The Seine ans its banks give as much flavor to the city as any monument. Its runs a 482-mile course from Burgundy to the Channel joins bothe the Oise and the Marne just outside Paris. Named by Julius Caesar, it was described in 1862 by Verlaine as a “muddy old snake” with its cargoes of “wood, coal ans corpses”. Today the river boasts cleaner water, new cargoes of sightseers, houseboats, and riverside expresseways speeding traffic along this essential artery.
One of Paris‘s greatest pleasures is the Seine, so make sure you see some of the monuments from this perspective.
The enormous glass-roofed Bateaux-Mouches leave from the Pont de l’Alma, take you east to beyond the Ile Saint-Louis, the circle back. The entire trip takes over an hour and commentaries are given in six languages.
Very similar, but more central and easier to get to, is the flotilla of Vedettes du Pont-Neuf, which leave from the tip of the Ile de la Cité at Pont-Neuf. These boats accomplish a one-hour trip around the islands and down to the Eiffel Tower but have the advantage of dropping you back in central Paris. In french and english, the slightly more expensive summer. The Bateaux Parisiens Tour Eiffel leave from the Left Bank side of the Pont d’Iéna and provide an almost identical service to the Bateaux-Mouches.
The Paris Dinner Cruise is unique, an unforgettable evening. Starting from the Eiffel Tower, the cruise follows the left bank of the Seine to the Finance Ministry at Bercy, then returns to the Eiffel Tower along the right bank, passing by the Statue of Liberty.
