Seine River Cruise and Paris Canals Tour

One lock too many !!

9 locks just many too many. Sitting around for a long time looking at not very much! Not enough time on the Seine itself. Guide was excellent

Great trip for intergenerational families.

Our group of 8, spanning 3 generations, really enjoyed the Seine & canal trip. This one way trip took ended at a peaceful area we’d never been before. Some of our party enjoyed the snack bar. The tunnel was interesting, the variety of locks & drawbridges added to the experience. Some of the locks were double. Going to the front of the boat to watch the lock fill with water was fascinating.

Excellent experience

The onboard commentary was excellent, it gave so much history. Given in both French and English. The canal experience with the locks was great. So much info.

Burn 🔥 up a few hours

Got to see tents with homeless people along the river- the locks were interesting to experience once but I think we spent 1 hour going through 4-6… the tour operator was good and gave was nice history lesson but the boat ride was a bit of a bust IMHO

Much better than a pure River Seine cruise

Not to be missed. We’ve done the traditional Seine cruise before and so were delighted to find something different in the Saint Martin canal and Seine mix and had an excellent 2.5 hours aboard, cruising from La Villette to Musee D’Orsay. The 9 locks made for an interesting decent to the Seine and we also found the 2.5km tunnel fascinating to experience in terms of the changing light patterns etc. The bar ensured convenient refreshments (we had an excellent lunch at the departure point before boarding, well worth getting there early for). We found the directions to the start point very clear in the booking confirmation. Only complaint, it would be great to have more comfortable chairs on the lower deck please!

Buyer beware

The Uber driver could not find it. I messaged the operator an hour before start. They never replied. So I did not get to take the cruise. I would not recommend.

Lovely experience

We had a lovely relaxed time on the canal trip, was worth venturing down stairs to the front of the boat for a really close experience. Loved every minute. May be a bit long if you have little ones.

Boring

Couldn’t understand the guide. Spent more time sitting at gates than moving. Ends in the middle of nowhere.

Loads of great information! Do it!

Guide was super clear and informative. Learned so much. Small ship and plenty of room to move around. Big windows to see from inside and plenty of deck space too.

Mostly enjoyable and informative.

Although interesting and enjoyable, we did not know that the canal trip consisted of 9 locks which took up the majority of the tour and reduced the amount of time on the Seine River.

Less than I expected

Challenging to find the starting point in Villiers. Nowhere nearby to rest/snack before start of tour. Locks on Canal St Martin were interesting but by 4th or 5th lock ( of 10), was passe. 2 hours on canal, 1/2hr briefly on short part of Seine. Guide said more in French than English and sound system was poor. Disappointing.

BORING!! Do not recommend this trip.

There was nothing memorable about this boring trip. One lock would have been sufficient, instead of 9. I thought we'd be touring longer on the Seine river and seeing more of the skyline on the river, not the canals. The water was dirty, the tour leader could not be understood and he was boring, as was the rest of the tour. I repsectfully request a partial refund. Very disappointed.

Slow

Beautiful views, but the guide spoke mostly French even though the tour language was English. A little disappointing, but the experience was still good.

Beautiful but too much sitting still

The canals were pretty,the guide interesting. But 9 locks in 1 hour meant a LOT of sitting still and breathing fumes. It was a relief to reach the Seine and cruise ended 15 minutes later

Wonderful Experince!!

A relaxing way to see a vastly different side to the "tourist view of Paris". Excellent live commentary gave us a historical insight to the canals. If locks are your thing, then you have 9 times to experience the boat either being raised or lowered 4 metres each time. 2.5 hours was time well spent with a beer or wine.

Mediocre tour the last 15 minutes were great

The first two thirds of the tour were incredibly long and painful. That said, the people that ran the tour did the best they could, but it took painfully long for the elevators to drop the boat down to the various levels. The last 15 minutes were outstanding

Don’t waste your time and money

I thought the Seine part of the tour would be longer, but all we saw was Notre Dame. The canals took up the majority of the tour and were very long and boring, 9 different locks and not much interesting to see. The tour ended far from where we started, and we had to walk through a sketchy area to get to the metro. Don’t waste your money on this one.

