Batobus Cruising

Hoppin' On and Hoppin' Off Around Paris

Paris is a river. It is easy to miss the point.

The city of so many icons overwhelms with cultural destinations and overstated definitions. Regardless of where you wish to go first, you should first go to the river. As our natural inclinations always take us to water, we found our way in the first hours of our first day. Wandered to the edge and sat on the ledge with our jetlag and gelatos.

And there, gliding gracefully on the Seine in the backdrop of Notre Dame and Île Saint-Louis, we caught our first sight of the bus. The Batobus. That’s our ride. We said it out loud between sharing lip licks of lemon and mango. It goes places, the Batobus. Slowly. On the river. This, our little bit of research revealed, was going to be our go-to get-around.

We used the 48 hour passes, but will just get the annual passes next trip, since we rode all week. The annual pass would have saved us some euros overall. We thought two days would be enough but discovered the magnificence of Paris from the river and kept going back.

The bus has a nine-stop route and loops in one direction. Our homebase was Notre Dame, as our perfect boutique hideaway was only a few blocks away. Our most pleasant discovery was the lack of tourists on the bus. The public transportation was crowded with mostly working Parisiennes. We saw all ages in different kinds of uniform shirts and work clothes either going to or coming from their busy day.

Yes, the stops are the great highlights, but we came to appreciate the time for walking into the endless nooks and alleys the locals were coming from. And a thousand memories are waiting to be made with mingling in the cafes and common areas along the water near the Batobus stops. There are vending machines on the bus, but we just packed snacks and tasty surprises scored from the open-air markets on our exploring.

On the days beyond the overwhelm, we lingered on the Batobus without destination. We hopped-on one late morning and didn’t get off until early afternoon. We’d grab a spot to stand on the fantail, leaning long on the rail, completely submersed in the feeling of being a genuine part of this indescribably beautiful place.

We did, indeed, climb the Eiffel Tower, got lost in the Louvre, were seduced by Musée d'Orsay and de l'Orangerie. We event spent a day at the French Open, and that needs to be another blog, but the thing that stayed with us from Paris, and Paris never leaves you, never…

…were those hours shared in the early summer twilight soaking in the streaming strands of a day’s last hours. On the Batobus. And thus reveals a simple truth.

Paris is a river.

1. Cover photo by Author. The Paris Batobus.

2. The Batobus is all windows so the viewing is easy. Author photo.

3. A teacher taking her students back to school. We saw more locals on the Batobus than tourists. Author photo.

4. Find special places wondering the streets near the Batobus stops. Author photo.

5. On the Batobus back deck. Author photo.

© Copyright William Hazel, 2025