European Heritage Days: Paris unveiled from the Seine
On 19 and 20 September, the 43rd European Heritage Days open a weekend in which Paris unlocks its most secret doors — yet the real common thread remains the river. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1991, the banks of the Seine offer, in a single hour of cruising, a sweeping view of the Conciergerie, the Louvre, Orsay and Notre-Dame, before choosing your walking tour for the afternoon.
Two boats are themselves part of this year’s programme. The Vedettes du Pont Neuf are exceptionally opening the technical gangways of the Lutécia, their newest vessel: the engine room and wheelhouse can be visited from 10:00 to 10:30 and again from 12:15 to 12:30, free of charge with a ticket for the 10:45-12:00 cruise, guided by the crew and the first mate. The morning begins gently with breakfast served on board from 10:00 (hot drinks, croissants, fruit juices) and a tasting of Normandy juices from Le Coq Toqué during the cruise. Trousers and closed shoes are recommended for moving around the technical areas.
Over on the Canal Saint-Martin, Canauxrama is offering a brand-new « cinema & photography » cruise, free of charge, from Bastille to the Bassin de la Villette. Beneath the underground vault and then along the locks and metal footbridges, the cruise dwells on the film shoots that have marked the canal — an original way to rediscover this heritage through the eye of cinema and photography.