Riding the City of Light Waterways

A wonderful adventure into a part of Paris we had never seen in our many visits. Enjoyed the appropriately funny commentary.

Beautiful unexpected and educational experince

Everything on this trip was great. It is a Nice little boat. We had a great guide , fluent and entertaining in french and english. The canal runs through yet another fascinating part of Paris, and you experience Locks and tunnels from the Napoleon times. Spiced with history.

Original cruise was cancelled and transferred to another cruise which was canal only. A bit disappointed.

The beginning was ok but the second half was just housing. Don't want to comment further. End of story.

Only half of cruise

Could not go on the river. Only canals. Not worth the price. I understand it is out of your control but you should refund at least half the costs

A genuine 5 star experience!

A genuine 5 star experience: interesting tour, valuable information and inside stories, with a friendly and helpful crew!

Too many canal locks, not enough sights

The tour guide spoke in English and French, but spent more time in French, and in having to cover both language's, I feel we missed some of the sights (we are going by while he says it in French and we already past it when he switches to mention it in English). His attempt at humor fell flat as well. You could offer English only tours or at least specify that the guide will be doing it bilingually, if not.

A great ride for all...and history too!

it a wonderful ride through the. canals and particularly great adventure for children. Highly recommend as a don't miss. even if the weather if funky it works!

HORRIBLE

It was awful. I am not sure of the name of our meeting point. It was a 2:30pm afternoon trip. The boat left from a location whereby there were nine locks for us to pass through. It was a 2 hour trip of waiting for locks (gates) to open. The surroundings while we waited were walls covered in graffiti and make shift tents. There was nothing pleasurable about this tour. Our guide spoke in both French and English. He droned on and on for the duration of the trip. We ended up being on the River Seine for about 15 minutes total. We could purchase wine served in a tiny plastic cup with barely of mouthful of wine.

Canals and sienne cruise

Great views with excellent commentary by the crew Everything was exactly as represented by the ad information

River

Tour was very good. However drops off in different part of city which is not clear in description. Staff was not extremely helpful in how to return. Advise only for seasoned travelers who can navigate metro lines.

Disappointed

Felt this tour was a bit of a waste of time. Didn’t really see too much of interest and spent most of the time in the locks between parts of the canal, which I understand must be there but that took 90% of the time while then seeing not much. Also worth mentioning you get dropped off in a different spot to where you leave which we didn’t realise.

We loved the canal trip,...

We loved the canal trip, moving through the neighbourhoods on a quiet boat, learning about life there. Wonderful time

Lovely boat trip

Lovely boat trip, so much to see. A voyage through a part of Paris we've not seen before. Loved the locks and the scenery. Commentary was excellent - the young man had such an extensive knowledge.

An interesting cruise through the heart of the city

We took the cruise from Parc de la Villette along the canals and through the tunnel to the Seine. There was a bilingual narrator on board, who pointed out interesting things along the way and also explained the interesting bridges and the locks as we passed. Most dramatic was the long tunnel that ends just after passing under the Place de la Bastille. All in all a pleasant way to get a different view of the city. One note: The embarkation point is a long walk from any of the Metro stops that serve the park. It's important to leave enough time to walk there. The boat departs from in front of a restaurant called 211 on the bank of the Canal Ourcq.

Kick back and enjoy the ride

Really cool experience since it includes the river and canal system. We liked that it ended in a district that we’d never seen before and enjoyed the journey after visiting a nice cafe in the neighborhood.

Fascinating view of an urban canal!

Enjoyed the canal cruise and seeing how canal wandered through an urban setting! The graffiti art was fascinating as were the locks. A lovely way to spend a fall afternoon.

Cruising Canal Martin into the Seine River providing a relaxing insight into the history of Paris.

Interesting cruise along the canal and into the Seine River through a few locks and a tunnel through several areas of Paris

Awful experience

We never were able to get on the cruise. The address they gave as the meeting point did not show up on Google maps nor could anyone who worked on the various Seine River cruises recognize the address. We spent over an hour searching for the boarding point. It is a sham!

