In this guide
💡 The Short Version: The one-hour cruises all run the same stretch, from the Eiffel Tower to Notre-Dame and back, so choose by the pier nearest you and the commentary you want. Bateaux-Mouches leaves from the Pont de l’Alma: €17 online, €20 at the pier, and a ticket is good for any departure that day. The Vedettes du Pont-Neuf leave from the tip of the Île de la Cité with a live guide: €15 online. Bateaux Parisiens and the Vedettes de Paris leave from beside the Eiffel Tower. For a day of hopping on and off, the Batobus is €23 for 24 hours. Dinner cruises start at €90 on Bateaux-Mouches’ 18:00 sailing. Or book on GetYourGuide: the Seine cruise from the Eiffel Towerad (from £15.43, 4.4 stars from 91,230 reviews) leaves from the foot of the tower. Bateaux-Mouches and the Batobus cost the same on GetYourGuide as on their own sites; the Vedettes du Pont-Neuf are cheaper from the operator.
The cruises, compared
Operator prices are for an adult, from each operator’s own site on 30 September 2026. GetYourGuide prices are its lowest “from” price the same day; euros are converted at the ECB rate of 29 September 2026 (€1 = £0.857).
| Cruise | Pier | Length | Adult price | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bateaux-Mouches | Port de la Conférence, Pont de l’Alma, Right Bank | 1 hour | €17 online, €20 at the pier; £14.57 on GetYourGuide | No set time: the ticket covers any departure on the day, and is valid for a year |
| Vedettes du Pont-Neuf | Square du Vert-Galant, tip of the Île de la Cité | 1 hour | €15 online, €17 at the pier; £14.57 on GetYourGuide | A live guide rather than a recording; cheapest bought from the operator |
| Bateaux Parisiens | By the Eiffel Tower | 1 hour | From £15.43 on GetYourGuide | Audio commentary and an app; leaves at the foot of the tower |
| Vedettes de Paris | Port de Suffren, by the Eiffel Tower | 1 hour | €18 online, €21 | A guided cruise from the Left Bank side of the tower |
| Batobus | Nine stops, from the Eiffel Tower to the Jardin des Plantes | About 1 hour 42 for the loop | €23 for 24 hours, €27 for 48; £19.71 on GetYourGuide | Transport between sights rather than a tour; no commentary |
| Dinner cruises | Pont de l’Alma, the Eiffel Tower and others | 1¼ to 2½ hours | From €90 at Bateaux-Mouches | Book ahead; smart dress in the evening |
Booking on GetYourGuide
GetYourGuide sells the same boats, and on its own calendar. It is the same price as the operator for Bateaux-Mouches and the Batobus, and dearer for the Vedettes du Pont-Neuf, so it is worth using when you want one booking for the cruise and something else, or the operator’s evening slots are sold out.
Seine cruise from the Eiffel Tower
From £15.43 · 4.4 stars from 91,230 reviews · 1 hour · audio commentary
Paris: Seine Cruise departing from the Eiffel Towerad is Bateaux Parisiens’ one-hour cruise from the pier at the foot of the tower, past Notre-Dame and back, with audio commentary or an interactive web app on your phone about the sights. A version with a crêpe facing the Eiffel Towerad afterwards is from £17.56 (4.4 stars from 12,893 reviews).
Evening cruise with music
From £21.43 · 4.4 stars from 25,939 reviews · 1 hour
Paris: Evening River Cruise with Musicad sails after dark past the lit monuments, with music on board and an audio-guide app to download.
Evening cruise with champagne
From £32.57 · 4.6 stars from 759 reviews · 1 hour
Paris: Seine River Sightseeing Evening Cruise with Champagnead boards on the Île de la Cité and includes one drink from a floating bar: a glass of champagne, wine, a beer or a soft drink.
Canal Saint-Martin and the Seine
From £28.28 · 4.5 stars from 1,118 reviews · 2 hours · live guide
Paris: Cruise from The Canal Saint Martin to The Seine Riverad boards at 71 quai de Valmy in the 10th, near the Hôtel du Nord, and spends 45 minutes on the canal, through its locks and under its vaults, and 75 minutes on the Seine. It ends at the Quai de l’Horloge on the Île de la Cité, below the Pont Neuf. The commentary is live, in English and French.
