Night Cruise on the Seine

It's getting dark earlier in the evenings now, so tonight after dinner we decided to take a cruise on the Seine to view the city lights.  The cruise began at Pont Neuf, Paris' oldest bridge.

Directly across the river is the Samaritaine building, one of the oldest department stores in Paris.  The building is currently closed and is being redesigned as a luxury hotel.

Here is one of the clocks on the facade of the Musée D'Orsay.  (Sorry that nearly all of my pictures are blurry, the boat didn't slow down for photos!)

Next door is the Palais de la Légion d'Honneur, a museum displaying French medals, honors, and decorations.  The Legion of Honor is the highest decoration in France.

Here are a couple of shots of the Left Bank

After going under the Pont de la Concorde bridge...

Arch between some of the bridge's pilings

...we were rewarded with this lovely view of the moon over the Assemblée Nationale.

Then we went under the Pont Alexandre III.

And also under the Pont des Invalides.

This was my best attempt at catching the moon and the Eiffel Tower in the same shot.

The boat paused for a minute as it turned around at the base of the Eiffel Tower.

At the base of the tower is a carousel which is also lit up at night.  The tower is open to visitors until 11pm.

From there we traveled back the way we came.

The Louvre and the Pont Royal

When we got to the  Île de la Cité, we could see that the evening picnics were in full swing.

The brightly lit building with the white bands of light is the Institut du Monde Arabe.

Coming around the other side of the Île de la Cité, we passed by the Conciergerie.  Marie Antoinette was imprisoned here just prior to her execution in 1793.

We had another chance to view the Pont Neuf and the carved heads that decorate it as we approached the dock.

We were now back where we started and our cruise was at an end.

As we walked home, we passed by the brasserie Au Chien qui Fume ("The Smoking Dog"). It looked inviting, but we had already eaten dinner and weren't feeling like drinks so we just headed home.