''Bateaux Mouches'' () are open, long, and often glass-covered excursion boats that provide visitors to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

with a view of the center of the city from along the river

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

. They also operate on Parisian canals such as Canal Saint-Martin, which is partially subterranean.

Trademark and history

The term ''Bateaux Mouches'' is a registered

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...

of the ''Compagnie des Bateaux Mouches'', the most widely known operator of the boats in Paris, founded by Jean Bruel (1917–2003); however, the phrase, because of the success of the company, is used generically to refer to all such boats operating on the river within the city. ''Bateaux Mouches'' translates literally as "fly boats" ("fly" meaning the insect); however, the name arose because they were originally manufactured in boatyards situated in the Mouche area of

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

. They started with steamers at an Exhibition in 1867, but the Steamers stopped running in the slow down of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. The modern boats are popular tourist attractions in Paris. Boats often have an open upper deck and an enclosed lower deck; some have sliding canopies that can close to protect the open deck during inclement weather. Boats can accommodate up to 1000 passengers each. Most boat tours include a live or recorded commentary on the sights along the river. A typical cruise lasts about one hour. Many companies offer lunch and dinner cruises as well. Most boats are equipped with lights to illuminate landmarks in the evening. Since the Seine is centrally situated in Paris, a boat tour covers a great deal of the city. Both the

Left Bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrain alongsid ...

(''Rive Gauche'') and the Right Bank (''Rive Droite'') are visible from the boat. Passengers can see, among other sites, the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...

; Notre-Dame Cathedral; the Alexander III Bridge, the Pont Neuf; the Orsay Museum, and the

Louvre Museum The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

. Passengers can also see Les Invalides,

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's burial site. Boat tours in Paris have flourished since

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and today the Compagnie des Bateaux Mouches (still the oldest company operating boat tours) has significant competition. On busy days during high season, boats constantly move up and down the river. The city also used the boats to ferry athletes during the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

' opening ceremony's Parade of Nations down the Seine – the first Parade of Nations to not be held in a stadium.

In Canada

A Canadian company runs a tour of the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

around

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

using a distinct type of tour boat, which is called the "Bateau-Mouche of the Old Port of Montréal". In

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

, Canada, Kingston 1000 Island Cruises operates "Le Bateau Mouche II" for lunch and dinner cruises of the 1000 Islands, sailing a vessel referred to unofficially as the "Island Star".

References

External links

Compagnie des Bateaux Mouches

Le Bateau-Mouche au Vieux-Port de Montréal
{{coord, 48, 51, 50, N, 2, 18, 21, E, type:landmark_region:FR, display=title Tourist attractions in Paris Boat types Transport in Paris

Trademark and history

In Canada

References

Further reading

External links