Would you like to be drinking champagne on a river cruise in Paris right now?
I know I would :-)
One of my favourite things to do when showing people around Paris is to take them on a delightful champagne tasting on a boat on the River Seine at twilight. There’s something about seeing Paris from the water which is magical as the evening lights come on, sparkling across the centuries-old building and bridges, as your boat glides around one the most famous cities in the world.
Even on a wet day I find this river cruise delightful, as Paris is beautiful in all seasons.
I’ve put my photos into a mini video to share with you some of the magic I feel about the champagne river cruise – I hope you enjoy it:
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- View on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWUomeUpGQM
You can book the ‘Champagne Tasting Cruise in Paris’ before your trip, simply print the receipt and info and show up on the appointed date and time.
We took the Metro (Mo.) to Bir Hakim, and when we came up to street level we could see the Eiffel Tower – this is always an amazing moment for my guests as they take in the enormity of the structure and are awe-struck for a few moments. We then crossed the road to be on the water’s edge and walked down to the dock where the boats were moored.
Why did the ticket collector shock me?
On a visit to Paris with my Students, I approached the Champagne Cruise Ticket Booth and handed over the printed tickets for our Sunday evening Adventure, but the ticket collector told me there wasn’t a cruise scheduled because it was Sunday.
My French was rusty but not that rusty! I hadn’t been in France for a while so I was stuttering and struggling to reply and try to understand what he was saying — then I was shocked and embarrassed, incredulous, and the people with me didn’t know what was transpiring.
The ticket collector kept this up for a few minutes then started laughing — it was then I realised he was pulling my leg and being VERY CHEEKY haha, so I had a good laugh too. What a naughty chap! (Certainly no supposedly-rude French in sight.)
Once we were all on board in our curtained-off section at the front of the boat, our delightful guide introduced himself – Olivier from O’Chateu (Olivier’s company which specialises in champagne and wine tastings). Olivier turned out to be an extremely charming Frenchman who speaks excellent English with a wicked sense of humour, and our whole group had a great time tasting the different champagnes, learning about the varieties and indeed the history of champagne throughout France’s colourful centuries.
Our cruise took us around the island (Isle Saint Louis (pronounced, “Eel San Loo-ee”) and we were able to get a bird’s eye view of the beautiful centuries-old buildings and the many bridges in Paris.
We had a fabulous time, but all too soon we had to say Au Revoir!
I love this cruise, and highly recommend it – start your holiday by drinking champagne on a river cruise in Paris, and you’re starting out on a high note :-)
Here’s a photo of our delightfully cheeky and knowledgeable Sommelier/Champagne Specialist, Olivier Magny of O Chateau:
Above: 2008
Notice the little KOALA on the edge of Olivier’s apron? That was a wee gift from me to remind him how much fun we Australians are :-)
Have you had any fun cruises like this when you’ve been in Paris? I’d love to hear about them – drop me a message onto Twitter or Facebook if you get a minute. Thanks in advance!!
Teena
LET'S CHAT