I am thinking that just about every tourist probably goes on one of those Seine river tours. Am I right in assuming that those tours are the French equivalent of Velveeta??? <BR> <BR>Marcos <BR>

Marcos, this question has been asked several times on this forum... do a search under Sein or dinner cruises and you should get an eye full. <BR> <BR>My husband and I did not do the "dinner cruise" so can't comment on quality, reviews on this board as I recall have gone from "loved it" to "ugh, don't waste your money" <BR>We just took the cruise during the late afternoon and really enjoyed it, we were one of only 4 couples on the boat in March. Very romantic except for the diesel boat fumes... but it was fun none the less.

Yes it's touristy, but so is seeing Notre Dame; that doesn't mean it should be avoided. <BR>There are several boat choices, try this one: Vedettes du Pont-Neuf : From Pont Neuf, Square du Vert-Galant, Paris 1. Metro: Pont Neuf. Smaller boats than Bateaux Mouches. Live commentary. <BR>Someone else on this forum very highly recommended last month the boat trip on the Canal St Martin. Boat leaves from <BR>a dock near the park Cite de Sciences et de l'Industrie at la Villette in the 19th and ends up in the 4th, and was said to have more French visitors than any others. www.pariscanal.com

The basic cruise is just a boat trip, so there isn't really anything to be cheesy or not. You just go up and down the river for about an hour and it's real cheap, so why not (probably only about 50F) give it a try. I suppose there was commentary, I don't remember, as I took one when I already knew what all the sights and buildings were anyway. Anyway, it was okay, but I would not bother if time were tight (I took one when I was there a long time so had plenty of free time) as the view of buildings from down on the Seine isn't really that terrific IMO (I did not take the night cruise but might recommend it for the lights). I think it's the dinner cruises that are very touristy and perhaps trop de fromage, as they are way overpriced IMO.

I was in Paris in Sept-Oct 2000 and did a Bateaux Mouches tour on my last night in Paris. I do recommend it BUT would recommend doing it on a warmer day. I was dressed quite warmly but once we got on the water and it was windy many people literally went into the indoors cabin area. Still it's a great memory.

We did the Vedettes de Pont Neuf on a beautiful afternoon in May. Great commentary (just enough, cheerful and pleasant in about 3 languages). Sure it's a touristy thing, but well worth the time and not very costly.

Thank you for the tips on other alternatives. I am leaning towards taking an Illuminations Cruise (the evening cruise) <BR> <BR>Marcos

Yes, it is touristy. But it's also quite pleasant. I did one of the boat rides during the afternoon leaving from Pont Neuf. I don't remember the cost -- it was inexpensive -- lasted about an hour -- pleasant student gave us a monologue about what we were seeing along the river banks. Got to take some interesting photos of Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, etc. <BR> <BR>A nice little ride and you get to rest your feet (highly recommend doing this doing afternoon)!

The Illumination cruise has very pretty views with the lighting along the way, but I would definitely not do the dinner...it was terrible...just go for a drink or two.

<BR> It's not that long, inexpensive, and quite pleasant. So, IMO, you should do it, especially at night, as several posters suggested. <BR> <BR> Concerning the canal St-Martin, I'm not sure. I never did it, but the canal crosses parts of Paris which aren't that interesting and part of the ride is subterranean. If you already did a lot of stuff in Paris it's perhaps worth to give it a try, but otherwise, I'm dubious...

One of the problems with Canal St. Martin is that there may be actual French people taking them with you! You wouldn't want to put yourself through that would you?

Sorry Dave, are you responding to the prvious poster?
that was three years ago

oops, not 3, 4

Hmm. Interesting. How did I get back to 2001? Or did I never leave there?