Strasbourg Boat Tour: Which Circuit, and Where to Sit

Strasbourg looks better from the water than from the pavement. The Grande Ile is a genuine island, the Ill runs all the way round it, and the best facades in the centre have their backs turned to the streets.

The complication is that there are eight different circuits, from seventeen minutes to two hours, leaving from two different piers, at prices that run from one to double. Here is how to decide in three minutes.

The circuits, compared

The historic and effectively only operator is Batorama. This is the range as it stands.

Concessions apply for teenagers and for children from four to twelve, and under-fours pay a token fare. Prices also move with the date and the type of boat, so check the exact amount when you book rather than trusting a figure printed anywhere, including here.

Which one to take, honestly

First visit to Strasbourg: the red circuit, 1 hr 10. It is the only one that covers both halves of the city, the medieval island and the European quarter, and the only one that passes through the Petite France lock. The few euros of difference with the orange are the best money you spend that day.

Already walked the Grande Ile: the orange, 45 minutes. It concentrates on the European institutions, which you will not otherwise see without making a deliberate trip out there by tram.

With children under six: the orange as well. Seventy minutes sitting still is a long time. Forty-five passes.

You already know the city: Strasbourg-sur-Mer. Two hours in the working port, silos, cranes, industrial locks. It is not pretty, it is fascinating. It runs on scattered dates, so watch the official calendar.

The Phare Citadelle run deserves a separate mention: it is a shuttle rather than a tour, operating from late spring to mid autumn on Thursdays to Sundays, with tickets sold on the day. It has been out of service for stretches, so confirm before you build an evening round it.

What you actually see

The red circuit reads in three acts.

Petite France and the lock. The boat enters the chamber, the gates close, the water moves about two metres, and you find yourself level with the windows of the timber-framed houses. That is the strong moment, and it comes early. Just upstream, the Pont du Faisan swings on its axis to let you through.

The Covered Bridges and the Barrage Vauban. Seen from below, from the water, the three medieval towers finally take their real height. It is the angle you will never get from the quays.

The European quarter. The Parliament, the European Court of Human Rights and the Council of Europe, lined up along the canal. Contemporary architecture, glass and steel, a total change of register after the timber framing.

Where to board, without getting it wrong

There are two piers, a hundred metres apart, and your ticket names the right one.

• Cathedrale pier, pontoon A: next to the Palais Rohan, 150 metres from the cathedral. This is the main one.
• Quai au Sable pier, pontoons 1 and 2: a hundred metres further on, used for some circuits.

Departures are sparse in deep winter and run several times an hour at the height of the season. Batorama sails all year, because the boats are covered and heated.

Booking, and two easy savings

From June to September, and throughout the Christmas market, book online. Middle-of-the-day departures sell out and the queue at the pontoon can cost you an hour. The rest of the year, turning up works perfectly well.

The Strasbourg City Card costs €5 for an adult and €3.50 for a child, is valid 7 days and gives 20 to 50% off the boat trip, the city museums, the cathedral platform and the tourist train. It pays for itself the moment you do two paid activities, and it is pointless if you plan only one.

Promotional codes also circulate through the season, usually a few euros off a minimum spend on the first departures of the day. They are worth a search before you pay, and worth nothing if you have to reshape your day around them.

On board: what to know

The boat. The fleet mixes covered boats, open boats and a new-generation convertible model, fully electric and zero emission, with retractable windows. If you get the choice when booking, take that one: a photograph through a misted window has never worked yet.

Where to sit. On the covered boats, aim for the stern and the left-hand side on the outward leg of the red circuit. That is the side Petite France and the Covered Bridges go past on. Board among the first, because seats are not allocated.

The audio guide. Included, in 12 languages for adults, English among them, with a children's version in four. It is a recorded commentary rather than a guide, so do not expect questions to be answered.

Accessibility. One boat in the fleet has a rear passenger deck accessible to wheelchair users. Flag it when you book, because not every departure is run with that boat.

In December, during the Christmas market

From late November into early January the trips switch to Christmas mode. Children get an activity booklet and hunt for Father Christmas's elves along the route, with a dedicated commentary in four languages.

In practice, though, what you are buying is an hour warm and seated in the middle of a day spent standing outdoors in the cold. On that basis alone it earns its price, and it is one of the few genuinely restful hours in a December visit.

The alternative: steer it yourself

If the idea of a recorded commentary and sixty fellow passengers puts you off, you can hire a small electric boat with no licence required from Marin d'Eau Douce, based on the Grande Ile at 5 quai du Woerthel, a short walk from the Covered Bridges.

Boats take from five to eleven people, hire runs by the hour, the half day or the day, and life jackets are provided and compulsory. Open seven days a week in season, with a winter closure.

The arithmetic is straightforward: from three people upwards, an hour afloat costs less per head than a Batorama ticket, and with a full boat it is markedly cheaper.

One trap to know about: the locks shut in the early evening, and earlier still at weekends, whatever the hire desk's own hours say. If your route goes through one, plan to be back before then.

What to pair it with

The boat trip sits well at the end of the morning, before lunch, or late in the afternoon. It is the perfect complement to a walk through La Petite France, because it shows you the back of the quarter from the water, and it is the best hour of a wet day, the boats being covered and heated.

For the other view from height, the cathedral platform. If what you want is a tour of the city without walking, compare it with the tourist train. The rest of the essentials are in what to see in Strasbourg.

Sources: Batorama ticketing and circuit pages, City of Strasbourg for Strasbourg-sur-Mer, the VisitStrasbourg shop for the Strasbourg City Card, Marin d'Eau Douce for the hire range and the Strasbourg base. Batorama fares vary by departure date: confirm at the time of booking.