The chronicle of a popular success

The Compagnie des Bateaux-Mouches was created in 1949 on the initiative of one man: Jean Bruel.

He was ingenious, creative and had sensed that the end of the Second World War would mark the beginning of a new concept of travelling, leisure activities and international meetings.

It was by buying one of the last steam boats, a relic from the 1900 Universal Exhibition, and by launching a communication operation whose fictional hero was Jean-Sébastien Mouche, the supposed founder of the Bateaux-Mouches®, that Jean Bruel created the most famous cruise line on the River Seine: the Compagnie des Bateaux-Mouches®.

Jean Bruel loved Paris and wanted to transform the City of Light into a perfect place and promote it through its most beautiful avenue: the River Seine.  This concept has won over more than a million passengers since its creation.

It is within this unique structure that his daughter, Charlotte Bruel Matovic, and Radé Matovic perpetuate this wonderful adventure.