1-Hour Seine River Sightseeing Cruise: The Four Companies Compared

What all four sightseeing cruises have in common

All four cruises last about an hour and follow a nonstop loop: departure, up the river to Île de la Cité and Île Saint-Louis, turn around, back down the other arm. The three companies at the Eiffel Tower and Pont de l'Alma all head upstream first, toward Notre-Dame; Vedettes du Pont Neuf, which boards in the middle of the route, goes downstream to the Eiffel Tower first and then comes back. Whichever you choose, you will see the Eiffel Tower, the Grand Palais, Les Invalides, Place de la Concorde, the Musée d'Orsay, the Louvre, the Conciergerie and Notre-Dame.

They all sail year-round, with a covered, heated lower deck and an open upper deck. The route can change during floods or when navigation is stopped. None of them promises the Statue of Liberty replica on Île aux Cygnes on this one-hour cruise.

The differences come down to five things: the pier (and so the journey from your hotel), the commentary (recorded or live), the size of the boat, how late the evening departures run, and how flexible the ticket is. The table below sums up the fares each company publishes.

Bateaux Parisiens, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower

The Bateaux Parisiens narrated cruise leaves from Port de la Bourdonnais, pontoon 3, on the left bank, upstream of Pont d'Iéna: metro Bir-Hakeim, RER C Champ de Mars–Tour Eiffel. The sightseeing boats are fully glazed, with a terrace and outside walkways, and several are trimarans; you cannot choose your boat.

The commentary is a wired individual audio guide on the lower deck, in about 14 languages, backed up by a hostess, plus a smartphone audio guide (bring your earphones). It is the most multilingual option of the four, but less lively than a real guide. The ticket is open-dated and valid for a year: you turn up whenever you like. The flip side: no cancellation and no refund.

From April to September, boats leave roughly every 30 minutes from 10 am to 10:30 pm (until 11 pm on weekends and every day in July and August); from October to March, from 10:30 am to 10 pm, roughly every hour. There are variants with a crêpe or with the "Les Incollables®" quiz for kids. Allow time for the bag check: suitcases are refused. Our full review: Bateaux Parisiens.

Bateaux Mouches, at Pont de l'Alma

The Bateaux Mouches sightseeing cruise leaves from Port de la Conférence, at Pont de l'Alma, on the right bank: metro Alma-Marceau, RER C Pont de l'Alma. It is the company's historic pier and its only departure point, with a rare perk in Paris: parking is free while you cruise.

The sightseeing boats are the biggest of the four, carrying up to about a thousand passengers, with large open upper decks. The route heads upstream and runs along Notre-Dame, as close as you can get, through the Bras de la Monnaie, which boats may only take heading upstream; it turns near the Institut du Monde Arabe and comes back down the other side of the islands, past the Hôtel de Ville and the Conciergerie, then Orsay, the Assemblée Nationale and the Eiffel Tower before returning to Alma. The company does not publish its list of commentary languages: check the product page to see whether yours is offered.

Boats leave roughly every 30 to 45 minutes from 10 am, more often from April to October. The ticket is open, valid for a year, non-refundable but transferable, which makes it easy to give as a gift. Our review: Bateaux Mouches.

Vedettes de Paris, the live guide at Port de Suffren

Vedettes de Paris boards at 2 Port de Suffren, on the left bank, just downstream of Pont d'Iéna, under three big French flags. It is the most wheelchair-friendly pier: a ramp comes down from Pont de Bir-Hakeim, and each boat has a dedicated space on the main deck. The fleet is electric, with one hybrid boat.

Its guided cruise has a real live guide, in French and English, plus an app in eleven languages. In our view it is the best commentary of the four if you understand either of those two languages. The online ticket is for a fixed time, but you can cancel for free or change it up to 24 hours before: the most flexible policy of the lot.

The catch: guided departures run roughly every 30 to 45 minutes from late morning to late afternoon only. In the evening, the company runs its drinks-and-music cruise instead, with no guide and a playlist of French songs. At the ticket window, students get €6 off and Navigo pass holders €3 off, and the guided cruise is free on your birthday. Our review: Vedettes de Paris.

Vedettes du Pont Neuf, at the tip of Île de la Cité

Vedettes du Pont Neuf boards at 1 Square du Vert-Galant, under Pont Neuf, at the downstream tip of Île de la Cité: metro Pont Neuf, Cité or Louvre-Rivoli, RER Châtelet or Saint-Michel. You walk down a staircase from the bridge; in a wheelchair, access is difficult (ramp at 36 Quai des Orfèvres, then a cobbled quay).

