Make sure you have your tickets before you even try to get to the dock. You will not be let down if you don't have them. Take the Metro and get off a Bir Hakeim. Cross the street towards the river right there -- if you continue towards the Eiffel Tower, there's a possibility you won't be able to cross and get down. There's a ramp down to the quai where the boats are moored right there, right off the Pont Bir-Hakeim. Even though the Pont Iena access in front of the Eiffel Tower is closer to the boat mooring, access is often completely cut off when you get there, and they instruct you to go back to the Pont Bir Hakeim ramp.

GET THERE EARLY!!! I cannot stress this enough. The crowds heading to this area, and getting off at this stop are huge. The later you arrive, the more likely you'll get hassled by the police and those who guard getting onto the quai.

If you're just going for the special cruise without dinner, don't forget to bring drink and food! And don't forget the corkscrew!

Assuming English is your language, here's the English translation page --

http://www.vedettesdeparis.fr/1/en/101/come-to-us.html

Surfergirl
you say early how early?

On our confirmation it says no food.
If you bring food and whine what will they do with it?

I'm sure you can bring food and a reasonable amount of beverages, but please do not whine or they will not like it.

Surfergirl
are you sure that Bir Hakeim will be open then?

they recommend metro Dupleix.

http://www.vedettesdeparis.fr/1/fr/149/feu-d-artifice-du-14-juillet.html

The webpage above clearly states that "picnic and off the boat is prohibited" (sic). And also that "A catering service (sandwiches, pancakes, drinks ...) will be available on board."

Yet further down the page, in the Important Information section it states that "picnic allowed on board"

I'd have thought for 35 euros each you'd be able to take your own food on board.

It's like a movie theater, they don't want you to bring your own food, that's part of how they get revenue. For 35 euro, which is very cheap for a cruise during the fireworks, I'm not surprised.

I don't know what you are reading, but I read the page in French and it clearly states several times that picnicking is not allowed (nor getting off the boat, which I'm sure means during the cruise, it says before the end of the fireworks around 12:30). It says that in the section labeled Informations Importantes. I used your URL, this is the statement in that section: - Pique-nique interdit à bord.

Interdit = prohibited. I am guessing that the Google Translate version is what is causing the problem by translating it as "allowed" instead of "NOT allowed."

They're not checking backpacks and everyone brings backpacks to stow sweatshirts/blankets, etc. And every time I've gone people have not hidden the fact that they've brought bottles of wine and food -- with all the festivities, people generally pass around and share. Bread, pate, cheeses. No one cared at all. I would be surprised if that has changed. This is France.

By way of example, a few years back, I was in Paris and went to a Doors concert (okay, 2 of the 4 Doors). There was a host of "interdit" stuff listed on the ticket -- no smoking, no lighters, no cameras, no videos -- and like some idiot I left all that behind (well, not the cigarettes, since I had given that up, but everything else). Nothing was checked. And their idea of security were a couple of puny 97 lb weaklings at the front of the stage that I could have taken out blindfolded with a broken leg. Needless to say, the French concert goers were taping, photographing, and even jumping up on stage. Smoke filled the air in 5 seconds flat.

As for the Metro stop, it is possible it was suggested another stop because Bir Hakeim station does get very crowded. For 6:30, I'd be there at 5:00 at the latest. Do they tell you where you will need to enter (i.e. what ramp you need to go down)? Once you get down to the Quai, you can relax and there's plenty of restroom facilities and even a few places to get some food.

surfergirl I love your description of the security at the Doors concert, very funny!

If it was me going on the cruise I would check out surfergirl's directions (which sound excellent) a day or two beforehand so that on that evening I knew exactly where I had to go.

your help is greatly appreciated, Merci

I am also taking earplugs for everyone in my group, as it probably going to be pretty loud there. Has anyone else ever used them there?

So from what I have in videos seen they shoot of the fireworks from both the Trocadero area and the Effiel tower itself?

Hi James, I've stood right beside Sydney Harbour on numerous occasions for the New Year's Eve fireworks and not needed ear plugs. Sydney is reputed to have the best NYE fireworks world wide and I've never needed ear plugs. Others may have a different opinion though.

Hi JC,

www.ratp.fr will give you directions for public transportation between any two points in the Paris area.

YES, SURFERGIRL YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!!!
Your ONLY access to the boats on Bastille Day is at Bir Hakeim, ALL THE OTHER ACCESS POINTS ARE BLOCKED.

I tried to get on the boat at about 5:30pm by just walking up the wide path on the Siene side of the street and that was blocked by police. None of about 8 different police (at different locations) knew anything about it even when they read the ticket and instructions in french. Finally a senior policeman figured it out and sent us back to Bir Hakeim and the road that is right next to the river and THAT was the access point.

The fireworks were beyond fantastic, so much better that I remember them 20 years ago. There were firework effects that I had never seen before, new advances in firework technology.

The theme for the fireworks was from Broadway to Paris. So all the big Broadway show music was played. From Hello Dolly to Hair and everything in between.

The music to the fireworks is broadcast over the radio and the boat played that music right on the boat. So anyone watching them anywhere else bring a portable radio with you!!!!!!!

So much of what I saw would have been blocked by the Effiel Tower. There were NO fireworks from the Effiel Tower itself. Although there was a concert in front of the Effiel if you want to be with 500,000 other people. This is the ONLY way to see the fireworks.

ON GETTING BACK TO THE LATIN QUARTER AFTER THE SHOW.
We walked south along the Siene to the number 10 Metro that goes direct to the Latin Quarter. We tried to hail a cap along the way with no luck. It was about a 15 minute walk to there and the station was not overly crowded. Then direct to the Latin quarter.

NEVER doubt me and my directions -- lol!

Glad you had a great time -- watching it from the boat with the fireworks in front of you and the Eiffel Tower behind you is truly the BEST place to be!

I forgot to mention that you know WHEN the fireworks are about to start, because the lights on the Eiffel Tower suddenly go dark.