Boat trips on the River Seine in Paris are fun and relaxing and the views from the water provide different perspectives of Paris monuments and neighborhoods.

The River Seine flows through Paris and in many ways defines the city.

It divides Paris into the Left Bank—home of the Latin Quarter, the Sorbonne, St. Germain, and more—and the Right Bank, with the Champs Élysées, the Louvre, and Le Marais, to name but a few.

In the middle of the Seine is the Île de la Cité, the oldest part of the city and the historic and geographic heart of Paris. and the Île Saint-Louis, with its lovely 17th century mansions, quiet streets, and gourmet ice cream.

But the Seine is not the only waterway in Paris. The Canal St-Martin, built in the early 1800s by order of Napoléon, flows between the Seine just south of the Bastille to the Parc de la Villette, at the northern edge of Paris in the 19th arrondissement.

What better way to see Paris than from the water? Several companies offer Seine River Cruises, and two give you the chance to experience the Canal St-Martin and its locks.

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