Vedettes du Pont Neuf Boat Cruises on the Seine in Paris

One of several popular operators offering sightseeing boat cruises on the Seine river, the Bateaux Les Vedettes du Pont Neuf company offers simple, one-hour cruise tours with audio commentary available in 12 languages. Major sights and attractions include the Eiffel Tower, Musee d'Orsay, the Invalides, and the Louvre Museum. Overall, the basic tour gives you a glimpse of dozens of important sites.

The Vedettes—which is named after the eponymous, elegant bridge in central Paris— does offer lunch and dinner cruises like its competitors Bateaux-Mouches or Bateaux-Parisiens, it remains one of the more solid choices for a simple cruise tour of Paris and its most recognizable attractions and monuments. If you're a first-time visitor to the city of lights, definitely consider a boat tour: it's a relatively economical, relaxing, and simple way to get an overview of the monuments situated along the Seine, learn a bit about Paris history, and, well, just enjoy the ride and fresh air.

• No reservations required
• The tour shows you some of the city's essential attractions in only an hour
• A good choice if you want to stay near the Paris city center
• Snacks and drinks are available on board at the Captain's bar

• Cruise includes fewer attractions than many competitors—not especially comprehensive
• Only one boarding point available

Les Vedettes du Pont Neuf's fleet of four boats seat between 72 people for the smaller cruiser and 550 people for the largest one, and offer panoramic views of the city.

Boats dock and launch near the Pont-Neuf bridge, at Square du Vert Galant in the 1st arrondissement.

• Tour Length: Tours last approximately one hour. No reservations are necessary, but in peak months they are highly recommended
• Tel: +(33) 01 46 33 98 38
• E-mail: info@vedettesdupontneuf.com
• Visit the official website for prices, current departure times, and booking.

Commentary is available in French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese, Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Dutch, Swedish, and Danish.

The Vedettes du Pont Neuf sightseeing cruise takes you along a circuit on which you can see the following sights and attractions:

• Musee du Louvre
• Pont Royal
• Musee d'Orsay
• Concorde
• Alexander the Third Bridge
• Invalides
• Eiffel Tower
• Toykyo Palace
• The Gilded Flame
• Grand Palais
• Legion of Honor Palace
• Voltaire Bank
• Institut de France
• Ile de la Cite
• Pont Neuf
• Saint-Michel Bridge
• Notre Dame Cathedral
• Tournell Bridge
• Statue of Sainte Genevieve
• Arabian World Institute
• Sainte Bernard Bank
• Ile St-Louis
• Mary Bridge
• City Hall
• Hotel Dieu
• Clock Tower\
• Conciergerie

The Vedettes boats are equipped with a "Captain's Bar" selling drinks and snacks. We don't recommend that you bring your own snacks on board. Instead, plan on eating lunch or dinner before or after the tour: it's only an hour, after all. Lunch and dinner cruise options are also available.