The Seine is the river that flows through Paris before emptying into the English Channel.
The Seine rises on the Langres Plateau in eastern France and travels about 777 kilometres before reaching the sea near Le Havre. In Paris, it passes landmarks including Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, and the Eiffel Tower’s central city area. Its banks in central Paris have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991.
The river has long shaped France’s political, commercial, and cultural history. Paris developed around crossings of the Seine, including the Île de la Cité, one of the city’s oldest inhabited areas. Numerous bridges connect the river’s banks within the capital.
The Seine is sometimes confused with the Loire, France’s longest river. The Loire flows westward across France but does not pass through Paris; the Seine is the capital’s defining waterway.