Please boat cruises with Canauxrama in Paris
There are a wide variety of different canal cruises in Paris to choose from with Canauxrama that are an entirely different option from a River Seine cruise and there is something for all budgets and tastes.
About the Canal Cruises with Canauxrama
There are numerous different types of cruises that you can enjoy with Canauxrama, which offer a completely different and unique experience compared to just doing a cruise on the River Seine, as these incorporate the Paris canals and some even travel beyond the city limits.
But before we get into the cruises themselves, we would also like to point out that the Canauxrama company offers a boat shuttle service between the Bassin de la Villette and the Parc de la Villette during the months of May and June.
And this means that you can get directly to places such as the Cite des Sciences et de l’Industrie, the fabulous Geode cinema or the decommissioned submarine called the Argonaute. But for more information you would need to go to their website or contact them directly, so let us get back to the main Canauxrama canal cruises in Paris.
Cruise of old Paris on the Saint-Martin Canal
This particular boat cruise in Paris runs all year round and called the Cruise of the old Paris on the Saint Martin Canal, it goes from either the Port de l’Arsenal Marina to the Parc de la Villette or the other way around.
This Canauxrama cruise is a romantic and out of the ordinary boat trip that lasts approximately two and a half hours as you travel along the Canal Saint-Martin with its different locks, footbridges and swing bridges. You also go into a tunnel or vault as it is sometimes called, which is beneath the Place de la Bastille Square, and as you cruise along you can get to learn different bits of history and unusual facts from the onboard guides who speak French and English.
Yet for this particular canal trip in Paris, commentary on the main facts is also available in other languages as well such as German, Spanish and Japanese, and the Cruise of the old Paris on the Saint-Martin Canal runs twice daily throughout the year. But between the months of May and September there is an additional boat trip organised at 6pm as well.
Now as of 2014 the cost for this Canauxrama boat trip is €17 and €9 for chidrem between the ages of 4 and 12, but we would like to point out that if you have booked your tickets in advance, these must be printed out and presented to the ticket office prior to boarding.
La Parisienne Cruise
This Canauxrama cruise starts off from the Port de l’Arsenal marina and after crossing the lock of the Bastille you will go on to the River Seine where you can see many of the famous monuments in Paris such as the Statue of Liberty, the impressive Notre Dame Cathedral and the famous Louvre Museum before returning to the pleasure marina.
This particular cruise lasts two hours and runs from May through to September with a departure time at 6pm. There is another departure at 9pm, so that you can enjoy the numerous landmarks and bridges in Paris all lit up, while also being able to listen to anecdotes and history on monuments such as the Pont Neuf or the ornate Pont Alexandre III.
And again as of 2014, this Parisienne Cruise with Canauxrama is a cost of €17 and for children between the ages of 4 and 12, it is €9, but commentary from the onboard guides is only in either French or English.
Canal de l’Ourcq Cruise from Paris to Trilbardou
This is a complete day cruise with Canauxrama, which starts at the Bassin de la Villette at 8.30am, so that you can discover the Canal de l’Ourcq, which is actually the smallest navigable canal in France.
You can enjoy a true change of scenery discovering romantic old stone bridges, seeing people walking, cycling, fishing or relaxing by the side of the canal. You will travel by a Canauxrama boat to the lock of Sevran, which is where the smallest part of the Canal de l’Ourcq begins, cross the Sevran woods and eventually arrive at a marina where the boat will stop for two hours. While here you can choose to have lunch at a French restaurant by the marina, or you can bring your own picnic with you to enjoy.
Then after lunch, for something completely different, which feels like going back in time, a horse will pull the boat, just like they did along the tow paths many years ago and the Canal de l’Ourcq cruise will continue past Charmentray until you eventually reach Trilbardou with its factory that supplies the water to the canals from the River Marne.
Eventually, you are taken back to the Bassin de la Villette via bus, which arrives at approximately 7pm at their dock 13 Quai de la Loire, however, the whole trip can be reversed so you initially go by bus and come back by the Canauxrama boat.
And as of 2014 the cost for this day trip on the Canal de l’Ourcq is €64 with onboard commentary from the guides in both French and English. But we would like to point out that there are no childrens rates, and this is not recommended for young children either, due to the length of time of the cruise. In addition to this, please do also bear in mind that lunch at the restaurant is an optional extra and not included within the cost of the day trip, but for those of you who would rather not spend any additional money on this, you can bring your own picnic as we mentioned earlier.
Canauxrama also do another day trip on the River Seine, which takes you out of Paris and you can enjoy singing and dancing as you return, and this in fact starts at the Vedettes du Pont Neuf dock by the Square du Vert Galant on the Ile de la Cite island.
So as you can tell, there are several options to choose from with Canauxrama depending upon your tastes and budget, yet they also provide other cruises such as one on the River Marne and another called an Atmosphere Cruise on the Canal Saint-Martin, which is an evening cruise.
