Batobus Paris: the Hop-On Hop-Off Boat on the Seine
The Batobus Paris is a hop-on hop-off boat that runs up and down the Seine between nine piers: the Eiffel Tower, Invalides, the Musée d'Orsay, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Notre-Dame, the Jardin des Plantes, the Hôtel de Ville, the Louvre and Concorde. A pass gives unlimited rides for 24 or 48 hours on glass-sided boats with a terrace, heated in winter and with a sliding roof in summer. It is the cheapest hop-on hop-off ticket in Paris: from €23.
Batobus Paris piers and where they are
| Batobus pier | Where to find it |
| Eiffel Tower | Port de la Bourdonnais |
| Invalides | By the Pont Alexandre III |
| Musée d'Orsay | Cross the road from the museum and take the steps down to the river |
| Saint-Germain-des-Prés | Quai Malaquais, at rue Bonaparte |
| Notre-Dame | Quai de Montebello, about 100 m upstream of the Pont au Double |
| Jardin des Plantes | Quai Saint-Bernard, by the Cité de la Mode et du Design |
| Hôtel de Ville | Quai de l'Hôtel de Ville, about 100 m upstream |
| Louvre | Quai François Mitterrand, by the Pont du Carrousel |
| Concorde | Close to the Champs-Élysées |
The listed starting point is the Musée d'Orsay pier on quai de Solférino. You can board at any of the nine.
Batobus timetable and how often the boats run
Boats leave every 25 to 40 minutes depending on the time of year. Through most of the season the first boat goes at 10:00 and the last at 19:00, with a few exceptions around Bastille Day and in August, when the first departure is later on some days.
That gap matters more than on a bus. Miss a boat and you wait half an hour, so the Batobus suits people who spend an hour or more at each pier rather than hopping every twenty minutes.
Batobus on a rainy day
Covered, heated and glazed. The one hop-on hop-off option in Paris that stays pleasant in a downpour.
Batobus with a bike
The boats have bike storage, which makes it a handy way to cross town with a hired bike.
Batobus vs a cruise
A cruise is one fixed loop with commentary. The Batobus is a shuttle you use all day. Compare on the bus and cruise page.
Batobus combo tickets
The Batobus also comes with a few attractions in one booking, before the 5% bundle saving:
- Batobus + Sainte-Chapelle and Conciergerie, from €48
- Batobus + Eiffel Tower second floor, from €72
- Batobus + Eiffel Tower summit with audio guide, from €122
- Batobus + Disneyland Paris one day, one park, from €108
The Sainte-Chapelle combo is the clever one: the Notre-Dame pier is a short walk across the Île de la Cité. More bundles are on our combo tickets page.
Who the Batobus suits, and who should take the bus
The Batobus is a shuttle, not a guided cruise. There is no commentary on board, so do not expect a running story about the bridges. What you get is a calm seat, big windows and nine stops along the river.
- Take it if your plans sit along the Seine: Orsay, the Louvre, Notre-Dame, Saint-Germain, the Jardin des Plantes.
- Take it on a wet or cold day, or with someone who finds the open-top stairs hard.
- Take the bus instead if you want the Arc de Triomphe, the Trocadéro or the Opéra. None of them has a pier.
- Take the bus instead if you hate waiting. A boat every 25 to 40 minutes is a slower rhythm than a bus every 10 to 15.
Plenty of people use both: the bus for the west of the city, the boat for the islands and the Left Bank.
Batobus pier by pier: what is a short walk away
| Pier | Within ten minutes on foot | Good for |
| Eiffel Tower | The tower, the Champ de Mars, the Trocadéro across the bridge | The classic sights |
| Invalides | The Pont Alexandre III, the Invalides dome, the Grand Palais | A gilded photo stop |
| Musée d'Orsay | The museum, the footbridge to the Tuileries | A museum morning |
| Saint-Germain-des-Prés | Cafés, bookshops, the church of Saint-Germain | Lunch and a stroll |
| Notre-Dame | The cathedral, Sainte-Chapelle, the Latin Quarter | History and lunch |
| Jardin des Plantes | The gardens, the glasshouses, the menagerie | Children, green space |
| Hôtel de Ville | The city hall square, the southern edge of the Marais | Shopping and falafel |
| Louvre | The museum, the Pont des Arts, the Tuileries | Art and gardens |
| Concorde | The obelisk, the Tuileries, the Champs-Élysées | Changing to the bus |
A full day on the Batobus
| Time | Pier | Plan |
| 10:00 | Eiffel Tower | Board and ride the whole stretch to the Jardin des Plantes |
| 11:15 | Jardin des Plantes | Gardens and glasshouses |
| 12:30 | Notre-Dame | Lunch in the Latin Quarter, then Sainte-Chapelle |
| 15:00 | Saint-Germain-des-Prés | Coffee and the side streets |
| 16:30 | Musée d'Orsay | The last hours of the museum |
| 18:30 | Eiffel Tower | Back to where you started as the light goes |
With a boat every 25 to 40 minutes, this plan uses five rides and leaves room for a missed boat or two. A 48-hour pass gives you the same again the next day with the Louvre and the Marais.
Batobus or metro along the river
As pure transport, the metro is faster: lines 1 and 4 cover most of the same ground in a few minutes. The Batobus is for the days when the ride itself is the point, and for anyone the metro makes hard work.
| Batobus | Metro | |
| Speed | Slow: a boat every 25 to 40 minutes | Fast: a train every few minutes |
| View | Bridges, quays, the monuments from the water | None |
| Stairs | A short slope or a few steps to the pier | Long corridors, many stations without a lift |
| Price logic | Day pass, unlimited rides | Single tickets or a travel pass |
| Best for | Sightseeing days, strollers, rain | Getting somewhere quickly |
The piers are also often closer to the door you want than the nearest metro exit: Orsay, the Louvre and Notre-Dame all sit a few minutes from the water. On a sightseeing day, that saving in walking adds up.
Batobus through the seasons
In winter the boats are heated and the glass keeps the wind out, which makes the Batobus the most comfortable way to see the river from November to March. The days are short, so start by 10:00 and plan the last ride before dusk.
In summer the sliding roof opens and the terrace at the back is the best seat on the river. Expect more people on board at weekends and around the big summer events, and allow for a full boat now and then.
Batobus with children and strollers
For families with small children the Batobus is the easiest hop-on hop-off option in Paris: room on board for a folded stroller, seats inside out of the weather, and none of the narrow bus stairs.
| Pier | Green space nearby | For children |
| Jardin des Plantes | The gardens themselves | Glasshouses, menagerie, natural history galleries |
| Eiffel Tower | Champ de Mars | Lawns and space to run |
| Louvre / Concorde | Tuileries | Ponds, lawns and space to run |
| Notre-Dame | Square Jean XXIII behind the cathedral | A short break between rides |
A 24-hour pass is usually enough with children: three or four rides with long park breaks in between fill a day. Check the next departure as you leave a park rather than at the pier, since the boats run every 25 to 40 minutes.
How to board the Batobus
- Walk down to the pier. Each one is signed from the quay above.
- Check the next departure on the board at the pier.
- Step aboard and hold up your phone; that first scan starts the 24 or 48 hours.
- Ride as far as you like, get off at any pier, and board again on a later boat with the same ticket.
There is no seat booking and no timed slot. On a busy summer afternoon a boat may fill; the next one is never more than 40 minutes away.
Prices are "from" prices in euros and vary by date and option; the price at checkout is the one that applies. Independent guide, not affiliated with Big Bus, Tootbus, Batobus or Bustronome.