Champagne cruise in Paris, your own boat.

From there the boat heads upstream past the sights the listing names: the Eiffel Tower, the Pont Alexandre III, the Musée d'Orsay, the Louvre, the Pont Neuf and Notre-Dame, with the summer beach of Paris Plages on the bank in season. The boat passes them without stopping, so the view keeps changing while the Champagne is poured.

After the turn, the boat brings you back to Port de Javel Haut, 1.5 hours after you left. In between there is no timetable for anything except the river itself: you talk, you toast, you take photos, and the city does the rest.

In 1991 UNESCO listed the banks between the Pont d'Iéna and the Pont de Sully as World Heritage. The listed 365 hectares hold 23 of the 37 bridges and the Île Saint-Louis and Île de la Cité. Much of your cruise runs through that protected reach, the part of Paris where the river and the monuments were shaped together.

From the water you also see what walkers miss: the Zouave statue on the Pont de l'Alma that still shows how high the floods rise, the carved masks along the Pont Neuf, the gilded Pegasus statues on the Pont Alexandre III. The river is the city's best viewing platform.

The occasions stand out too. Guests write about anniversaries, birthdays, a proposal on the river that the crew helped make special, and couples who doubted whether a private boat was worth the extra cost and decided it was. Others praise the view of the Eiffel Tower from the water, and a guest whose cruise was hit by bad weather writes that the operator offered a full refund and paid it quickly.

Not every review is glowing, and the honest ones are useful. One guest found the trip more of a boat ride than a guided tour, another felt it was overpriced and the Champagne too warm on a hot day, and one family on the smallest boat advises booking a larger boat even for a small group. The overall score remains 4.98 from 1,838 ratings.

If you can, book the slot that starts before sunset on your date. You get the stone of the Louvre and the bridges turning gold, then the blue hour as the floodlights come on. Ville de Paris even recommends the Pont d'Arcole, by the Île de la Cité, for its sunsets.

After dusk the Eiffel Tower sparkles for 5 minutes at the beginning of each hour, and timing your return to catch it from the water is one of the small tricks of a private cruise. Ask your skipper; with your own boat, the plan can bend a little.

Rough weather can cancel a sailing, the listing warns, and calling it off yourself a whole day or more before the start is refunded to the cent. Watch the forecast in the days before and decide while the free window is still open; a summer evening and a damp November afternoon are very different trips.

On a cold or breezy day, the river is cooler than the street. Bring a warm layer even in summer, and in winter a hat and gloves. Hot drinks are not listed among the inclusions, so plan for the Champagne and the water the listing names.

There are two kinds of boat. The standard boat takes at most 4 passengers and 280 kg in total, and it has no table; the larger boats take 8 and are booked by selecting at least 5 people, however many of you there really are. If you want a table for the glasses and more room to move, choose the larger boat.

Confirmation is instant, bookings close 2 hours before the start, and a mobile or paper ticket works. Pull out a day or more ahead and the whole sum is returned; inside those 24 hours, nothing is. Arrive 15 minutes early: the boat waits up to 60 minutes for latecomers, but the delay comes out of your cruise, and a no-show is not refunded.

At sunset, face the facades the low sun is lighting; in the blue hour, turn off the flash and brace your phone on the side of the boat. Guests often mention that the crew takes photos of the whole group, so you are in the pictures too rather than always behind the camera.

For the Eiffel Tower's sparkle, video works better than stills. It lasts 5 minutes from the start of the hour after dusk, and the reflection breaking on the water is half the picture. Ask to be near the tower at that moment, and keep a glass in the frame.

Bring a charged phone with maps: you need to find the boat on the bank at 2 Port de Javel Haut, and arriving 15 minutes early is part of the deal. Public transport is nearby, and taxis can be slow in Paris traffic, so give yourself time.

Pets are welcome, infants sit on an adult's lap, and the listing rates it fine for any fitness level yet advises against it for anyone with a spinal injury or difficulty walking. If anyone in your group needs help getting on and off, mention it when you book.

The grapes behind it are mostly Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier, and about 90% of Champagne is Brut, the dry style that suits an aperitif on the water. Every bottle has spent at least 15 months in the cellars of its grower or house before it is sold.

The Comité Champagne recommends serving it between 8 and 10 °C, and a 75 cl bottle fills about six 12.5 cl flutes. On a hot summer day, ask for the bottle to stay on ice; on a cold evening, the river does the chilling for you.

At the tip of the Île de la Cité, the square du Vert-Galant at the end of the Pont Neuf is a favorite meeting place for couples, and the Pont des Arts links the Louvre to the Institut de France. Both are lovely at dusk, with the boats sliding past below.

From the Pont Alexandre III you look toward the Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides and the Grand Palais and Petit Palais, one of the classic views of the city. Our guides to the sights and bridges, the night cruise and the dinner boats cover the river in more detail.

Think twice if you want a full guided tour: hosts chat and point things out, but one guest found the trip more of a boat ride than a tour, and the listing promises sights, not commentary. For a commented hour, a shared sightseeing boat from the Eiffel Tower costs from $21.

And think about size. The standard boat takes at most 4 passengers and has no table; for comfort, a larger boat for up to 8 is the better choice. On a cold or wet day, a glassed shared boat keeps you drier. If those trade-offs suit you, few hours in Paris are as easy to enjoy.