We leave for Paris Oct 12 and return Oct 20 (first trip). Thanks to everybody who helped us with the apartment!

Some friends of ours recently returned from Paris, and they almost exclusively used the Batobus to get around the different areas.

We love to walk, and we plan on walking lots and lots, but do you think it would be a good idea to get the 5-day Batobus pass (E17 per person), or is the bus or subway that much better?

We love being on boats, and we usually work boat trips in on most of our vacations. I realize that this might not be the most time-effective way to get around, but I thought it would be enjoyable.

According to their timetable, one pickup at Eiffel Tower is at 10:00, then Musee d'Orsay at 10:20, then Saint German des Pres at 10:25, then Notre Dame at 10:40. This seems that it would be about as fast as the bus, but I'm not sure. Other stops are Jardin des Plantes, Hotel de Ville, Louvre, Champs Elysees.

Any opinions? Thanks so much!

Hi S,

The Batobus is nice to take a tour of the sights from the water.

You can also take a Seine cruise at night on the same ticket.

As for using it for getting around town, I think that the buses and metro are cheaper and more convenient.

Yeah, we plan on doing a night Seine cruise (at least one!).

Would the bus and metro get you to those places I listed faster than the batobus?

Hi S,

If your idea is to take the batobus from the ET to the D'Orsay and then to Notre Dame, sure.

You might want to get off at SGdP and walk along the Seine to ND. That's where the bookstalls are.

Okay. Thanks, Ira! Do you still have your snow? We're a little north of you (still in Georgia), and most church services today have been cancelled. Streets are fine, but yards, house roofs are white with snow.

In Paris, we plan to mainly walk, but we wanted to have some backup plans. We'll look into the bus and the subway, as well as the Batobus.
Thanks so much for all your help!

It's fine if you want to take it just between those particular points, and it should be as fast as the bus from what you said. No one could relie on the batobus to get around Paris unless they didn't go anywhere but those tourist points on the river. If that is mostly all you want to do, sure, get the Batobus pass. I just can't imagine not going anywhere in Paris but those points.

That boat cannot stop at the Champs-Elysees as it isn't on the river. Maybe they have a stop called that, but don't think you will be right at it as you'll have to walk to get to it from the river.

I think boats are fine for fun, but don't make sense in a city like Paris as a regular method of transportation.

Thanks, Christina. We definitely plan on going to more than those stops.

The Batobus is designed to get tourists from one major sightseeing destination along the Seine to another; it's not for "getting around Paris." It doesn't run anywhere near as frequently as the métro and buses. I've waited about 20 minutes for a Batobus, and in that time I could have walked to the next stop easily. I would definitely not buy a 5-day Batobus pass, unless you plan to do nothing more than stay by the river. Instead, if you want to experience it, I'd plan one day of sightseeing that focuses on the places the Batobus stops, and then buy a carnet of métro/bus tickets to get everywhere else.

The batobus may be used by anybody more interested in aquatic pleasure than transportation efficiency.

Dates of the Batobus service
Service from 8 February 2008 to 4 January 2009

Timetables

10.30 am - 4.30 pm:
from 8 February to 13 March
and from 12 November to 18 December 2009

10.30 am - 5.00 pm:
from 19 December to 4 January 2009

10.00 am - 7.00 pm:
from 14 March to 29 May
and from 1 September to 11 November 2009

10.00 am - 9.30 pm:
from 30 May to 31 August 2009

Service frequency
A Batobus every 15 to 30 minutes.