Hop-On Hop-Off Seine River Boat Pass Paris

Eiffel Tower stop and Beaugrenelle

The most convenient place to start is the Eiffel Tower stop at Port de la Bourdonnais, right below the tower on the Left Bank. Just downstream, the western end of the route is Beaugrenelle, beside the Île aux Cygnes, a narrow tree-lined island in the middle of the Seine whose western tip holds a small bronze replica of the Statue of Liberty facing west across the river.

Many travellers combine the riverboat with a visit to the tower: ride the first boat in the morning, then step off at the Eiffel Tower when queues are shorter in the evening. The Trocadéro gardens on the opposite bank give the classic photograph of the tower, and the Champ de Mars lawns behind it are ideal for a picnic with children between two boat rides.

Musée d'Orsay and Saint-Germain-des-Prés

The Musée d'Orsay stop sits below the former Orsay railway station, built for the 1900 World's Fair and now the great museum of nineteenth-century art, with the world's finest collection of Impressionist paintings. Look out for the giant clock faces on the facade from the river. The museum closes on Mondays and needs a timed entry, so plan around that if you want to go inside.

One stop further, Saint-Germain-des-Prés opens onto the Left Bank's literary quarter, with its eleventh-century abbey church, elegant boutiques and historic cafés. From the quay it is a short stroll to the Pont des Arts footbridge, the Institut de France with its golden dome and the bookstalls of the bouquinistes, the green boxes that line the riverbanks.

Notre-Dame, Île de la Cité and the Jardin des Plantes

The Notre-Dame stop brings you to the Île de la Cité, the island where Paris began. The Gothic cathedral reopened in December 2024 after its restoration, and entry to the nave is without charge, though queues can be long at midday. Nearby are the Sainte-Chapelle with its blazing stained glass and the Conciergerie, the medieval royal palace that later became a prison.

Further upstream, the Jardin des Plantes stop serves the botanical garden of Paris, founded in the seventeenth century, with its glasshouses, a small zoo and the Grand Gallery of Evolution, a favourite for families. It is the quietest stop on the route and a good place to start or end a Seine boat day away from the crowds.

Hôtel de Ville and the Louvre

On the way back downstream the boat calls at the Hôtel de Ville, the grand neo-Renaissance city hall rebuilt in the late nineteenth century. From here the Marais district, with its seventeenth-century mansions, the Place des Vosges and small museums, is a few minutes away, as is the Centre Pompidou with its colourful pipes and rooftop view.

The Louvre stop leaves you beside the largest art museum in the world, a former royal palace whose courtyard holds the glass pyramid. Louvre tickets must be booked for a time slot, and the museum closes on Tuesdays. Even without going in, the Tuileries Garden and the Carrousel arch make a beautiful stop between two rides on the river.

Champs-Élysées at Pont Alexandre III

The Champs-Élysées stop is moored beside the Pont Alexandre III, the most ornate bridge in Paris, with gilded statues, lamp posts and a single steel arch built for the 1900 World's Fair. Above the quay rise the glass roofs of the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, a fine-arts museum with no admission charge for its permanent collection, while across the river the golden dome of Les Invalides catches the light.

From here it is about a 15-minute walk up the Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe. Many visitors ask what the best time is for a Seine river shuttle: the late afternoon, when the stone of the bridges turns golden, is especially lovely, and the boat then completes the loop back to the Eiffel Tower.