It is the cheapest of the four online (€15 for an adult, €7 for a child aged 4 to 12) and the most central. The guide speaks live, in French and English, and a free app covers Spanish, Italian, German and Portuguese. The boats have an open upper deck and a heated cabin. Because the boat starts in the center, it first heads downstream to the Eiffel Tower, then back up toward Notre-Dame and Île Saint-Louis.

Boats leave daily from 10:30 am, every 30 to 60 minutes depending on the season, with the last one somewhere between about 9:30 and 10:30 pm. Cancellation follows a sliding scale: 80 % back more than 48 hours ahead, 60 % between 24 and 48 hours, nothing after that. Our review: Vedettes du Pont Neuf.

Price online, at the ticket window or on a booking platform

The ticket window always costs more: €2 extra at Bateaux Parisiens and Pont Neuf, €3 at Bateaux Mouches and Vedettes de Paris. On the three platforms we compare, the cruise usually sells at the company's own online fare: €18 for Bateaux Parisiens, €17 for Bateaux Mouches, whether you go through GetYourGuide, Tiqets or Headout. The tables above show it cruise by cruise.

What does vary from one platform to another is the terms: open ticket or timed, cancellable or not. They are shown before you pay. For a detailed comparison of the platforms, see GetYourGuide, Tiqets or Headout, and for every fare table, Seine river cruise tickets and prices.

Two false friends. The "Seine River Pass®" sold online is not a multi-company pass: it is a reseller's ticket for one one-hour cruise from the Bateaux Parisiens pontoon. And the hop-on hop-off bus passes each include a single company: Bateaux Parisiens for Big Bus, Vedettes de Paris for Tootbus. If you already hold one of those passes, your one-hour cruise has been chosen for you.

Which one-hour Seine cruise is best

There is no bad choice, but there is a better choice for your situation. Here is ours.

Our picks

1

For commentary in your own language

Audio guide in about 14 languages, departures from 10 am to 10:30 pm in the warmer months, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.

Sightseeing

GetYourGuide1 hourEiffel Tower

Paris: Seine Cruise departing from the Eiffel Tower Web Rate

4.4 (91,857)

from €18Check dates

2

For a real guide and a flexible ticket

Live French-English guide, electric fleet, the easiest wheelchair access of the four.

Sightseeing

TiqetsSuffren

Seine River: Electric Boat Guided Sightseeing Cruise by Vedettes de Paris

4.4 (1,095)

from €18Check dates

3

For a big open deck and easy parking

The largest boats, right-bank departure at Alma, free parking while you cruise.

Sightseeing

GetYourGuidePont de l'Alma

Paris: Bateaux Mouches® Sightseeing Cruise on the Seine

4.4 (6,150)

from €17Check dates

4

For a small budget in central Paris

The lowest fare, a pier right on Île de la Cité, live guide.

Sightseeing

GetYourGuide1 hourPont Neuf

Seine River Sightseeing Guided Cruise Vedettes du Pont Neuf

4.6 (424)

from €17Check dates

For a first cruise late in the day, we would take Bateaux Parisiens or Bateaux Mouches, whose last departures are at 10 pm or later in the warmer months. During the day, with kids who understand French or English, Vedettes de Paris. If you are staying near Saint-Michel, the Louvre or the Marais, Pont Neuf saves you crossing Paris. Other ways to get out on the water are described in Paris boat tours, and every offer is in the Seine cruise catalog.

Timetables, last departure and sunset

The last departure makes all the difference if you want to see Paris lit up. Bateaux Parisiens runs until 10:30 pm from April to September (11 pm on weekends and in July–August) and until 10 pm in winter (10:30 pm on weekends and during French school holidays). Bateaux Mouches sails until 10 pm from April to October, with an extra 10:30 pm departure on Saturdays in October, and until about 9:30 pm in winter. Pont Neuf finishes between 9:30 and 10:30 pm depending on the season. Vedettes de Paris stops its guided cruise in the late afternoon.

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. A departure 20 to 25 minutes before the hour usually has the tower in view at the right moment. In June, night falls so late that only the very last boats sail in the dark; in winter, a 5 pm departure is enough.

To plan your evening, see Seine night cruise and Seine sunset cruise.

Frequently asked questions