Choose from our top recommended Seine River night cruises in Paris, selected for their value, experience, and top reviews
This is one of our most recommended night cruises on the Seine, perfect for experiencing Paris in a more relaxed and atmospheric way. The cruise includes onboard music, creating a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere in the evening.
The cruise takes place on a modern 100% electric boat, with an audio guide app available and the option to enjoy a drink during the ride.
Tickets start from around €22, with free cancellation included, making it a great choice if you’re looking for a simple but memorable night cruise in Paris.
Our top recommended Seine River cruises include free cancellation, giving you more flexibility if your plans change.
All cruises are highly rated by thousands of visitors, with strong reviews for the views, overall experience, and value for money.
From budget-friendly sightseeing cruises to more premium options, our recommendations focus on the best price-to-experience balance.
One of the most popular night cruises in Paris, this 1-hour experience includes an audio guide and passes by the city’s most iconic landmarks, beautifully illuminated at night.
The experience also includes a fresh waffle or crêpe tasting near the Eiffel Tower, adding a fun and unique touch. Please note that the tasting takes place at Trocadéro Square, not on board the boat.
Tickets start from around €22, with free cancellation included, making it a great choice if you’re looking for a relaxed and budget-friendly night cruise in Paris.
A great option if you want to enjoy a drink while cruising along the Seine in the evening. This 1-hour experience includes a drink on board, such as Champagne, wine, beer, or a soft drink, and departs from the central Pont Neuf area.
The cruise passes by the city’s most iconic landmarks as they light up for the night, offering a relaxed and comfortable way to enjoy Paris from the water.
Tickets start from around €34, with free cancellation included, making it a great choice if you’re looking for a slightly more premium night cruise experience.
For a more complete and memorable night experience, this dinner cruise by Bateaux Parisiens is one of our top recommended options, combining a Seine River cruise with a multi-course gourmet meal served on board. As you enjoy your dinner, the boat passes by Paris’s most iconic landmarks, illuminated at night.
With different menu options available, including 3 or 4 courses with drinks, and often live music on board, it offers a more refined and immersive way to experience Paris from the water.
Tickets start from around €55, with free cancellation available up to 24 hours in advance, making it the best choice for a romantic evening or a special occasion in Paris.
As you can see, ticket prices for Seine River night cruise in Paris vary depending on the type of cruise you choose. The most affordable option is the sightseeing cruise, which lasts about an hour and doesn’t include any extras. Prices for these cruises range from €17 to €22 per person, depending on the company.
The next pricing tier includes aperitif cruises (featuring a glass of wine or champagne) with live music. These typically cost between €25 and €40, depending on the drink you choose. The most expensive option is the dinner cruise, which lasts around 2.5 hours and ranges from €70-€80 for the basic options to €120-€180 per person for premium packages mainly depending on the type of meal you select.
€17 - €22
About 1 hour, no extras
€25 - €40
Wine or champagne with live music
€70 - €80
About 2.5 hours, basic menu
€120 - €130
Gourmet meals, deluxe package
The best way to purchase Seine night cruise tickets is through well-known platforms that offer advance tickets and discounts. Some of the most popular ones are “Tiqets” which is considered a very well-known online tickets platform, or “Getyourguide” which is also a very popular website.
The main advantage of booking through these platforms is that they offer digital tickets, so there’s no need to print anything you can simply show your smartphone at the boarding point and get on the boat without waiting. In many cases, you can also reschedule your booking or even cancel it up to 24 hours before the cruise without any cancellation fees.
You can, of course, buy tickets on the day of the cruise directly at the dock, but if you’re visiting Paris during high season, be prepared for long lines at the ticket booths, and even the possibility that the cruise may be sold out. That’s why we always recommend booking your tickets as early as possible to guarantee your preferred date and time and skip the long queues.
A great Tip: One of the advantages of taking night Seine River cruise in Paris is the opportunity to watch the Eiffel Tower’s famous sparkle show directly from the boat. This magical display takes place every evening, on the hour, and lasts for just 5 minutes.
To enjoy the Eiffel sparkle show from your cruise in the best possible way, you should choose a boat that departs about 15 to 30 minutes before the hour, so that the cruise passes right in front of the Eiffel Tower exactly when it begins to sparkle. Keep in mind that the exact timing may vary slightly depending on the departure point of the cruise you choose.
The route of the night Seine river cruise sometimes depends on the type of cruise you choose. The sightseeing cruises last about an hour and cover only the central landmarks of Paris, such as the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre-Dame, and more but since the dinner cruise lasts longer, sometimes the cruise route is also longer and reaches additional areas along the Seine River that the sightseeing cruise does not reach.
Bateaux Parisiens, for example, cruises from its central embarkation point near the Eiffel Tower and offers two different routes - The sightseeing cruise is shorter and covers the central part of Paris, including the main sights such as the Louvre, Notre-Dame Cathedral, and Musée d’Orsay while their dinner cruises continue farther west toward the Statue of Liberty replica and east to the Bibliothèque Nationale de France for a longer overall Seine experience under Paris’s historic bridges.
