Seine river cruises in Paris
Adult one-hour sightseeing tickets cost €15 to €21 at the three operators read on Oct 4, 2026, and the tourist office lists Bateaux Parisiens at €18 to €20 with no date. Each boards at its own pier. Choose a format and a date to see sunset and the Bateaux-Mouches sailings.
Four operators, four piers
Checked Oct 4, 2026
- Adult one-hour ticket€15 to €21Bateaux Parisiens undated
Choose a kind of cruise and a day, then select Find cruises for my date.
Adult one-hour sightseeing ticket
Checked Oct 4, 2026
- Bateaux-Mouches€20Pont de l'Alma€17 online
- Bateaux Parisiens€20Bourdonnais€18 online
- Vedettes de Paris€21Suffren€18 online
- Vedettes du Pont Neuf€17Vert Galant€15 online
Which kind of Seine cruise
The four operators read here sell four formats: a one-hour sightseeing cruise, a themed cruise with champagne or a snack, a lunch cruise and a dinner cruise. They differ in length, price, whether a meal is included and how you board, so the rows below put them side by side on the same five fields.
- About 1 hour
- From €15 for an adult (read Oct 4, 2026)
- None
- At the operator's own pier, listed below
- Open ticket or timed e-ticket, depending on the operator
Themed cruise
A cruise themed around champagne, a snack or a canal route.
- About 1 hour for the Vedettes de Paris champagne cruise; other themed cruises are timed on each operator's page
- Set by each operator: see its page
- A drink or a snack, where the cruise lists one
- Set by each operator: see its page
- Set by each operator: see its page
- About 1 hour 45 minutes at Bateaux-Mouches
- Bateaux-Mouches lists €90 for the Douce France menu
- Lunch menu
- Boarding 12:00 to 12:15, departure 12:30 (Bateaux-Mouches)
- A booked table at Bateaux-Mouches
- About 2 hours 15 minutes on the 20:30 cruise; about 1 hour 15 minutes on the 18:00 early service at Bateaux-Mouches
- Bateaux-Mouches lists €90 to €170 by menu on the information page (the 18:00 early service is the €90 menu); the dinner-page FAQ states €135 to €480 (the only €480 item is the New Year's Eve dinner), so confirm on the official site
- Dinner menu; live music at Bateaux-Mouches
- 20:30 cruise: boarding 19:30 to 20:15, departure 20:30. 18:00 early service: boarding 17:30 (Bateaux-Mouches)
- A booked table; at Bateaux-Mouches it can be canceled up to 72 hours before
Where Seine cruises leave from
Operators board at different piers, so a cruise below the Eiffel Tower is a different trip from one that starts on the Île de la Cité. This guide lists the four piers its sources name for the one-hour cruises, each with the address the operator or the Paris tourist office gives. Some lunch and dinner cruises board elsewhere, such as the Pont Alexandre III for Vedettes du Pont Neuf.
- Pont de l'Alma
Bateaux-Mouches
Port de la Conférence, 75008 Paris (right bank)
Open in a map (Pont de l'Alma, opens OpenStreetMap in a new tab)
- Port de la Bourdonnais
Bateaux Parisiens
Port de la Bourdonnais, 75007 Paris (below the Eiffel Tower)
Open in a map (Port de la Bourdonnais, opens OpenStreetMap in a new tab)
- Port de Suffren
Vedettes de Paris
2 Port de Suffren, 75007 Paris (below the Eiffel Tower)
Open in a map (Port de Suffren, opens OpenStreetMap in a new tab)
- Vert Galant
Vedettes du Pont Neuf
1 Square du Vert Galant, 75001 Paris (Île de la Cité)
Open in a map (Vert Galant, opens OpenStreetMap in a new tab)
Bateaux Parisiens and Vedettes de Paris both board below the Eiffel Tower, at two different piers. Bateaux Parisiens has also run cruises from the foot of Notre-Dame; this guide found no current schedule for that start on the pages it read, so it is not listed as a pier.
What a Seine cruise costs
The table lists the one-hour sightseeing ticket at each operator with its child price, its ticket type and the date it was read. Tickets that share a name can differ, so read the ticket column before you compare two figures.
