Sailing the waves In slow mode!

This weekend we’re going for a ride! Just like Maupassant, the most famous of canoeists, we’re donning our sailboat and straw hat and setting off to discover the Seine and its banks aboard Chloé!

A trip along the Seine by electric boat

If there’s one activity we recommend you try, it’s going for a ride with Chloé. But who is Chloé, you might ask?

Chloé is the name of an electric boat that takes you on a trip every weekend when the weather is fine, from the Ile des Impressionnistes in Chatou to the locks at Bougival. On board, you’ll meet Jean-Jacques or Pierrick, one of the captains of the Sequana association. Safety instructions are given and mark the start of this lovely river trip lasting around an hour.

Find out the dates of the walks

A walk with a gentle touch

After Chloé’s gentle start, we take the opportunity to admire the view of Maison Fournaise from the water and settle in, if it’s cold we get out the plaid and if it’s sunny, the canoeist!

Then we listen to the comments and let ourselves be won over by the gentle nonchalance caused by the undulations of the river. The sun breaks through and floods with light these banks so inspiring to the Impressionist painters: Monet, Renoir and Sisley all captured the play of light on the water. In Croissy-sur-Seine, you can see where the camembert from the famous Grenouillère guinguette was made, and in Bougival you can see the house of the composer of the opera Carmen, Georges Bizet. Among the historical comments, your guides also talk about preserving the flora and fauna, and it’s not uncommon to come across an ashy heron or to catch the flight of a cormorant.

A playful discovery on the banks of the Seine

Arrived at the Bougival locks, we also talk about the history of these villages on the banks of the Seine and, of course, the famous Machine de Marly, whose construction profoundly reshaped the landscapes of this part of the Seine. The walk continues, with the captain showing us a turtle basking in the sun on the branches, onlookers waving at us from the banks on the Rueil-Malmaison side, and we can make out the auberge du Fruit défendu.

The walk continues peacefully back to its starting point. Once alongside the quay, take the opportunity to say hello to the Sequana volunteers, admire the workshops with the boats being restored and also the superb collection of Belle-Epoque boats: yawls, canoes, skiffs… If you’d like to learn more about boating and leisure activities on the banks of the Seine during the Impressionist period, a visit to the Fournaise museum is a must.

Sailing the waves In slow mode!

A trip along the Seine by electric boat

A walk with a gentle touch

A playful discovery on the banks of the Seine

All our beautiful escapes