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Bateaux Mouches

Boat typesTourist attractions in ParisTransport in Paris
Franco Prussian War 1870 Red Cross Medal, Bateaux Mouche Boats for Wounded Soldiers, obverse
Franco Prussian War 1870 Red Cross Medal, Bateaux Mouche Boats for Wounded Soldiers, obverse

Bateaux Mouches (French pronunciation: ​[bato ˈmuʃ]) are open excursion boats that provide visitors to Paris, France, with a view of the city from along the river Seine. They also operate on Parisian canals such as Canal Saint-Martin which is partially subterranean. The term is a registered trademark of the Compagnie des Bateaux Mouches, the most widely known operator of the boats in Paris, founded by Jean Bruel (1917–2003); however, the phrase, because of the success of the company, is used generically to refer to all such boats operating on the river within the city. Bateaux Mouches translates literally as "fly boats" ("fly" meaning the insect); however, the name arose because they were originally manufactured in boatyards situated in the Mouche area of Lyon. These boats are popular tourist attractions in Paris. They started with steamers at an Exhibition in 1867. Many seat several hundred people, often with an open upper deck and an enclosed lower deck; some have sliding canopies that can close to protect the open deck in inclement weather. Most boat tours include a live or recorded commentary on the sights along the river. A typical cruise lasts about one hour. Many companies offer lunch and dinner cruises as well. Most boats are equipped with lights to illuminate landmarks in the evening. The Steamers stopped running in the slow down of the Great Depression. Since the Seine is centrally situated in Paris, a boat tour covers a great deal of the city. Both the Left Bank (Rive Gauche) and the Right Bank (Rive Droite) are visible from the boat. Passengers can see, among other sites, the Eiffel Tower; Notre-Dame Cathedral; the Alexander III Bridge, the Pont Neuf; the Orsay Museum, and the Louvre Museum. Passengers can also see Les Invalides, Napoleon's burial site. Boat tours in Paris have flourished since World War II, and today the Compagnie des Bateaux Mouches (still the oldest company operating boat tours) has significant competition. On busy days during high season, boats constantly move up and down the river.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Bateaux Mouches (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Bateaux Mouches
Place de l'Alma, Paris 8th Arrondissement of Paris (Paris)

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N 48.863888888889 ° E 2.3058333333333 °
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Port de la Conférence

Place de l'Alma
75008 Paris, 8th Arrondissement of Paris (Paris)
Ile-de-France, France
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haropaports.com

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Franco Prussian War 1870 Red Cross Medal, Bateaux Mouche Boats for Wounded Soldiers, obverse
Franco Prussian War 1870 Red Cross Medal, Bateaux Mouche Boats for Wounded Soldiers, obverse
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Nearby Places

Magic-City
Magic-City

Magic-City was an amusement park near Pont de l'Alma, two blocks east of the Eiffel Tower, in Paris from 1900 to 1934.A large dance hall at 188 rue de l'Université in Paris was located in Magic-City. The venue was known for its "drag balls". The emblematic event of homosexual life in Paris in the inter-war years was a series of masked balls held annually during Carnival on Mardi Gras (Shrove Tuesday) and Mi-Carême (Mid-Lent) at Magic-City Dancing, an immense dance-hall on the Rue de l'Universite, near the Eiffel Tower. ... Between 1922 and 1939, thousands of men, most costumed and many in extravagant female drag, attended the balls at Magic-City every year. 'On this night,' wrote a journalist in 1931, 'all of Sodom's grandsons scattered throughout the world...seem to have rebuilt their accursed city for an evening. The presence of so many of their kind makes them forget their abnormality.' Brassaï, who photographed the events, wrote of an "immense, warm, impulsive fraternity" at Magic-City, saying "The cream of Parisian inverts was to meet there, without distinction as to class, race or age. And every type came, faggots, cruisers, chickens, old queens, famous antique dealers and young butcher boys, hairdressers and elevator boys, well-known dress designers and drag queens..."Magic-City was closed by the authorities on February 6, 1934, and in 1942 the building was bought by the government and turned over to Paris-Télévision, which began broadcasting there in 1943.