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The famous River Seine runs through the heart of Paris, slowly rolling between the right and left banks and around the small island where Notre Dame is located. Most of the city’s most famous landmarks can be seen from a walk along its banks (which are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site), but somehow they look even more magical from a boat on the Water. There are several options for a Seine River cruise, from the famous open-top Bateaux Mouches to luxury boats serving gourmet meals or a champagne toast as you go. Some ships sail during the day, others at night, and they vary in length, but everyone’s goal is the same: to get what might be the best view of the beautiful city of Paris. These are the best Seine river cruise options Viator has to offer.
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Best Dinner Cruise: Dinner Cruise on the Seine River by the Bateaux Parisiens
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Floating slowly down the Seine while enjoying a gourmet three-course meal as the city flashes in the background feels like a scene from a movie. This tour starts up close to the Eiffel Tower and takes place in a glass-topped boat, making it ideal in any weather. The sample menu includes delicacies like rotisserie chicken along with a carrot and potato cake seasoned with anise and chocolate raspberry millefeuille. If you select the 8:30 pm departure time, the cruise also includes live music. The tour lasts either 1.5 hours (for the 6:30 AM cruise) or 2.5 hours (for the 8:30 AM cruise), and the price includes table wine and a champagne toast.
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Best Lunch Cruise: Paris Cruise on the Seine River Including Lunch
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If a dinner cruise feels a bit formal or even too late at night for your liking, you can still enjoy a meal on the water with this lunch cruise (which certainly saves a few bucks too). The 2.5-hour cruise takes place in an elegant and similar glass-topped boat and includes a rather expansive three-course lunch along with wine and an aperitif. The menu includes options such as duck foie gras with toast, a t-bone steak with sweet potato puree and a typical French cheese plate. A live accordionist plays tunes from the traditional French music hall as you slowly float past the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, and Notre Dame Cathedral.
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Best Brunch Cruise: Seine River Cruise in Paris
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We’re slowly lowering the levels of formality (and price) here, but frankly, brunch may be the least formal meal available on a Seine river boat, but food wise, brunch on a river boat Sena is fancier than most of the meals you’ve ever eaten, right? Brunch is a fairly new concept to the French, having only made its way across the Atlantic in the last 10 to 15 years (considering how seriously the French protect their traditional food customs, a new food invasion it’s really kind of a great thing), and it’s certainly a new idea for a river cruise, but it works quite well, especially on this particular boat.
The boat has seating for all the couches, and all facing out, making it a cozy and relaxed atmosphere first and foremost, and with tasty snacks (pastries, fruit, salmon, etc.) and a hot cup of coffee. or tea plus a champagne toast if you wish, it’s a really nice experience overall. No, it’s not super formal, but things don’t have to be formal to be elegant, especially in Paris!
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Best Drinking Cruise: Champagne Tasting on a Seine River Cruise
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France is famous for its wine and particularly its champagne (as you probably know, if it is from anywhere other than the Champagne region of France, it is not true champagne and should only be called sparkling wine), then why not combine two fabulous and three French activities in one great excursion. This hour-long sunset cruise includes a full champagne tasting and a lesson with a certified English-speaking sommelier as you cruise down the Seine, taking in the sights. You’ll learn the difference between a brut, a demi-sec, and a rosé, as well as how to taste and evaluate champagne (it’s a bit different than tasting wine but shares many similarities), all while the city’s illuminated monuments drift past. the Windows. Pure luxury!
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Best luxury cruise: luxury gourmet dinner cruise on VIP yacht
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Who are we kidding? Any cruise on the river Seine is a luxury cruise, right? But this one takes it to another level. Instead of the typical flat-bottomed boat, you will board the luxurious Don Juan II yacht and enjoy the smooth ride of this boat while delighting in a multi-course tasting menu served by professional waiters and sommeliers. Your table will be decorated with fine linens in the dining room with mahogany and brass trim, and when you are done eating you can retreat to the spacious bar room, covered terraces or outdoors to take photos and enjoy the evening. points of view.