Bateaux Mouches, another very popular cruise company here in Paris, departing from Port de la Conférence near Pont de l’Alma and pass by several iconic landmarks like the Grand Palais, the Louvre Museum, Musée d’Orsay, and so on until it reaches the Arab World Institute, where the boat will turn around. The highlight is the passage under the small channel between Ile de la Cité and the Left Bank with great views of Notre Dame Cathedral. The return trip also includes the National Assembly and the final views of the Eiffel Tower.
Vedettes du Pont Neuf cruise company offers another perspective of Paris, with cruises starting and returning to the Pont Neuf bridge in the heart of historic Paris on the Ile de la Cité. The cruise route takes you west along the Seine past the Louvre Museum, Musée d’Orsay, and the Assemblée Nationale, continuing towards the iconic Eiffel Tower and Trocadéro. After a change of direction, the boat cruises east, passing by the magnificent Notre-Dame Cathedral all the way to the Bastille and the Institut du Monde Arabe.
When planning a cruise in Paris, it’s important to keep the weather in mind, as it can often be quite unpredictable. Summers in Paris have become increasingly warm in recent years, but sudden rain showers can still catch you by surprise. If you plan to spend time on the outdoor deck of the boat, it’s worth bringing something to keep you warm in case the wind picks up.
Spring and autumn in Paris are especially changeable, with one day feeling hot and the next cold and rainy, so it’s best to come prepared. Winters in Paris are generally cold to very cold, so make sure to dress warmly, especially if you want to step outside during the cruise.
It’s important to note: most boats operated by all cruise companies in Paris offer an indoor area, so if you don’t feel like dealing with the weather, you can always stay inside and enjoy heating or air conditioning.
Most major boats and tour companies offer cruises throughout the day, typically starting as early as 10am and running as late as 9:30pm in the summer. Schedules vary by company and season with hours being more limited in the off-season between November-March. Lunch cruises are very common, lasting 1-2 hours in the early-mid afternoon. Dinner/evening cruises typically have boarding around 8pm and run for 1.5-2 hours.
The duration of a Seine River cruise mainly depends on the type of cruise you choose. The shortest option is a sightseeing cruise, which typically lasts around one hour. If you go for a lunch cruise, most companies here in Paris offer an average duration of one and a half to two hours. The longest cruises in Paris are the dinner cruises, which usually last between two and three hours.
Each cruise company has its own departure point, but all Seine night cruises depart from very central locations in Paris, easily reachable either on foot as part of a walking tour or via public transport.
Bateaux Mouches cruises depart from Port de la Conférence (Pont de l’Alma), Bateaux Parisiens from Port de la Bourdonnais (near the Eiffel Tower), Vedettes du Pont Neuf boats depart from Pont Neuf on Île de la Cité and Vedettes de Paris departing near the Eiffel Tower or Notre-Dame.
It’s not necessary to book tickets in advance for a nighttime Seine River cruise, but if you ask us - it’s definitely a good idea. Booking ahead saves you from standing in line at the ticket counter and guarantees tickets for the date and time that work best for you.
The operating hours of night cruises on the Seine vary from company to company, but based on all the information we have, you won’t find any cruises running after 11:00 PM.
In the end, it’s a personal preference based on your needs and budget. But to help you decide, keep the following points in mind: a sightseeing or aperitif cruise lasts about 1 to 1.5 hours, while a dinner cruise lasts between 2 and 3 hours. Another important factor is, of course, the price - sightseeing and aperitif cruises cost around €20 to €40 per person, while dinner cruises start at around €70 and can go up to €180 for the most expensive packages.
From our experience, the best time to start your cruise in order to catch the Eiffel Tower sparkle at just the right moment is about 15 to 30 minutes before the top of the hour.
It’s worth checking reviews on TripAdvisor or Google to make an informed decision. What we can say is that it’s a good idea to choose one of the more popular companies offering cruises in Paris - such as Bateaux Mouches, Bateaux Parisiens, Vedettes du Pont Neuf, and others.
This really depends on the company. Some offer a live guide on board, while others provide an audio guide. It’s best to check the cruise page before booking.
Yes. In the case of dinner cruises, most companies require formal attire. It’s not strictly enforced, but it’s common to show up dressed nicely - no shorts, flip-flops, or baseball caps.
A Seine cruise with children is definitely a great family activity, and kids usually enjoy it very much-especially during the daytime. In the evening, however, children are often already tired and may lose patience, which can make the experience less enjoyable for you as well. If you still want to bring your kids on an evening cruise, we recommend going around sunset, so you can finish the cruise relatively early. You can find more info on our complete guide to cruising the Seine with kids in Paris.
We are a group of travelers who love to explore and write about Paris. Over the years, we have gained extensive experience with cruising on the Seine River in Paris. Here, you could find all the essential information you need to know about Seine River cruises, including the different types of cruise, prices, tickets, operating hours, departure points, and many more. Bon voyage!
