Arriving at the Eiffel Tower by Batobus

If you have taken any of the River Seine boat tours, you know that the boats pass by the Tour Eiffel (Eiffel Tower) or they begin and end at or near the Eiffel Tower, but there is no stopping.

How does one just arrive as if in a limousine and step out at the foot of the tower?

The Batobus -- that’s how. Their website www.batobus.com provided us with the basic information – in English – that we needed: opening and closing times and prices.

We planned our day rather spontaneously: “Oh my gosh, there’s blue sky, let’s not waste any time, let’s go….”

We did our outdoor activities of visiting the playground, kicking the ball and then headed to the restaurant where it started to rain.

After lunch and dodging spurts of rain, we hopped from the restaurant, to the bus stop to wait the cloudburst, and then casually walked down the ramp to the ticket office.

The boat/bus had arrived just a minute or two before. Not knowing how long it would be at port we started running -- just in case.

Buying the tickets and safely aboard, we avoided possibly waiting 25 minutes for the next one.

The season begins in April, and during the high season, the boats may run as frequently as 15 minutes. You can check with the company to make sure either by telephoning: 01 44 11 33 99 or using their website.

Although there is no commentary, the boat ride was comfortable and went at a leisurely pace – we were now in no hurry.

The Batobus travels between Jardin des Plantes and the Eiffel Tower.

We bought the demi-boucle (short trip) ticket. Our stops on the right bank were at Hôtel de Ville, Louvre, Champs-Elysees and finally the Eiffel Tower.

If you buy the round trip, the stops include the above stops on the right bank, and on the left bank they include the Eiffel Tower, Musée d’Orsay, St-Germain des-Près and Notre-Dame, and Jardin des Plantes.

The boat can be boarded at any of the stops and the short-trip price depends on where you are going.

If we had boarded at Hôtel de Ville, for example, our ticket price would have been higher -- there would have been five boat stops en route instead of four to the Eiffel Tower.

Since we had a specific purpose in mind, buying a pass was not an issue.

The Batobus is low riding with one enclosed level and a small outdoor area aft. On the day we boarded, the weather was questionable; the number of passengers was minimal, so taking photos was not much of a hassle. However, on a good day and a full boat finding a place on the aft deck could pose a congestion and camera angle problem.

It was a beautiful view of the city from the water perspective and a quiet, fun way to reach our destination and one I would definitely recommend.

2004 Information:

Batobus operates from March 27, 2004 to January 2, 2005

10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. – November and December 2004

10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. – March, April, October 2004

10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. – May, June, July, August, September 2004

Boat frequency:

Every 15 to 25 minutes

Fares:

Short-trip ticket (demi-boucle) 4 stops: 7,5 euros (3,5 euros under 12)

1-day pass 11 euros (5 euros under 12)

2-day pass 13 euros (7 euros under 12)

Gateway pass (valid for 1 month) 22 euros (12 euros under 12)

Season pass 50 euros (30 euros under 12)

Check for student prices

Cruises on the Seine

Vedettes du Pont Neuf boat cruise

As a comparison with Batobus, Vedettes du Pont Neuf offers a one-hour commentary, no stops.

For adults: 10 euros

Children under 12: 5 euros

If you go to their website they have an internet discount of 2 euros off the entry price.

http://www.vedettesdupontneuf.com/va/tarif.htm

Vedettes de Paris boat cruise

Daily, 10am-10pm. Departures every hours

Last departure at 11pm on Saturday

"Sightseeing cruise on the Seine, with running commentary, to take you past the most prestigious monuments in Paris. Boarding takes place at the foot of the Eiffel Tower."

If you go to the Paris-Ile de France official tourist website, and register by signing in you can print out a coupon for 5 euros.

Click on Anglo flag/Click on "Offers"/Our coupons +More Info/Vedettes de Paris - then print out the coupon.

http://www.pidf.com (this the Paris/Ile de France website)