The seasonal menu is prepared by a chef who holds the prestigious title of Meilleur Ouvrier de France and includes familiar French techniques and some daring flavors to encourage guests to try something new while sailing. It is quite an experience and a particularly ideal option for couples looking for an exquisitely romantic evening.
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Best Discount Cruise: Bateaux Mouches One-Hour Seine River Cruise
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This is the classic Paris river boat cruise: a large flat-bottomed boat with an open top, from which you can see the breathtaking views of the famous buildings along the Seine: Notre Dame Cathedral, Musée d’Orsay, the Louvre, the Conciergerie (where Marie Antoinette spent her last night), and much more. It’s a surprisingly affordable gift, and in just one hour, you won’t be eating all day (or driving the kids crazy). Buying your ticket in advance through Viator allows you to skip access to the ship line, which also saves time. If you wish, you can upgrade your tour to include a glass of champagne.
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Best Hop-On / Hop-Off: Paris Hop-On Hop-Off Seine River Sightseeing Cruise
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Most travelers are familiar with hop-on, hop-off bus tours, which loop buses through all cities and stop at designated stops where you can, yes, hop on and off freely. This boat cruise works in exactly the same way, and because much of Paris is right on the river’s edge, it’s actually surprisingly useful.
You can buy one or two day passes that you can then use to travel up and down the river in style and comfort, or just enjoy boating and taking the loop (it takes 1.5-2 hours to do a full loop, but there are multiple boats underway so you never have to wait long at any stop). There are eight stops in total, including one near the Eiffel Tower, one near Notre Dame Cathedral, and one near the Louvre, so if you’re doing big-name sightseeing, you’ll be able to touch those three (and several more) outside of your list easily.
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Best Canal Cruise: Seine River Cruise and Canal Tour
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There are more waterways through Paris than just the Seine, many of which were built by Napoleon when he modernized the city. The second largest is the Canal Saint Martin (recognizable to fans of the movie Amelie, this is where she jumped stones) and it is possible to reach each other (and many places beyond) via a system of locks.
This cool tour takes you up the Seine and then to the lock system (super cool in itself; kids, in particular, will enjoy seeing the mechanics of the system) to see even more of the city from the waterways that wind its lesser-known neighborhoods It’s as out of the ordinary as you can get into a boat, so if that’s your speed, consider it. (Note that the tour sometimes works in reverse, where you catch the boat in the outer districts and then float into the city center – double check before booking to find out where to catch your boat.)
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Best Marne River Cruise: The Marne River Loop – Full-Day Lunch Cruise
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The Seine, like basically all rivers, connects to other waterways, and one of them is the Marne. This cruise begins in front of the Musée d’Orsay in central Paris, floating down the Seine, past the city’s monuments and beyond, until you finally reach the beautiful French countryside. A three-course lunch (including wine) is served on board and an English-speaking guide explains the highlights as you pass, from the centuries-old monuments in central Paris to the stadiums and government buildings on its edges and then to the lawns full of swans of farms, farms and fishermen. The tour lasts approximately six hours.
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Best Combination Tour: Dinner at the Eiffel Tower and Seine Cruise
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It doesn’t get much more iconic than tonight in Paris with its two stunning views of the city. You will start your evening with a pickup in a luxury vehicle that will take you to the Eiffel Tower. You will ride the elevator to the first floor (190 feet above the ground) where you will sit at the luxurious 58 Tour Eiffel restaurant to enjoy a three-course meal with wine while taking in the panoramic view of the city. . At the end of dinner, you will take a short walk to the edge of the River Seine, where you will take your glass-decked boat for a cruise on the Seine and watch the City of Lights slide against the dark night. Darling. At the end of your cruise, you will meet your driver at the base of the Eiffel Tower for a comfortable ride back to your hotel.
Our process
Our writers spent two hours researching the most popular Seine cruises on the market. Before making their final recommendations, they considered 20 different cruises overall, read over 60 user reviews (both positive and negative), and tried one of them. All of this research adds to recommendations you can trust.
