Kayaking the Seine in Paris
 

My wife and I have walked, driven and cycled Paris but recently discovered the sport of kayaking and wonder if there is a group or company that offers tours of Paris via the Seine. As in cycling you never notice the hills until you have to bike up them, is the same true of the current in the Seine?

I might be less concerned about the current than the big wakes from all those tour boats!

The Seine normally has a very gentle current of a few cubic metres per second (30-50 cfs). This translates to a speed of perhaps 0.5-1 metre per second in linear terms (about 2 mph).

The portion of the Seine that passes through the city proper is constantly covered with boats and would no doubt be quite dangerous. However, I've seen rowing crews in their boats near the Neuilly bridge in the western suburb of that name, and I think I may have even seen the occasional kayak. I suspect they are only allowed to move about in areas of the Seine that are forbidded to other motorized craft, but I don't know the exact rules or restrictions.

In general the Seine at the level of Paris is ill-adapted to small boats like kayaks, with all the river traffic. And the river is very well tamed, with many locks and dams to keep the water level high and the surface calm. There's no white water anywhere near Paris on the Seine, nor downstream as far as I know.

There are, however, places that will take you kayaking on some moderate white water within the Paris area (not on the Seine). There's a place near Fontainebleau (to the southeast) that does this, for example.