A Row Through Paris: La Traversée de Paris en Aviron

It was a cool, clear September morning as over a thousand rowers slipped their rowing sculls into the Seine on the edge of Paris. The full moon reflected off the water as the rowers took their seats in the boats and waited patiently in the darkness. At exactly 7:00 AM, the horn sounded and the oars of 220 sculls began to churn the water. Overhead, on the Pont de Sèvres, fireworks heralded the start of our 28 kilometre journey, la Traversée de Paris et des Hauts-de-Seine, a row through Paris.

The Crew Convenes

My Toronto crew and I had begun our tour experience the day before, convening at le MiniPalais restaurant for an exquisite lunch on their grand terrace overlooking le Pont Alexandre III.

I started my delectable meal with a cool Melon en fine gelée pastèque sorbet au miel et poivre, coppas. I have a difficult time resisting duck when it’s on the menu so for my entrée, I enjoyed a beautiful Filet aux canette aux espices. And I wrapped it all up with a lovely dessert au chocolat. It was a meal fitting of the grand adventure I was about to embark on.

Sadly, I’ve just learned that le MiniPalais has closed recently due to the renovation of le Grand Palais in which it is housed. I’m happy to have had the chance to enjoy its sumptuous food and elegant atmosphere. My hope is that the new use of this gorgeous space is just as wonderful as it was as a restaurant.  And I suppose I’ll just have to enjoy the creations of its three star Michelin chef, Éric Frechon, MOF, at one of his other establishments. If you would like to learn more about other sumptuous restaurants in this area, see my post Where to Eat in Paris When Visiting Les Invalides.

The Boat Club

Having satisfied our jet-lagged hunger, we made our way to Parc nautique départemental de l’Île de Monsieur, the sports complex that is home base for the tour. We caught our first sight of this amazing facility from the Pont de Sèvres.

And on the other side of the bridge, the intriguing architecture of La Seine Musicale also caught our attention. We would get another perspective of it in the morning as we set out on our row through Paris.

Rigging the Boats

After checking in and receiving our navigational documents, we set about to rigging our boat – lucky #7.  We had help from Michel, a French friend a couple of us had made the year before while on A Rowing Tour of the Meuse through France and Belgium. Seeing the tens upon tens of rowing sculls lined up on the beach gave us a glimpse into the scale of this row through Paris.

Paris Icons

As you’ve already seen, the start of this momentous tour was spectacular. However, it would be outdone by the amazing perspective we enjoyed while passing by some of Paris’ most iconic monuments. The sight of the Eiffel Tower at sunrise is one that will stay with me forever.

And passing under 33 of its gorgeous bridges was another treat. To me, these great spans are as fascinating as the wonderful edifices of Paris.

And happily, the tour organizers captured my Hanlan crew, along with a number of others, in motion from one of those Paris bridges. You can check out our form at 1:14 minutes.

As the sun continued its ascent and we travelled further into the city, Paris wowed us with a number of its resplendent structures. Both on and off the water! This included, of course, the fire-scarred, but resilient Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris which I had visited by land a few days earlier. You can read about the heroic efforts being taken to save and restore this historic and sacred Parisian landmark in my post Saving Notre Dame: An Epic Endeavour.

Champagne Celebrations

We turned around after passing Île Saint-Louis and made our way back to the club via the Right Bank. With plenty of time to spare, we celebrated this spectacular row through Paris by popping a bottle of champagne in front of the Tour Eiffel. The last sips were saved by our bow rower propping the bottle up between her feet for the final kilometres so we could enjoy them upon landing. Taking one last look back at the city, I was thrilled to catch sight of the replica of the Statue of Liberty on Île de Cygnes with the tower standing tall behind it.

Lunch for 1,000+

So, how do you feed a crowd of over 1,000 hungry rowers? With freshly made paella of course. And, like everything the organizers did, it was served up with smiles.

The City of Paris allows rowers to travel through it only one morning each year. And la Traversée de Paris et des Hauts-de-Seine, in addition to being an amazing row, is also a charitable event supporting schooling in hospitals and shelters for women who are victims of domestic violence. Two more great reasons to take part in this marvellous event!