Bateaux-MouchesSightseeing cruise
- Adult
- €20
- Child
- €10
- Length
- About 1 hour
- Ticket type
- Open ticket: any departure on the chosen day, valid one year, non-refundable
Bateaux ParisiensSightseeing cruise from the Eiffel Tower
- Adult
- €20
- Child
- €10
- Length
- Not published on a page this guide could read
- Ticket type
- Not published on a page this guide could read
Vedettes de ParisGuided cruise
- Adult
- €21
- Child
- €10
- Length
- About 1 hour
- Ticket type
- Ticket for a booked departure or an open ticket that is assigned a slot on the website
Vedettes du Pont Neuf1-hour guided cruise
- Adult
- €17
- Child
- €9
- Length
- About 1 hour
- Ticket type
- Time-stamped e-ticket for one departure. An open ticket valid one year costs more
Other Seine operators
Bateaux de Paris and Batobus are the two operators the price table above does not cover. The table below lists them with Vedettes de Paris and Vedettes du Pont Neuf, which are priced above, so it can say what each one runs and where, and link to its own page. Nothing here ranks them.
Bateaux de Paris
- Runs
- A sightseeing cruise of 1 hour 15 minutes aboard a boat named INSOLITE
- Where
- Quai des Orfèvres
Batobus
- Runs
- A hop-on hop-off service with nine stops from the Eiffel Tower to the Place de la Concorde, sold as 24-hour and 48-hour passes, an annual pass and a duo pass
- Where
- Nine stops, Eiffel Tower to Place de la Concorde
Vedettes de Paris
- Runs
- A guided one-hour cruise on electric boats, plus a champagne cruise, a musical aperitif cruise and a family cruise
- Where
- Port de Suffren
Vedettes du Pont Neuf
- Runs
- A one-hour guided cruise by day and night from the Vert Galant. Themed cruises (champagne, snack, canal) and lunch and dinner cruises board as its page states
- Where
- Vert Galant
Timed ticket or open ticket
Tickets for the same one-hour cruise come in two kinds. A timed ticket is for one departure. An open ticket is valid on any departure of the day you choose, or for a stated period, and boarding depends on free seats. The price can also depend on where you buy.
Bateaux-Mouches
- Tickets
- Open ticket only for the sightseeing cruise: any departure on the chosen day, valid one year, no seat guaranteed
- Price
- €20 standard and €17 on the official website for an adult
- Read on
- Oct 4, 2026
Bateaux Parisiens
- Tickets
- Not published on a page this guide could read
- Price
- The tourist office lists €18 for an adult online and €20 on site, with no date
- Read on
- Undated
Vedettes de Paris
- Tickets
- A ticket for a booked departure, and an open ticket that is given a slot on the website
- Price
- €21 listed and €18 marked as a web price
- Read on
- Oct 4, 2026
Vedettes du Pont Neuf
- Tickets
- A time-stamped e-ticket for one departure, and an open ticket valid one year
- Price
- Time-stamped €15 online and €17 on site. Open ticket €18 in the ticket picker and €16 in the FAQ
- Read on
- Oct 4, 2026
Two tickets with the same name can behave differently. Bateaux-Mouches says its open ticket does not guarantee a seat on a given departure and that boarding may move to a later one if the boat is full. Vedettes du Pont Neuf says its open ticket is without reservation but subject to availability.
When to go
Daylight, sunset and the first night departure decide how the cruise looks, and sunset moves through the year. The evening cruise page calculates sunset, the end of dusk, the Eiffel Tower's sparkle hour and the Bateaux-Mouches sailings for the date you pick, and the best-cruise guide compares operators by light.
Bateaux-Mouches publishes its timetable rule in full, and Vedettes de Paris gives its guided-cruise hours on its own page. This guide did not read departure times for Bateaux Parisiens or Vedettes du Pont Neuf, so check each operator's own page. For Bateaux-Mouches, its information and ticket pages, read Oct 4, 2026, give a last regular sailing of 21:30 from April to October, with an extra 22:00 boat on Saturdays in October. Its product page and the Paris tourist office list later departures, so confirm the last boat on the ticket page for your day.
Is a Seine cruise worth it
A cruise suits you if you want the river-side monuments in one sitting. It will not suit you if you want to stop at one of them: the Bateaux-Mouches cruise leaves from and returns to one pier with no stops. For stops, Batobus sells a hop-on hop-off pass.
- Bateaux-Mouches lists the Louvre, the Conciergerie, Notre-Dame, the Musée d'Orsay and the Eiffel Tower on its route.
