Seine Lunch Cruise from the Eiffel Tower Paris

Boarding at the Eiffel Tower

The cruise leaves from Port de la Bourdonnais, the river quay directly below the Eiffel Tower on the Left Bank. Built for the 1889 World's Fair and 330 metres tall, the tower was meant to stand for only twenty years and became the symbol of Paris instead. Boarding opens about 30 minutes before the 12:45 departure, which gives you time for photos of the iron lattice from the quay.

If you plan to go up the tower the same day, a morning visit fits well before this lunch cruise in Paris, as the pier is a few steps from the tower's base. Seen from the water as the boat pulls away, the tower rises above the trees of the Champ de Mars, while the Trocadéro and its curved palace face it from the Right Bank.

Musée d'Orsay, the Louvre and the Pont des Arts

Heading upstream, the boat passes the Musée d'Orsay, the former railway station turned museum of nineteenth-century art, recognisable by its two great clocks. On the opposite bank stretch the Tuileries Garden and the long facade of the Louvre, a royal palace for centuries before it became the most visited museum in the world.

Between the two the iron footbridge of the Pont des Arts links the Louvre with the golden dome of the Institut de France. This central stretch of the Seine is part of the riverbanks listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, and from your glass-roofed table you see the monuments in full, without the crowds you meet on land.

Île de la Cité: Notre-Dame and the Conciergerie

The boat then rounds the Île de la Cité, the island where Paris was born more than two thousand years ago. Its western tip, the Square du Vert-Galant, sits below the Pont Neuf, the oldest standing bridge in the city. Further along you see the towers of the Conciergerie, the medieval royal palace that later served as a prison, and the spire of the Sainte-Chapelle behind it.

The highlight is the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, whose Gothic facade, flying buttresses and rebuilt spire are best appreciated from the river. The cathedral reopened in December 2024 after its restoration, and many guests on our Seine cruises say the view of its east end from the water is the most memorable moment of the trip.

Île Saint-Louis, the turning point

Just upstream of Notre-Dame lies the Île Saint-Louis, a small island of elegant seventeenth-century mansions, tree-lined quays and quiet streets. It was developed as a planned residential quarter for wealthy Parisians and has kept its calm, village-like character, with narrow lanes, small boutiques and a celebrated ice-cream maker.

The boat turns at the eastern tip of the island, a peaceful moment on the cruise when the main course is usually served. From here you see both arms of the Seine and the bridges that link the two islands. If you want to come back on foot later, the island is a short stroll from the Pont Marie metro stop, and its quays are among the most romantic corners of Paris.

Pont Alexandre III, the Grand Palais and the Trocadéro

On the way back downstream the boat passes beneath the Pont Alexandre III, the most richly decorated bridge in Paris, with gilded winged horses, cherubs and lamp posts. Built for the 1900 World's Fair, it frames a view of the glass roofs of the Grand Palais on one bank and the golden dome of Les Invalides on the other.

Dessert and coffee are served as the Eiffel Tower comes back into view, with the gardens of the Trocadéro rising on the Right Bank. Is the Seine lunch cruise worth it? For many guests it is the most relaxing way to see the great monuments of Paris in two hours, seated, warm in winter and with a full meal, before the boat docks again at the foot of the tower.