The name of the Seine derives from the Latin sequana or “snake.” Glancing at the map of this river, you will immediately appreciate how the Seine got its name—it meanders, snakelike, through the countryside, from the French interior to the Normandy coast. Its length between Paris and the sea is nearly 240 miles, but the distance as the crow flies is only 110 miles.
The Seine is the longest and most-used inland waterway in France, carrying the bulk of commercial traffic because the country’s other rivers are too shallow or have strong and unpredictable currents. It is navigable for about 350 of its 482 total miles, and its gentle “fall” (it tops out at just 1,545 feet above sea level) made it relatively easy to canalize. Only six weirs and locks had to be built between Paris and the English Channel.
The Seine’s source is in France’s Burgundy region; it flows from a spring in an idyllic wooded valley which even in Roman times had a special magnetism. Roman-Gallic offerings of sacrifice and a wonderful bronze statue of the goddess Sequana in a duck-shaped boat have been found during excavations in the area and can be seen at the archaeological museum in Dijon. In the 19th century the city of Paris bought the land around the Seine’s source and in 1865 erected a statue of the reclining Sequana in a grotto above the spring.
The Seine runs right through Paris; historically it was quite shallow in the city, but reservoirs and locks help to maintain a constant water level. Periodically the level of the Seine rises to threatening levels, most recently in the winter of 1999-2000. In 2003 there was a flood alert and about 100,000 works of art were taken from basement storage and moved out of Paris as a precaution.
A Seine cruise through Paris is a must for visitors, whether by day or evening. The boats pass under many beautiful bridges and offer views of iconic Parisian landmarks. The Seine in Paris became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991; it is described on the UNESCO list as follows: “From the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower, from the Place de la Concorde to the Grand and Petit Palais, the evolution of Paris and its history can be seen from the River Seine. The Cathedral of Notre-Dame and the Sainte Chapelle are architectural masterpieces while Haussmann’s wide squares and boulevards influenced late 19th- and 20th-century town planning the world over.”