There have always been boats on the Seine serving residents or visitors coming to Paris, but these were not tourist cruises. They were mainly used for commerce and were not considered a tourist attraction. 

Only in 1867, for a major world exposition in Paris, did about 30 boats called bateaux-mouches (meaning “fly boats”) arrive, offering inexpensive transportation for around 400 people per boat between locations in Paris.

However, these boats were still not a true tourist attraction and gradually disappeared as Paris’ modern public transportation developed. It was only after World War II, in 1950, that entrepreneur Jean Bruel decided to introduce tourist cruises on the Seine and named his company Compagnie des Bateaux-Mouches®.

To attract attention, Bruel invented a myth about a “historical founder” named Jean-Sébastien Mouche - supposedly a real figure who worked with Baron Haussmann during Paris’ 19th-century renovations. He even created a fictional biography for him with the help of journalist Robert Escarpit from Le Monde. 

The publicity from this myth helped Bateaux-Mouches grow into a major company offering tourist cruises as we know them today, allowing visitors to sail past Paris’ most famous landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame Cathedral, and the city’s iconic bridges.

Over the years, many other companies joined the market (you can find them all on our site’s “Seine River cruise companies” page), and today these have become large-scale enterprises operating tens of thousands of cruises of all kinds on the Seine.