Bateau El Alamein can host seminars, cocktails, product launches and afterworks for 140 to 150 guests at a cocktail between October and May, and for up to 300 in summer with the quay terrace. It is a steel barge built in 1949, moored at 8 Port de la Gare in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, at the foot of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. The boat does not sail. Two spaces can be hired together in winter or separately in summer: the hold room and the upper deck.
Seminars and company events
The barge presents itself as a venue for seminars, team meetings, cocktails, afterworks, product launches, press conferences, screenings and team building. Its clients include research institutes, universities, consulting and publishing firms. The hold room is air-conditioned and equipped with sound and light, and the site names conferences, launches and screenings among its uses. The upper deck, covered and planted, suits cocktails, afterworks and meetings in a green setting. Afterwork bookings run from 5 pm to 11 pm. The venue can be booked seven days a week, subject to the concert program, since it is also a working music venue.
Weddings and receptions
Weddings, birthdays and association evenings are on the list of occasions the site accepts. The summer terrace on the quay makes the larger formats possible, with up to 300 guests at a cocktail from mid-May to September. In winter the room and the deck together hold 140 to 150. The venue is a barge, so check the access for older guests before choosing it for a family wedding.
Rooms and capacities
The hold room covers 95 m², is air-conditioned and open all year. The upper deck covers 65 m², is covered and planted, faces the quay with a view of the Seine, and is also open all year. The terrace covers 400 m² along the quay and is available from mid-May to September. The capacity figures are for cocktail formats: 140 to 150 people from October to May with the room and the deck, and 300 in summer with the terrace. The site gives no seated figure, so ask for a layout if you plan a dinner or a plenary session.
Catering
The official pages describe a bar on board and say that the team adapts the space and the services to the request. They do not state whether catering is in-house or by an outside caterer, so raise this point at the start of the discussion.
History and setting
The barge is a Freycinet-gauge steel barge from 1949, moored at the foot of the BnF since 1996. It has a violet hull, blue walls in the hold and fruit trees on the deck. The venue calls itself a floating garden, with concerts in the hold, a bar and a terrace.
Getting there
The address is 8 Port de la Gare, quai François Mauriac, 75013 Paris. Metro line 6 stops at Quai de la Gare, and line 14 and RER C stop at Bibliothèque François Mitterrand. Buses 62 and 89 serve the area, there is a Vélib' station at 7 quai François Mauriac, and the MK2 car park is on rue Émile Durkheim. The gare de Lyon is nearby. The boat is not accessible to people with reduced mobility, because of gangways and stairs, so report this early if it concerns your guests.
