the Île aux Cygnes: it is no longer on the official list. Nor does the Batobus go as far as Bercy or the national library (Bibliothèque nationale de France). Ticket offices are at Tour Eiffel, Jardin des Plantes, Hôtel de Ville, Louvre, Concorde, Orsay and Notre-Dame. The exact quays and their Métro stations are on our Seine piers page.

Batobus Paris tickets: 24-hour, 48-hour and annual passes

The Batobus does not sell single rides: you buy a pass valid at every stop. On the company's website the 24-hour pass is €23 for an adult and €13 for a child aged 4 to 11, the 48-hour pass €27 and €17 (online only), and the annual pass €73 and €48. The company does not state an age under which small children ride free: ask at the ticket office.

The clock starts at your first boarding and runs in consecutive hours; under the company's terms only operating hours count, which favors anyone who starts a pass late in the afternoon. If in doubt, ask at the ticket office exactly when your pass expires. Unused tickets stay valid for six months after purchase.

Paris-region residents get a reduced fare with a Navigo pass (and with the Imagine R, Améthyste, Émeraude and large-family cards), at the ticket office only: about €18 for 24 hours and €22 for 48 hours. The Navigo itself is not valid as a ticket on board. Ticket offices take cash, cards, French checks and holiday vouchers (chèques-vacances).

On the booking platforms the 24-hour pass sells at the same level as on the official site; the table below compares today's offers. For children, a game kit called "Enquêtes à bord" (investigator kit) is sold separately for around €11.

Batobus Paris hours: what changes with the season

The official hours are the departure times from the Tour Eiffel stop, and the company publishes them by period. From October 1 to November 1 the Batobus runs daily from 10 am to 7 pm. From November 2 to March 31 it runs from 10 am to 5 pm Monday to Thursday and from 10 am to 7 pm Friday to Sunday. The first boats leave at 10 am from Tour Eiffel and from Notre-Dame. Summer hours are not posted at the moment: check them on the company's website before you plan your day around them.

No frequency is published. The company quotes a full loop of about 1h45 to 2 hours; in practice, if you want to ride the whole loop on a Monday in winter, board before 3 pm.

Winter has one advantage: in December the sun sets at about 4:55 pm, so a late-afternoon loop on a Friday or Saturday ends in the dark, with the quays lit up. But with a last departure at 7 pm, this is not an evening cruise. For that, see our Seine river night cruise page.

Luggage, strollers, wheelchairs, dogs: the rules on board

The Batobus often gets used as a shuttle by travelers between two trains, and that is where it turns most people away. Luggage is limited to 55 × 35 × 25 cm (about 22 × 14 × 10 in): suitcases and large bags are refused for safety reasons, while small backpacks, handbags and laptop bags are fine. The Eiffel Tower has no left-luggage office, and Bateaux Parisiens, on the same quay, refuses suitcases too.

Strollers: allowed, folded and handed to the crew, who stow them at the front. Bikes go on board only if the boat is not full. Dogs: guide dogs, muzzled dogs on a leash, and small dogs in a bag, with the crew keeping the right to refuse.

Wheelchairs: Tour Eiffel is the only accessible stop, via a ramp shared with vehicles; the other stops and the boats involve steps. In practice, a wheelchair user can only board and get off at the same point, which removes the whole point of hop-on hop-off. Write to the company before you come. For outings with children and the easiest piers to reach, see our family Seine river cruise page.

Big Bus and Tootbus: which cruise is really included

Nearly all the open-top sightseeing buses sell a "bus + cruise" ticket. The boat is not the same from one brand to the next, or even from one ticket to the next.

Big Bus Paris: the Essential (24 hours of bus) and Explore (48 hours) tickets include a one-hour cruise with Bateaux Parisiens, from pontoon 3 at the Port de la Bourdonnais, near the bus's Eiffel Tower stop. The "48h + River Cruise" ticket works differently: it includes the 48-hour Batobus pass, under the name DUO LIBERTÉ, which the Batobus sells itself for around €84 for an adult and €49 for a child. Big Bus prices start at about €50, with frequent promotions.

Tootbus Paris: the Must See Paris and Paris Smart Tour tickets include a one-hour cruise with Vedettes de Paris, from the Port de Suffren, on the other side of the Pont d'Iéna. The cruise ticket is valid for 15 days with no time slot to book: you turn up about twenty minutes before a departure. Must See Paris costs around €60 for an adult, often less on promotion. Watch out: Tootbus's "Paris by Night" is a bus tour, with no boat.

Batobus & bus

GetYourGuide1 - 2 daysEiffel Tower

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Batobus & bus

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Batobus & bus

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from €37Check dates

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The three "passes" people mix up

Three products carry a name that sounds like "Seine pass", and none of them lets you take any boat from any company.

The Batobus pass (24 hours, 48 hours or annual) is a transport ticket for a single line, the nine stops described above.

The "Paris-Seine Pass" sold on Tiqets is a sightseeing bundle: entry to the Musée d'Orsay, the Vedettes de Paris evening cruise with music (Port de Suffren), and entry to the Sainte-Chapelle and the Conciergerie. It is closer to our museum + cruise combos than to a transport pass.

The Seine River Pass® sold on GetYourGuide is a reseller's brand, not a boat company: each option is a single one-hour cruise from the Bateaux Parisiens pier, with an audio guide or a day of Big Bus depending on the option.

Combo

Tiqets

Paris-Seine Pass

4.3 (35)

from €71Check dates

Sightseeing

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Read the exact title and the meeting point before you pay; cancellation terms depend on the listing. Our GetYourGuide, Tiqets or Headout comparison and the Seine river cruise tickets page explain the differences.

Batobus or a one-hour cruise: which to choose

A one-hour cruise with commentary costs around €17 to €18 online, the 24-hour Batobus pass €23: for five euros more you get a day of rides, but no live commentary and no evening departures outside the high season.

The Batobus is the right call if your day strings together Orsay, the Louvre, Notre-Dame and the Jardin des Plantes, if you have children who wilt on the Métro, or if you simply want to sit on the water between two visits. The 48-hour pass is the best deal of the lot if you are staying two days.

The one-hour cruise is better for a first time, for hearing the story of the bridges and monuments, and for anything that happens after dark. Our what you see on a Seine river cruise page describes what you will see either way, since the Batobus passes the same monuments, just more slowly.

For a full review of the company itself, see our Batobus review; for the buses, the Big Bus and Tootbus review.