River · France
Seine
The Seine is the river of Paris and, after the Loire, one of the longest rivers in France. It rises on a plateau north-west of Dijon, winds through Paris and Rouen and flows into the English Channel at Le Havre.
Picture credit: Michel FOUCHER (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Jm7101956 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Bybbisch94, Christian Gebhardt (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Seine?
The river starts here: Source-Seine on the Langres plateau, north-west of Dijon.
It ends in the English Channel at Le Havre.
Countries on the river: France.
The story behind it
The Seine starts as a small spring about 470 metres above sea level. From there it flows north-west, past the city of Troyes, towards Paris. In the capital, 37 bridges cross the river, and the banks of the Seine there are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sightseeing boats glide past famous buildings all day long. For almost 100 years, swimming in the Seine was not allowed. After a big clean-up, athletes swam in the river at the 2024 Olympic Games, and in July 2025 three bathing spots opened for everyone, watched over by lifeguards. The Seine can also be wild: in January 1910 it flooded 12 of the 20 districts of Paris for six weeks. Near the sea, the tide once pushed a wave called the mascaret up the river, but digging out the riverbed in the 1960s made it almost disappear.
Questions children ask
How long is the Seine?
The Seine is about 777 km long. Depending on how it is measured, sources give between about 775 and 780 km.
Can you swim in the Seine?
Yes, since July 2025 Paris has three official bathing spots on the river: Bercy, Bras de Grenelle and Bras Marie. Lifeguards watch the swimmers, and before that swimming had been banned for almost 100 years.
How many bridges cross the Seine in Paris?
In Paris, 37 bridges cross the Seine. The banks of the river in the city are also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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