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The Seine River springs from picturesque Burgundy, France. It flows through the heart of "Sweet Paree" before threading its way through the orchards and fields-a-bloom in Normandy. Cruising along these waters combines the best of urban and rural French culture, from the burlesque cabarets of Paris to the sleepy medieval towns along the shoreline, and the breathtaking scenery in between. Historians will enjoy a journey back in time along the Seine, with glimpses into antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the most critical moments of World War II. Whether travelers possess an appreciation of the arts and fine wine, or rolling hills and time-tested architecture, the gentle roll of the River Seine provides a relaxing rhythm to any French discovery.
The Seine is France's second-longest river after the Loire. It rises in the wine-making region of Burgundy, near the town of Dijon. A humble, slow-moving river, the Seine flows through Troyes and through the heart of the City of Light—Paris. In the city, the northern side of the river is described as the Right Bank (Rive Droite) and the southern side as the Left Bank (Rive Gauche). It passes under 37 bridges in Paris, forming a picturesque backdrop for romantics and artists who have found inspiration along these waters for centuries. Leaving Paris, the Seine meanders in large loops through the province of Normandy and the city of Rouen, entering the English Channel in an estuary between Le Havre and Honfleur.
Until locks were installed to artificially raise the water level of the Seine in the 1800s, the river consisted only of a shallow channel of continuous flow bordered by sandy banks. Today, special reservoirs help maintain a constant level for the river, keeping the depth around 26 feet as it flows through the heart of Paris. The water of the Seine is an important resource for central and western France. Electric power stations, thermal and nuclear, pull their cooling water from the river. Half the water used in the Paris region-and three quarters of the water used in the area between Rouen and Le Havre is drawn from the river.
The ancient Celtic Parisii tribe inhabited modern-day Paris near the Seine as early as 250 B.C. They excelled in navigation and trading all the way down to the Mediterranean Sea, building quays and tow paths along the banks. The Romans conquered the Paris basin in 52 B.C., leaving a permanent settlement on the left bank of the Seine called Lutetia, and later, Lutèce. Over the course of the following centuries, the city eventually known as Paris became prosperous, boasting a forum, palaces, baths, temples and an amphitheatre. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Paris was largely abandoned by its inhabitants and was little more than a ghost town.
While the Seine itself is a peaceful river with a gentle, meandering flow, it has set the stage for a number of tumultuous events in the history of France. In 885 A.D., the Vikings used the Seine to invade France, rowing hundreds of longboats and an army 40,000-strong inland to the heart of the country. And in the height of the Middle Ages, Joan of Arc was martyred in the shoreline city of Rouen after leading the French army in several important victories in the Hundred Years' War. The Seine was a critical crossing in World War II, and the tragic final resting place of many victims of the Paris Massacre in 1961.
In recent years, the Seine River has been the subject of major conservation efforts in France dubbed "Operation Clean Seine." In 1991, the banks of the Seine in Paris—the Rive Gauche and Rive Droite—were added to United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization's list of World Heritage Sites in Europe.
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