A few years ago, I was in Paris visiting my friend, Annso, whom I accompanied as she was taking a group of American students for a boat ride on the Seine – the famous river that bisects Paris. This is a regular tourist activity I had never done before, as I had always tried to “fit in” in Paris, but we had a spectacular time. This was due, in large part, to the specific boating company Annso uses for each semester’s student groups.
If you walk across the famed Pont Neuf, you’ll come to a large statue of Henri IV on horseback. Take the stairs down from the statue on your right (facing the point), and you’ll see a small dock. There, you can purchase tickets for an hour-long, student guided cruise on the river.
The company is called Bateaux Les Vedettes du Pont-Neuf. It’s a great company in my book for a few reasons: the tickets are very reasonable (about eight euros a person), they have very clean restrooms below the ticket booth, the boats are smaller and more laidback than the huge, glass-topped monstrosities that can usually be seen (up top is totally open-air), and the tour gudes are charming local college kids. My favorite part is the very convenient bar on shore where you can wait for the next boat!
By Jackie Sanders
