Get to know the soul of Paris at evening or night and see the Eiffel Tower sparkle with one of this best-sellers cruises:
Select from sightseeing, dining or aperitif to match your night cruise in Paris:
The most popular cruises in Paris are of course the sightseeing cruises and they’re also the most affordable. These cruises last about an hour and pass by Paris’s most famous landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower (when it is sparkle), Notre-Dame, the Louvre, Town Hall, and more. Most major cruise companies, like Bateaux Mouches or Bateaux Parisiens, operate these cruises throughout the day until 10:00 PM, so you can easily choose to take your cruise in the evening or at night.
Best Suited For: If you’re looking for a simple, standard, and affordable cruise that will show you all of Paris’s landmarks beautifully lit at night, this is the one you should choose.
Duration: Around 1 hour.
Price Range: €17–€20 per person.
If you’re looking for something more than a simple sightseeing cruise, you’ll find a wide variety of dinner cruises on the Seine in Paris – though they are also more expensive. These cruises last around 2.5 hours and include a full three-course meal. They typically depart around 8:00 PM and finish around 10:00 or 11:00 at night. Most cruise companies also offer live music or a singer during the dinner cruise, which adds to the romantic atmosphere.
Best Suited For: If you’re looking for a romantic evening experience with beautiful views of Paris at night, this cruise is for you.
Duration: About 2.5 hours.
Price Range: €60–€130 per person.
Seine River night cruises with champagne or wine are a special kind of evening experience in Paris, perfect for those who want to enjoy a romantic cruise on the Seine without booking a full dinner. These cruises are much more affordable than dinner cruises, typically costing between €25 and €40 per person. You can choose between a cruise that includes a glass of wine or one that includes champagne, with the price varying accordingly. These cruises last about 1 to 1.5 hours, and most companies also feature onboard music to enhance the atmosphere.
Best Suited For: If you’re looking for a romantic nighttime cruise on the Seine without spending too much, this is a great option for you.
Duration: About 1 to 1.5 hours.
Price Range: €25–€40 per person.
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.
If you’re planning a night cruise in Paris, it’s important to take into account the weather, which often changes quite a bit at night compared to during the day in Paris. For example, if you’re taking an evening cruise on the Seine in the summer, the evening hours will work in your favor, and the weather will be much more comfortable than the hot daytime hours. That’s why we very often recommend that travelers in the summer prefer an evening cruise over a daytime one.
In spring and autumn, the nights can be cold—and sometimes even especially cold. According to official weather data from Météo-France and NOAA, the average temperatures in spring range from 5 to 12 degrees Celsius, and in autumn from 6 to 14 degrees Celsius. So it’s always a good idea to bring warm clothing, just to be on the safe side.
Winter nights in Paris are already very cold and can sometimes even drop below zero. So make sure to come with especially warm clothing.
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.
Night cruises on the Seine in Paris begin around sunset and usually run until 10:00 or 11:00 PM, depending on the company. Keep in mind that in winter, darkness typically falls as early as 5:00 PM, while in summer it may not get dark until 9:00 or even 10:00 PM. In any case, except for special events, you won’t find Seine cruises operating after 11:00 PM.
As we explained earlier, the duration of seine river night cruises is usually between 1 and 1.5 hours for sightseeing cruises, and 2 to 3 hours for dinner cruises.
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!
