CRUISE ON THE SEINE

When planning a Seine River evening cruise in Paris, keeping a close eye on the weather is advised:

Rain and wind can put a damper on an open-air sightseeing cruise along the river. While most boats have interior cabins, the prime views are from the uncovered upper decks. Thus precipitation may obstruct your Paris city vista or force you indoors if unprepared. Always check an hourly forecast and bring weather appropriate layers and umbrellas just in case.

Additionally, rain or cloud cover can diminish the romantic ambience that the City of Light is famed for at night. The illuminations and reflections off the water may not be as brilliant on an overcast evening versus clear skies at dusk.

Fortunately, many cruises operate daily spring through fall. Having some flexible dates allows you to reschedule if the forecast looks unfavorable on a given night. Popular dinner and sightseeing boats also tend to have covered glass roofs as a safeguard if showers blow through unexpectedly.

In terms of comfort, warmer summer nights are ideal for lingering on outer decks in short sleeves, while frigid winter cruises call for heavy jackets and maybe gloves. Scope average low temps if cruising between November and March when the weather shifts.

Most Seine River evening sightseeing cruises and dinner cruises in Paris take place between 7 PM and 11 PM daily. However, there are some variations:

• Shorter 1-hour sightseeing cruises typically have more departure times spaced closer together in the 7 PM – 9:30 PM range so tourists can enjoy a quick river view after dinner or other activities.
• Multi-course dinner cruises onboard specialty restaurant boats often only have one sailing per evening, with boarding starting between 7 PM and 7:30 PM. The meal duration then fills up most of the 2-3 hour experience.
• Some companies may offer a later limited schedule on Saturdays with 11 PM or midnight departures in the summer months when sunset is later. These capture the glittering city lights at peak illumination.
• Lunch cruises are also available on most boats during the daytime along with breakfast cruises as early as 9:30 AM. But romantic evening tours are the main draw.
• Many dinner cruise ships have their own resident musicians providing live entertainment during the evening sailings as well. Entertainment varies from jazz trios to quartets playing classical or traditional French music.

When booking a Seine River evening cruise in Paris, there are a few common duration options to consider:

The shortest sightseeing cruises are usually 1 hour long. These provide a quick tour along the illuminated river, often with multilingual commentary about the iconic landmarks visible. Travel is roundtrip from the departure dock to east past Notre Dame and back.

For a more in-depth experience, many companies offer longer sightseeing tours ranging from 1.5 hours up to 2 hours in length. These may traverse a longer stretch of the river at a more leisurely pace, or make brief photo stops at landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and the Pont Alexandre III bridge.

Multi-course dinner cruises tend to be 2-3 hours to blend gourmet cuisine with the Seine’s vistas. These might only travel half the route before turning around to serve dinner during the second half when westbound. 3 full hours with departure around 7 PM enables seeing monuments both in dusk and fully lit up after dark.

Additionally, some operators have half-day or full-day “hop on hop off” style river passes allowing you to board multiple short tours over several hours or days.

When embarking on a Seine River evening cruise in Paris, there are a handful of main departure docks to launch from. Some of the most popular and centrally located are:

Port de la Bourdonnais – Close to the Eiffel Tower metro and walking distance southwest of the landmark itself in the 7th arrondissement. It offers quick access for shorts cruises by the iconic tower and surrounding areas.

Port du Gros Caillou – Another dock situated at the base of the Eiffel Tower, at the east entrance to the Champs de Mars park nearby. Also home to longer dinner boats.

Pont de l’Alma – A third embarkation point near the Eiffel Tower, next to the Pont de l’Alma bridge across the Seine. Gateway to western routes by the Trocadéro Gardens and Statue of Liberty replica.

Port Saint-Michel – An eastern dock located on the Left Bank near Saint-Michel metro and Notre Dame Cathedral. Provides eastern access towards Ile Saint Louis and the Latin Quarter.

There are also centrally located ports like Port Debilly between the Louvre and Orsay museums for routes in either direction.