Early Dinner Cruise in Paris: the 6 pm Seine Sittings Compared

Paris dinner cruises leaving between 6 and 6:45 pm, company by company

The "first sitting" is the short dinner that several restaurant boats fit in before their main departure of the evening. It leaves the quay between 6 and 6:45 pm, stays on the water about 1h15 and brings passengers back before 8 pm.

Many visitors have "6:30 pm" in mind; in fact, none of the big boats in central Paris leaves at that time. The actual times are in the table below. Le Théo and L'Estello do leave at 6:30 pm, but for a dinner of about two hours: those are in-between formats, covered further down. For the overview of every evening sitting, see our Seine dinner cruise comparison.

Bateaux Parisiens early dinner cruise at 6:15 pm: out to the Île Saint-Louis and back

The Bateaux Parisiens 6:15 pm dinner boards at Port de la Bourdonnais, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower on the Left Bank, upstream of the Pont d'Iéna; dinner-cruise check-in is at pontoons 5 and 7. Check-in closes at 6 pm and the boat is due back at 7:30 pm. It follows the "orange" route: upstream to the Île Saint-Louis, a turn, and back to the tower.

There are four service levels: Étoile from €99 (center seating, kir and wine included), Privilège from €129 (tables for 2 to 4 against the picture window), Premier from €154 (front of the boat, champagne with the apéritif) and Premier Baie Vitrée from €174. This sitting has no live music and no add-ons: the birthday, wedding and "all-champagne" packages are only offered on the 8:30 pm service. Smart dress is still required (no jeans, sneakers, flip-flops, Bermuda shorts or caps) and, as with all its dinners, the booking is non-refundable.

On the platforms, a Bateaux Parisiens dinner listed at around €99 is generally this departure: check the time shown on the listing before you pay. Our Bateaux Parisiens review covers the company in detail.

Book the Bateaux Parisiens early evening dinnerfrom €99Affiliate link: if you book, we earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Bateaux Mouches Service 18h: wine included at Alma

At Alma, the Compagnie des Bateaux-Mouches boards its "Service 18h" at Port de la Conférence, on the Right Bank, its only pier. Boarding is at 5:30 pm, the boat leaves at 6 pm and is back at 7:15 pm. The single €90 menu includes a starter, a main, cheese or dessert, water and one bottle of wine for two; a child aged 4 to 12 pays €45 and gets a separate menu.

In our view it is the best value of all the early sittings. The big 8:30 pm dinner starts at €99 on the Découverte menu, but with no wine and no guaranteed window seat: the early one is cheaper and comes with more to drink. The company advertises violin and piano "in the evening" without saying which sitting: if the music matters to you, ask when you book.

Practical pluses: free parking during the cruise, and a cancellation in writing at least 72 hours ahead is refunded. Smart dress applies from 6 pm (no sportswear, flip-flops, Bermuda shorts or caps). See our Bateaux Mouches review.

Solférino at 6 and 6:45 pm: Paris Seine and Maxim's

Below the Musée d'Orsay, Port de Solférino (metro line 12 Solférino, RER C Musée d'Orsay) belongs to a single company that sells under several brands. Here, "Paris Seine" is the name of a company, not of the river.

Paris Seine / La Marina de Paris offers three dinners at 6:45 pm, all 1h15: Découverte (from €70 on the homepage, €87 in the product list depending on the date), Festif with a live singer (from €110) and Paris romantique (from €135). One thing to know before comparing: on the standard cruises, drinks are extra, at €8 to €10 for a glass of wine. The route heads toward Notre-Dame, comes back past the Louvre and the Pont Alexandre III, rounds the Statue of Liberty and saves the Eiffel Tower for the end.

Maxim's sur Seine leaves at 6 pm for 1h15 on two small boats seating 40 and 60: three courses, a glass of champagne and a pianist-singer. Expect from €145 to €165 depending on which official page you read. Check the time on your voucher: resellers report a different time in winter.

Saturday at 6 pm on Le Capitaine Fracasse, and the 6:30 pm formats

Le Capitaine Fracasse only serves an early dinner on Saturdays: boarding at 5:30 pm at Port de Javel Haut, at the foot of the Pont Mirabeau, departure at 6 pm, back at 7:45 pm. With 1h45 on the water, it is the longest of the early sittings. The Fracasse package (from €75) includes no drinks at all, not even water; Amiral (from €89) adds a bottle of wine for two. No dress code, and free cancellation up to 24 hours before.

