We arrived in Paris on the River Seine at dusk, after dining on foie gras and carre de veau during the voyage from Poissy, France. There was the Eiffel Tower just off the river on the Left Bank, and the summer evening darkened to show why Paris is called the City of Light. Every building and monument illuminated our passage under many of the bridges, some so close we touched them with our fingertips, as we passed landmarks including the Place de la Concorde, the Louvre and Notre-Dame Cathedral.

It might sound like a romantic honeymoon or a retiree’s reward, but I was there with my children, 11-year-old twin girls, and this was their first trip to Europe. The boat is not a typical cruise ship but long and low to fit under the bridges.

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