Happy hour cruise
From £14.57 · 4.3 stars from 2,317 reviews · 1½ hours · bar on board
Paris: Happy Hour Evening Cruise on the River Seinead is run by Paris Canal from the Quai Anatole France in the 7th. There is a bar on board, with rosé, beer and champagne bought on the boat, music, and a covered deck and an open terrace. It runs mainly in summer and school holidays: on 30 September 2026 the calendar held 29 dates, from 1 October to 2 January.
Illuminated night cruise from the Eiffel Tower
From £15.43 · 4.3 stars from 219 reviews · 1 hour
Paris: Illuminated Seine Night Cruise from the Eiffel Towerad is a Bateaux Parisiens boat from the foot of the tower, with open-deck or panoramic-glass seating depending on the vessel. The listing adds a postcard made from photos you email, printed and posted anywhere in the world, and an option with a crêpe at the Place du Trocadéro. It costs the same as the standard cruise from the tower.
Bateaux-Mouches sightseeing ticket
From £14.57 · 4.4 stars from 6,044 reviews · 1 hour · valid 365 days
Paris: Bateaux Mouches Sightseeing Cruise on the Seinead is the one-hour cruise from the Pont de l’Alma with a ticket that has no set date or time, on any departure from 10:00 to 21:30. It is the same fare as the €17 online price on the operator’s own site, with commentary in 12 languages through a QR code on your phone.
Flexible ticket for either pier
From £14.57 · 4.4 stars from 213 reviews · valid 180 days · non-refundable
Paris: Scenic Cruise with Choice of Time, Port and Companyad lets you pick Bateaux Parisiens from the Eiffel Tower or Bateaux-Mouches from the Pont de l’Alma when you book, with departures every 30 minutes from 10:00 to 22:00.
The sightseeing cruises
Bateaux-Mouches
Port de la Conférence, Pont de l’Alma, Right Bank · 1 hour, no stops · €17 online, €20 at the pier; children €8 online, €10 at the pier; under-4s free
The boats leave from the Right Bank by the Pont de l’Alma and return there without stopping; on the way you pass Les Invalides, the Musée d’Orsay, the Louvre, the Conciergerie, Notre-Dame and the Eiffel Tower (bateaux-mouches.fr, 30 September 2026).
The Bateaux-Mouches pier on the Right Bank. Photo: flightlog, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
- No set time: a ticket covers any departure on the chosen day and stays valid for a year; tickets can be bought at the pier 15 to 20 minutes before a sailing.
- Sailings: from October to March, about every 45 minutes from 10:00 to 16:00 and every 30 minutes from 16:00 to 21:30; from April to October, every 30 minutes from 10:00 to 22:00, with more in the school holidays.
- No refunds, but tickets are not in your name, so you can give them away.
- On GetYourGuide: the evening lights cruise with Bateaux-Mouchesad is from £14.57 (4.3 stars from 5,567 reviews), the same as the €17 online fare.
Vedettes du Pont-Neuf
Square du Vert-Galant, Île de la Cité · 1 hour · live guide · €15 online, €17 at the pier; children €7 online, €9 at the pier
Boats have left from the Square du Vert-Galant, the garden at the western tip of the Île de la Cité below the Pont Neuf, since 1959. The one-hour cruise has a guide on board telling the river’s stories live, rather than a recording (vedettesdupontneuf.com, 30 September 2026). Buying online saves €2 a ticket. On GetYourGuide the guided cruisead is from £14.57 (4.5 stars from 332 reviews), about £1.70 more than the €15 online fare.
A Vedettes du Pont Neuf boat at its pier by the Square du Vert-Galant. Photo: Joe deSousa, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
Bateaux Parisiens
By the Eiffel Tower · 1 hour · audio commentary
Bateaux Parisiens runs its one-hour sightseeing cruises from the Eiffel Tower and from Notre-Dame, and lunch and dinner cruises from the tower, with dinner from €79 (bateauxparisiens.com, 29 September 2026). Its sightseeing cruise is the GetYourGuide product above.
Vedettes de Paris
Port de Suffren, 7e · 1 hour · guided · €18 online, €21
From the Left Bank at the foot of the Eiffel Tower; walk down from the Pont d’Iéna or the Pont de Bir-Hakeim. The guided one-hour cruise is €18 bought on its own site and €21 otherwise, and there is a children’s cruise with a guide for young audiences and an early-evening “apéro” cruise with music (€22 online) (vedettesdeparis.fr, 30 September 2026).
