One of the best deals on a tourist attraction in Paris, France are the Bateau Mouches Seine River Cruises. For a mere 15€, you can spend an hour riding on a river cruise along one of the greatest rivers in all of Western Europe. While there are many river cruise companies, I always seem to return to Bateau Mouches for my river cruising adventures in Paris. Read on to find out why…

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This post is one chapter on our trip to Jordan, Israel and France during the end of the pandemic. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status, Hertz Gold Plus Rewards and Alaska Mileage Plan. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.

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Review: Bateau Mouches Seine River Cruises, Paris, France

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When visiting Paris, France, You’ll gave an opportunity to view the city of Paris by taking a cruise along the Seine River. There are a whole host of companies that offer Seine Cruises, but my favourite happens to be the Bateau Mouches.

Why Bateau Mouches ?

The Compagnie des Bateaux-Mouches has been aronud for quite some time. It was was founded in 1949 by Jean Bruel, beginning with a single steam boatc from the universal exhibition of 1900.

In present day, the Bateau Mouches operate a modern fleet of 15 boats that host almost 2.5 million people annually. In addition to having longevity, it also operates out of a pier that is located a little ways away from the main piers at the Effeil Tower. I find that this makes the experience a little less mass volume, in my humble opinion.

Getting to Bateau Mouches:

The Bateau Mouches operates out of a pier near the Pont d’Alma on the north side of the Seine River, Paris, France. You will need some mobility to walk down to the pier, which is located on the shores of the Seine River.

We arrived to the Pier on foot based on a stay at The Westin Paris – Vendôme hotel.

Getting Tickets:

The Bateau Mouches sells tickets on line through it’s website. Alternately, you can buy tickets on a walk up basis at the pier itself.

The Bateau Mouches is reasonably priced for a tourist attraction. Tickets at the time of our visit were 15€ ($16 USD) for an adult, and only 6€ ($6.50 USD) for a child under 13 years of age.

On the purchase of a ticket, you can queue for the next available sailing. The pier has a holding area containing all the passengers for any particular sailing. Seats are not pre-assigned, and are open seating once boarding is announced. If you want access to your favourite seat on the next boat, you’ll be best to be ready to get into the holding area, immediately after the last sailing departs.

It’s also worth noting that the Bateau Mouches also sells vending machine alcoholic beverages from within its waiting compound. There didn’t seem to be any issues with a bring your own policy, since everyone in France seems to be doing that anyway.

Riding the Bateau Mouches:

A ride on the Bateau Mouches takes you along the length of the central Seine River.

After boarding our 4:30 PM sailing, we scrambled up to the upper deck. We aimed to pick seats on the outer flank, so we’d have the best possible photographs and unobstructed views from our ride.

We set off in an eastbound direction on the scene. The weather was co-operating with us and we had sunny fall sunset views.

We started off viewing the Pont Alexandre III, named after a Russian czar. It’s ornate 19th century columns have made it’s way into many photographs of Paris.

MrsWT73 was getting into the concept of cruising, with a version of her own bring your own rosé.

We passed by the ornate buildings attached to the museum of the Louvre; all of them looking magnificent from the waters.

We eventually came along the the Ile St Louis, a charming small island just adjacent to the Notre Dame Cathedral. We eventually passed by the Notre Dame Cathedral, which was well under reconstruction due other electrical fire several years back.

Eventually travelling all the way down to the Pont Charles de Gaulle, we made a “U” Turn and proceeded back up the right hand side of the Scene. We had a great view under bridges as we navigated westward on the Siene.

Passing by the Louvre again, we eventually ended up by the Eiffel Tower. We had a number of views by the Eiffel Tower, before spinning around one last time and returning to the Bateau Mouches quay for disembarkation.

After disembarkation, we had a walk back to The Westin Paris – Vendôme, eventually walking out to the nearby The Cafe de la Paix for a bistro style dinner.

My Thoughts on Cruising with Bateau Mouches:

The Bateau Mouches remains one of my favourite activities while in Paris, France. Provided you can get the right weather co-operating, you can spend a nice hour watching the world go by in the comfort of a nice river cruise boat.

At a mere 15 € for admission, it’s one of the better bargains for a tourist attraction in Paris, France.

It’s highly recommended for romantics, family travellers, or those just looking for something to do.

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If you have visited Paris, France, do you have a preferred boat company for Seine River Cruises?

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