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Paris Seine Boat Tours

By Rowan Ellis · Updated · Affiliate links, explained in my disclosure

Boat Tours Paris – Seine Cruise departing from the Eiffel Tower Web Rate

BATEAUX PARISIENS - S.E.V.P.T.E

Seine Cruise departing from the Eiffel Tower Web Rate

4.4 (91,857) · from $20

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Boat Tours Paris – Seine Cruise departing from the Eiffel Tower Web Rate

A Paris cruise on the Seine is the classic way to see the city’s best-known sights from the water, and the choice is mostly about time of day and whether you want a meal. I compared six Seine trips, from $20 to $129, and four of them start at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. For the whole range, including a hop-on hop-off pass and private boats, read my guide to boat tours in Paris. Prices are in US dollars, checked in October 2026, and the booking links are affiliate links, as I explain on my about page.

My pick for a first cruise on the Seine in Paris is the one-hour Bateaux Parisiens cruise at $20, with 91,857 reviews at 4.4. For the evening, I’d take the Bateaux Parisiens dinner cruise at $129, rated 4.7. Every Seine cruise in Paris here is a round trip that returns to its own dock, so you never need to plan the way back.

Paris Cruise On the Seine

A Paris cruise on the Seine follows the same short stretch of river on most boats, and it begins at the Eiffel Tower. The one-hour Bateaux Parisiens cruise leaves from pontoon 3 at Port de la Bourdonnais, passes Les Invalides, the Musée d’Orsay, the Île de la Cité, Notre-Dame, the Hôtel de Ville, the Louvre, the Place de la Concorde and the Grand Palais, and comes back to the tower. It costs $20 and is rated 4.4 from 91,857 reviews, which is the largest sample I have for any boat.

On this Paris Seine cruise the listing says there is an audio guide in 14 languages and a smartphone app in 11, and that drinks and snacks are available on board. Departures run every 30 minutes, and the listing gives 10 AM to 10 PM from April to September and 10:30 AM to 9 PM from October to March. Large bags, luggage and pets are not allowed, except assistance dogs. Because the winter timetable is shorter, I’d check the departure time for your date before planning a late cruise.

On a Paris cruise on the Seine like these, the crêpe ticket and the illuminations ticket use the same Bateaux Parisiens departure, so the boat and the route are the same on all three. The differences are small. The crêpe is made fresh with Nutella or sugar and eaten facing the tower, and one reviewer says it was served up the road rather than on the boat. The illuminations ticket is built for the evening, when the lights come on. A reviewer says the tower sparkled as they left and again as they returned, and that there was a line for the evening ride.

Boat Tour Paris Seine

If you want the cruise with the most going on, the evening dinner boat is the one. The Bateaux Parisiens 3-course dinner cruise on the Seine in Paris is $129, 2.5 hours and rated 4.7 from 8,948 reviews. It boards at pontoon 5 or 7 at Port de la Bourdonnais, and check-in ends 15 minutes before departure. The route adds the Pont Alexandre III and the Pont des Arts to the usual list, and a singer performs live. The dinner is à la carte, with optional Champagne, more aperitifs and priority seating.

Reviewers describe the food as delicious and the staff as kind, which fits the high rating. The cheaper rival is Paris en Scène, with a boat that leaves from Port de Javel Haut and sails to Île Saint-Louis in 105 minutes. It costs $73, is rated 4.3 from 12,381 reviews and serves a first course, a main course, a dessert and mineral water in club-style armchairs that face the river. Guests with mobility impairments are listed as not suited. Both dinner boats list free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

Paris Boat Tour Seine

A Paris Seine cruise does not have to be only a boat. The Paris’ TRIP package at $89 pairs reserved access to the first and second floors of the Eiffel Tower with a 1-hour cruise, rated 4.6 from 7,755 reviews. The whole thing takes 3 hours, which I read as the tower and the meeting taking up about two of them and the cruise one. You meet a guide at 41 Avenue de la Bourdonnais, 5 minutes on foot from the tower, and swap your voucher there.

The listing includes a tower guide, an audio guide app for the cruise and unlimited time inside the tower, and standard access to the summit is an option you add. The presentation is in English only. Cancellation is a 50% refund up to 24 hours ahead, so it is the least flexible of the six. A reviewer mentions that a car accident made the group late and that the staff still got them to the tower and onto the cruise. This Paris Seine cruise package fits a first visit where you want both done in one afternoon.

Compared: Paris Seine Cruises

Here is every Paris cruise on the Seine in one place, with the same facts side by side.

Operator Price Duration Boat type Rating Cancellation
Bateaux Parisiens (Seine cruise) $20 1 hour Sightseeing boat with indoor seating and a top deck 4.4 (91,857 reviews) Free up to 24 hours
Bateaux Parisiens (illuminations) $20 1 hour Sightseeing boat, day or night 4.3 (12,416 reviews) Free up to 24 hours
Global Tours and Tickets (crêpe) $23 1 hour Bateaux Parisiens departure 4.4 (12,803 reviews) Free up to 24 hours
Paris en Scène (dinner) $73 105 minutes Dinner boat with a terrace 4.3 (12,381 reviews) Free up to 24 hours
Paris’ TRIP (tower and cruise) $89 3 hours Tower visit plus a 1-hour cruise 4.6 (7,755 reviews) 50% refund up to 24 hours
Bateaux Parisiens (dinner) $129 2.5 hours Glassed-in dinner boat 4.7 (8,948 reviews) Up to 24 hours

Boat Ride in Paris Seine

Most people who book a cruise on the Seine in Paris ask the same three things: when to go, where to board and how long it takes. The answers from the listings are simple. Standard cruises take an hour and the dinner boats take well over an hour and a half. The boarding point is the Eiffel Tower for four of the six, and the Seine cruise in Paris with the earliest start is the 10 AM departure from April to September.

