Paris Hop-On/Hop-Off Seine River Cruise (Batobus)

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Before the Cruise

Assembly Area

• There's no one major boarding area. Batebus has 9 stops next to every major attraction along the Seine, where you can embark/disembark as you please.

Boarding

• I’ve only been to the Notre Dame stop — not sure how the others are. There’s an indoor ticket office there, but otherwise, it’s an open-air area with Batobus flags.

Getting There

• 🗺️ Meeting point: Port de la Bourdonnais, 75007 Paris, France
• Note: Batobus has several stations along the Seine, as you'd expect from a hop-on hop-off company.

During The Cruise

The Ship

• The ship is a relatively small single-decker with a 200-person capacity.
• This ship isn’t great for sightseeing compared to every other cruise I tried. There aren’t any 360° views either since there’s no top deck.
  

The Lower Deck

• The ship has mostly indoor seats, but they open the windows in the warmer season, which is nice since even in October, the sunlight can be blinding and it can be hot inside.
• The seats face every direction, some with virtually non-existent panorama (i.e. the middle seats, as seen in the photo above).
• This reinforces the idea that this boat is designed for transportation rather than sightseeing.
• The side glasses are transparent, while the roof panels are opaque.

• There’s a small open-air area in the back.

The Top Deck

• Unlike most Seine river cruises, Batobus ships are single-decked, meaning there's only a ground floor deck.

Cruise Itinerary & Views

• The cruise follows a standard itinerary, covering the area between the Eiffel Tower and the Austerlitz Bridge.
• Key landmarks along the route include the Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides, the Palais Bourbon, Musée d’Orsay, Institut de France, Notre Dame Cathedral, the City Hall, the Conciergerie, the Louvre, the Obelisk, the Grand Palais.

Audio Guide

• Batobus does not offer audio guides or commentary. However, an employee announces stops in English and French.