Batobus: hop-on hop-off
Nine stops · 24 hours €23 (4 to 11 €13), 48 hours €27 (4 to 11 €17) · about 10:00 to 19:00–20:00
The Batobus is a river bus rather than a tour: a pass lets you get on and off as often as you like, counted in consecutive hours from first use, during its opening hours (batobus.com, 30 September 2026). The first boats leave the Eiffel Tower and Notre-Dame stops at 10:00.
A Batobus on the Seine. Photo: Guilhem Vellut, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
| Stop | To the next stop |
|---|---|
| Eiffel Tower | 13 minutes |
| Invalides / Pont Alexandre III | 9 minutes |
| Musée d’Orsay | 7 minutes |
| Saint-Germain-des-Prés | 15 minutes |
| Notre-Dame | 15 minutes |
| Jardin des Plantes | 15 minutes |
| Hôtel de Ville | 10 minutes |
| Louvre | 10 minutes |
| Champs-Élysées | 15 minutes, back to the Eiffel Tower |
On GetYourGuide the hop-on hop-off passad is from £19.71 (4.4 stars from 6,545 reviews), the same as the €23 fare.
Dinner cruises
Book these ahead: Bateaux-Mouches says a booking is the only way to be sure of a table.
Bateaux-Mouches dinner
Pont de l’Alma · 18:00 sailing from €90, 1 hour 15 · 20:30 sailing from €135 to €480, 2 hours 15 · smart dress
Two sailings every evening (bateaux-mouches.fr, 30 September 2026). The early one boards at 17:30 and is back at 19:15; the late one boards at 19:30 and is back at 22:45. Every dinner cruise has a violinist and a pianist. Smart dress is required in the evening: no sportswear, flip-flops, shorts or baseball caps. A children’s dinner menu is €75. Bookings can be cancelled with a refund up to 72 hours ahead. On GetYourGuide the Bateaux-Mouches dinner cruisead is from £97.71 (4.5 stars from 4,617 reviews, 2½ hours).
Other dinner cruises on GetYourGuide
| Cruise | From | Rating | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-course dinner with live musicad | £98.57 | 4.7 from 8,863 reviews | 2½ hours |
| Paris en Scène panoramic dinnerad | £55.71 | 4.3 from 12,264 reviews | 1¾ hours |
| Bistronomic dinner cruisead | £50.57 | 4.2 from 5,970 reviews | 1½ hours |
The tower is the other half of most cruise days: the Eiffel Tower tickets guide covers the lift and the tours that combine it with a cruise, and hotels near the Eiffel Tower lists those a few minutes from the piers. In December, the evening cruises are one of the ways to see the Christmas lights. For the 14 July fireworks cruises, see Paris in summer. For the rest of what to book, see what to book before you go.
Common questions
Which Seine river cruise is best?
For one hour on the river they cover the same sights, from the Eiffel Tower to Notre-Dame and back, so choose by pier and commentary. Bateaux-Mouches leaves from the Pont de l'Alma and its tickets are good for any departure that day (€17 online). The Vedettes du Pont-Neuf have a live guide and leave from the tip of the Île de la Cité (€15 online). Bateaux Parisiens and the Vedettes de Paris leave from beside the Eiffel Tower.
Is it cheaper to book a Seine cruise on the operator's website?
It is the same or cheaper. On 30 September 2026 a Bateaux-Mouches adult ticket was €17 online (about £14.57) and £14.57 on GetYourGuide; the Vedettes du Pont-Neuf were €15 online (about £12.86) against £14.57 on GetYourGuide. Buying at the pier costs €2 or €3 more than online.
How long is a Seine river cruise?
The sightseeing cruises last about an hour and do not stop. The Bateaux-Mouches dinner cruises are 1 hour 15 at 18:00 and 2 hours 15 at 20:30. The Batobus, the hop-on hop-off boat, takes about 1 hour 42 to go round all nine stops.
Do I need to book a Seine cruise in advance?
Not for a sightseeing cruise: Bateaux-Mouches sells tickets at the pier 15 to 20 minutes before a departure, and its tickets are valid for a year. Book dinner cruises ahead; Bateaux-Mouches says a booking is needed to be sure of a table.