On Saturdays too, Le Diamant Bleu runs a second sitting with a 6 pm departure from Port de Passy; the DJ party at the quay does not happen after that first departure. Two 6:30 pm formats round out the picture: Le Théo's Trattoria en Seine (Passy, Tuesday to Sunday, back at 8:30 pm, €69) and L'Estello, Le Calife's small boat (Port des Saints-Pères, about two hours, from €95 on weekdays). Our cheap dinner cruise guide goes back over the least expensive options.

Dinner

GetYourGuide1.5 - 2 hoursOrsay · Solférino

Paris: Seine River Bistronomic Dinner Cruise

4.2 (6,050)

from €59Check dates

Dinner

GetYourGuide2.5 hoursEiffel Tower

Paris: 1-Hour Sightseeing Cruise and 3-Course Bistro Dinner

4.4 (1,534)

from €66Check dates

Dinner

GetYourGuide75 minutesOrsay · Solférino

Paris: Early Evening Dinner Cruise with Paris Seine

4.3 (988)

from €87Check dates

Dinner

HeadoutOrsay · Solférino

Maxim's Seine River Dinner Cruise with Live Music and Bistro Menu

4.5 (140)

from €165Check dates

Dinner

GetYourGuide1.5 hoursOrsay · Solférino

Paris : Bistronomic early dinner cruise

4.2 (176)

from €59Check dates

Dinner

HeadoutEiffel Tower

Bateaux Parisiens Seine River Early Evening Dinner Cruise with Gourmet Menu

4.6 (100)

from €99Check dates

See everything on GetYourGuide →See everything on Tiqets →See everything on Headout →Prices checked on October 17, 2026

The Bistro Parisien combo: dinner on the quay, cruise afterward

The platforms sell a different format under the "dinner cruise" label: a meal at Le Bistro Parisien, the Bateaux Parisiens restaurant at pontoon 2 of Port de la Bourdonnais, paired with a one-hour sightseeing cruise. The restaurant does not sail; you eat on the quay, facing the Eiffel Tower, then board a sightseeing cruise from the same port, in the order and at the time shown on your voucher.

On the company side, the dinner pack started at 6:30 pm and was listed at around €45; the current rate is not published. With our partners it runs at around €66, with a three-course bistro menu. It is the most flexible and cheapest option: you lose the feeling of dining as you glide along the water, but you gain an unhurried meal and a cruise in the open air. For a family, it is often the best compromise.

Why the early sitting costs less

The price difference comes down to three things. First, length: 1h15 instead of 2h15 to 2h30. Second, the route: the Bateaux Parisiens 6:15 pm dinner only goes out to the Île Saint-Louis and back, while the 8:30 pm pushes east as far as the Bibliothèque nationale de France, then down to the Statue of Liberty. Third, the service: no live music at Bateaux Parisiens at 6:15 pm, no party add-ons, a menu without frills.

In practice, the gap ranges from €9 (Bateaux Mouches, €90 versus €99) to €16 (Bateaux Parisiens in Étoile, €99 versus €115), and far more in the higher tiers: a window seat costs €129 at 6:15 pm against €185 at 8:30 pm. At Paris en Scène or Le Théo, on the other hand, the first and second departures cost the same.

The downside: a short dinner is eaten quickly, and the courses follow one another fast. To take your time and dance, choose the 8:30 pm sitting and see our dinner cruise with live music page.

With children: the right time slot

For a family, the early sitting has everything going for it: children eat at their usual time and are back before 7:45 pm. Child rates: €40 for a child up to 11 in Étoile at Bateaux Parisiens, but the adult price in every other category, babies included; €45 for ages 4 to 12 at Bateaux Mouches, with a dedicated menu; €49 on Le Théo; a kids' menu at Paris Seine, with no published price.

Mind the dress code: at Bateaux Parisiens, a teenager in jeans and sneakers can be refused boarding. Cheaper family options are on our family cruise page.

Daylight or dark at the table: sunset month by month

It all depends on the calendar. In June the sun sets around 10 pm: a 6 pm dinner happens in full daylight, with no illuminations at all. In September, sunset around 8 pm comes just after you get back. From November to February, night has fallen before departure or during the cruise; in October and March, sunset falls during or just after dinner. The switch comes when the clocks go back on the last Sunday in October, when the sun sets around 5:30 pm.

The Eiffel Tower sparkles for five minutes at the start of every hour after dark, until at least 11 pm; on some evenings, especially in summer, it carries on later — check the tower's website for the day. From November to February the first sparkle comes around 6 or 7 pm: it falls during an early dinner, though the boat is not necessarily facing the tower at that moment. More detail on our Seine sunset cruise page.