A cruise on the Seine in Paris is not all alike: the same river looks different by day, at sunset and after dark. By day you see the stone of the bridges and the detail of Notre-Dame and the Louvre. At night you see the monuments lit, and the Eiffel Tower is the show. I’d choose by what you want from the photographs, because the cruise lengths are the same.

A Paris cruise on the Seine covers only a small part of the river, since the Seine itself is about 777 kilometers long according to Wikipedia, and the stretch through the center of Paris is on the UNESCO list as the Banks of the Seine. On the water, the distances are short: from the Eiffel Tower to the Louvre is 3.2 kilometers in a straight line and from the Louvre to Notre-Dame is 1.2 kilometers, which I computed from the coordinates in my place data. That is why one hour covers so much.

If you prefer a boat all to yourself, the private boat tour in Paris page compares two cruises at $448 and $505. For a view of the whole range of trips, go back to my guide to Paris boat trips, and for the overview of the site, start at the home page.

How I’d Choose a Seine Cruise

The shortest summary of a Paris Seine cruise is the $20 Bateaux Parisiens cruise for a first look and the $129 dinner cruise for an evening. In between:

Before I booked a cruise on the Seine in Paris, I’d confirm the pontoon at the tower, the winter timetable and the cancellation terms. When you are ready, my guide to every Paris boat trip I compared has the other six, including the hop-on hop-off pass and the two private cruises.

Frequently asked questions

How long is a Paris cruise on the Seine?

The standard Seine cruises I compared take 1 hour and return to the Eiffel Tower. The dinner cruises are longer: 105 minutes with Paris en Scène and 2.5 hours with Bateaux Parisiens. The Eiffel Tower package takes 3 hours in all, and the cruise part of it is 1 hour.

How much is a Seine cruise in Paris?

The six cruises I compared cost $20, $20, $23, $73, $89 and $129. The three one-hour boats are $20 to $23, the Paris en Scène dinner boat is $73, the Eiffel Tower access plus cruise is $89, and the Bateaux Parisiens dinner cruise is $129. Prices are in US dollars, checked in October 2026.

Where does a Paris Seine cruise start?

Four of the six start at Port de Bourdonnais, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, mostly from pontoon 3. The Paris en Scène dinner boat leaves from Port de Javel Haut, and the tower package meets at an office at 41 Avenue de la Bourdonnais, a 5-minute walk from the tower.

Is a Seine dinner cruise in Paris worth it?

I think so for a special evening. The Bateaux Parisiens 3-course dinner cruise on the Seine in Paris is $129, 2.5 hours and rated 4.7 from 8,948 reviews. The Paris en Scène boat is $73 for 105 minutes and rated 4.3. Both go past the lit monuments, but only the more expensive one lists a live singer.

Can I cancel a Seine cruise in Paris?

Five of the six offer a full refund up to 24 hours before the start. The Eiffel Tower access plus cruise package refunds 50% if you cancel up to 24 hours ahead. I'd check the weather the evening before, because a cruise is a river outing and not every evening is dry.

Which Seine cruise passes the most sights?

The Bateaux Parisiens dinner cruise lists the most, including Pont Alexandre III, Les Invalides, the Musée d'Orsay, Notre-Dame, the Pont des Arts, the Louvre and the Grand Palais. The one-hour cruises pass nine places, from Les Invalides to the Grand Palais, and return to the Eiffel Tower.

Tours I compared in Paris

My full review of each one, in the order I rank them:

  1. Seine Cruise departing from the Eiffel Tower Web Rate★ 4.4 · from $20
  2. Evening River Cruise with Music★ 4.4 · from $28
  3. 3-Course-Dinner Cruise on the Seine with live music★ 4.7 · from $129
  4. Seine Cruise from the Eiffel Tower & Crepe Tasting★ 4.4 · from $23
  5. Eiffel Tower Reserved Access by Elevator and Seine Cruise★ 4.6 · from $89
  6. Illuminations Seine Cruise starting from Eiffel Tower★ 4.3 · from $20
  7. Paris en Scène - Seine River Panoramic Views Dinner Cruise★ 4.3 · from $73
  8. Hop-On Hop-Off Seine Cruise Pass with 9 Stops★ 4.4 · from $26
  9. Bateaux Mouches® Sightseeing Cruise on the Seine★ 4.4 · from $19
  10. Bateaux Mouches® Dinner Cruise on the Seine River★ 4.5 · from $128
  11. Top Private Cruises in Paris with Champagne + more surprises★ 5.0 · from $448
  12. Private cruise tour in Paris in the historic center - 50 minutesfrom $505

More about Paris

Seine Cruise departing from the Eiffel Tower Web Rate

4.4 · from $20

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