TUI River Cruises is finally adding the Seine to its map. The line has confirmed it will sail the river for the first time from March 2028, using its new ship TUI Elara — and the itineraries start and end in one of the world's most scenic cities, gliding right through central Paris.

TUI Elara launches in March 2027 but won't reach the Seine until a year later, when it begins offering four, seven and 10-night trips. The ship carries just 138 passengers across 70 cabins, and marks a first for the brand: French Balcony Junior Suites, complete with nightly turndown service and continental breakfast delivered to your cabin. Small-ship sailing has obvious perks here — you're moored close to the action rather than bussed in from an industrial port.

The route itself reads like a greatest-hits list. Sailings pass the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and the Musée d'Orsay before heading downstream to Vernon, the riverside town most famous as the home of Claude Monet and his gardens at nearby Giverny. Further along sits Rouen, Normandy's historic capital and the city where Joan of Arc was tried and burned, and finally Le Havre, where the river meets the English Channel. History-minded travellers can add an excursion to the D-Day landing beaches through TUI's River Cruise Collections programme.

Getting there is bundled in: flights to Paris Charles de Gaulle with Air France from a range of UK airports are included in the price.

The Seine debut is part of a much bigger summer 2028 push. TUI is calling it its largest launch season ever, with capacity up 26 per cent. Two purpose-built ships, TUI Zora and TUI Velara, will join the fleet — Zora (meaning "dawn") on the Rhine from May 2028, Velara ("to shine") on the Danube from August. Both carry 188 guests in 94 cabins and were designed around UK guest feedback, boasting the largest suite balconies in the fleet. Elsewhere, the Douro gets a dedicated ship in TUI Luzia, the flagship TUI Aria sails the Danube, and there are solo-only sailings on TUI Maya (Danube) and TUI Skyla (Rhine). With the Seine added, TUI's river list now spans the Rhine, Moselle, Danube, Dutch and Belgian waterways, the Douro, the Nile and Paris's own river — one of the most requested in the company's research, according to head of river cruises Katy Berzins.

Why it matters: river cruising has long been dominated by lines like Viking and Riviera on the Seine, and TUI's entry should sharpen competition on price and UK-friendly packaging. If you've been waiting for an easy, flights-included way to combine Paris with Monet's gardens and the Normandy coast — without renting a car or changing hotels — these sailings are built exactly for that. Bookings and pricing details will be worth watching as the 2028 season opens for sale, since demand on this river tends to be strong.