Beautiful Seine

The Seine is a beautiful river and has a good deal of lovely historical buildings to admire. This makes the River Cruise a must do event in Paris. The Tunnels are extremely interesting and the experience is helped by a good and friendly guide. The canals are quiet and peaceful but the number of locks you have to go through makes the second part of the adventure slightly boring. Overall though, good to do the trip.

Lovely trip

Lovely way to spend a few hours waiting for the Ireland Scotland rugby kick off on a sunny Paris afternoon

Interesting tour of the locks but.....

The cruise itself was interesting and took us to areas of Paris we would not have otherwise visited including the locks. The process of going through the locks was fascinating. The tour was bilingual French and English. The information being given sounded like it could be quite interesting but unfortunately our guide had a heavy accent and the PA system perhaps didnt amplify his voice properly. It made it difficult to understand a lot of what he was saying.

River Canal Morning

I booked this tour direct on the Paris Canal website. The confirmation was good and they also provide a map of the route of this one way boat trip which lasts 2 1/2 hours. The instructions for boarding at porte Solferino near Musee d'Orsay were very good. Boarding was easy with plenty of seating on the boat, there are also toilet facilities onboard. The guide providing the commentary did so in French and English and was very informative. The route took the boat away from the Seine through a series of locks on a canal that goes through the more suburban areas of Paris, part of the route is underground which is fascinating. This is a calm easy tour with good commentary where you learn the history of Paris and the the canal route. It is suitable for all age groups. The trip ended at Porte de Villette where there is a beautiful park and near public transport depending on what direction you wish to go at the end of the tour. Really enjoyed it and it was a lovely way to spend a couple of hours in the morningto start our day.

Interesting experience

An unusual way to see Paris. The guide was knowledgeable. Of course, it takes a very very long time to get through the locks. I didn’t quite understand that when I booked it. But we saw a lot of Paris that most people don’t get to see.

Absorbing and relaxing.

Excellent commentary and sights. Comfortable and staff were very welcoming. Learned a lot of unusual anecdotes about Paris.

Hidden gem tour

Best thing on the water here in Paris. Smaller craft, not crowded… who wants to cram onto a boat with 200 people.. not us! Really interesting tour. Make sure you go to the quai and not the museum.

Lovely trip, good...

Lovely trip, good commentary, great weather. Overall, a really enjoyable experience.. Lovely to travel through the locks and hear about their history as well as travel along the river

leisurely cruise around...

leisurely cruise around Paris, The canals were very interesting, and got to see more than just the usual main tourist sites. Guide was interesting and entertaining. highly recommended

Seeing Paris sites in a new way

Excellent experience and wonderful value. You get the opportunity to see sites like Notre Dame and the Louve from the perspective of the Seine River and then travel on the canals and through locks while having a running commentary of history and culture. You can't beat the value for this 2 1/2 hour tour.

Terrible!

Getting off the boat. I had no idea that most of the time would be going through the nine locks. There was only 20 minutes left to be on the Sienne.

Cool cruise on a hot day

Francois was a great tour guide highlighting history, points of interest and operation of the locks. Scenary was great

The guide was not very...

The guide was not very informative We did not enjoy and couldn’t wait for the ride to end Not the best tour!

Fun and relaxing experience on the Canal St Martin

The river "cruise" was a nice break in the busy schedule a tourist in Paris has. The experience of going through the river locks was good fun. The guide spoke through the entire time in French and English, providing us plenty of information about the area. The drinks on board were decent and fairly priced. The staff was really friendly. It was nice to have a cruise that covered both the Canal St Martin and a good portion of the Seine. A few things we felt could be improved was the sound system. If you have a loud group next to you, you miss out on the great info provided. We had to deal with the exhaust the whole trip regardless of where we sat. That could be a problem because if you have breathing issues, you have nowhere to go for 2.5 hours.

Bon

Unique view of city and history. Go to the very front to watch the locks. Friends who had visited many times in the past were impressed. Narrator was very helpful.