- The Bateaux-Mouches cruise lasts about one hour and makes no stops.
- Commentary languages vary. Vedettes du Pont Neuf gives live commentary in French and English, and Vedettes de Paris offers a guide, with an audio guide in ten languages.
- The Paris tourist office lists commentary in ten languages for Bateaux-Mouches and audio guides in 14 languages for Bateaux Parisiens.
What to know before you board
Each operator sets its own boarding rules, and the ones that change a plan are short. These are the operators' own statements, or the tourist office's for Bateaux Parisiens, with the page they come from.
Bateaux-Mouches
- The open ticket does not guarantee a seat. If a boat is full, boarding can move to a later departure while the ticket stays valid.
Arrival time, dress code and access for Bateaux-Mouches are on its own page.
Bateaux Parisiens
- The Paris tourist office lists a maximum of 4 wheelchairs per boat, a removable ramp on one boat with some small obstacles such as door thresholds, and toilets on board reached by staircase only.
- Accessible toilets are listed on pontoons 5 and 7 and at the quayside bistro before boarding.
- Boarding rules and ticket terms could not be read on the operator's own site.
Vedettes de Paris
- If you are late for your departure, a guided cruise ticket holder who arrives before 17:30 the same day is put on the next available boat.
- A booked cruise can be rescheduled up to 24 hours before departure through the website.
- Access for people with reduced mobility is via the Bir-Hakeim bridge.
Vedettes du Pont Neuf
- The boats are equipped for people with reduced mobility, with an access ramp and adapted restrooms.
- Strollers are allowed, and the boats have covered areas.
- Open tickets are without reservation but subject to availability.
Where to book
Book on the operator's own site. This guide links each operator's own ticket or cruise page and adds a Viator or GetYourGuide product only when it matches the cruise and a person has verified it.
- Buy at the Bateaux-Mouches site(opens in a new tab)
Bateaux-Mouches
- Open the Bateaux Parisiens site(opens in a new tab)
Bateaux Parisiens
- See the Batobus passes(opens in a new tab)
Batobus
- See the Vedettes de Paris cruise page(opens in a new tab)
Vedettes de Paris
- See the Vedettes du Pont Neuf cruise page(opens in a new tab)
Vedettes du Pont Neuf
Looking for a river holiday of several days?
These pages cover Paris cruises from one hour to a dinner sailing. A multi-day river holiday on the Seine is a different trip, and this guide does not cover it.
Seine cruise questions
Which kinds of Seine cruise are there?
The four operators read here sell four kinds of cruise: a one-hour sightseeing cruise, a themed cruise with champagne or a snack, a lunch cruise and a dinner cruise. They differ in length, price, whether a meal is included and how you board, so the first table sets them side by side, and the best-cruise guide helps you choose by who is going, when and where you stay.
Is it worth doing a Seine river cruise in Paris?
It is worth it if you want the river-side monuments in about an hour and are happy with a loop that returns to its pier. The worth-it section says what a cruise shows and what it leaves out.
How much does a Seine river cruise cost?
One-hour sightseeing tickets are in the price table with their ticket type and the date each was read. At Bateaux-Mouches, lunch and dinner cruises are priced by menu on its pages. This guide did not read meal-cruise prices for other operators, so check each operator's own page.
What is the best time to do a Seine river cruise?
It depends on what you want to see. Daylight shows the architecture, and after dark the Eiffel Tower sparkles for five minutes at the start of each hour once night has fallen. The evening cruise page shows sunset and dusk for your date.
Where do Seine cruises leave from?
The one-hour cruises in this guide board at four piers: Pont de l'Alma, Port de la Bourdonnais, Port de Suffren and the Square du Vert Galant. Some lunch and dinner cruises board elsewhere. The pier list gives each address.
Do I need to book a Seine cruise in advance?
Operators differ. Bateaux-Mouches says sightseeing cruises are generally available the same day and recommends booking online for dinner cruises and special events. Vedettes du Pont Neuf strongly recommends booking online and says sunset and weekend departures are often fully booked.
What should I wear on a Seine cruise?
On the Bateaux-Mouches pages this guide read, only the meal cruises state a dress code. It requires smart dress for dinner. For lunch its information page says smart-casual is appreciated and its help page says it is required, both read on Oct 4, 2026, so dress smart-casual. No dress code for the sightseeing cruise appeared. Other operators' dress codes were not checked.