A Seine-sational spot for sundowners

Flanked by photogenic landmarks and inviting quays to stroll, jog, pedal and drink along, the River Seine is one of the finest features of the French capital. You can savour it in various ways, from dining on one of the bateaux-mouches (boats) that cruise along the Seine to nursing a cocktail at one of the pop-up bars that spring up by the water in summer.

Juliette, an old Parisian friend of ours, has suggested we catch up for a sundowner and a bite to eat at an appealing Seine-side address that is technically outside Paris. It’s in Asnieres-sur-Seine, one of the capital’s handily-connected western suburbs, just eight minutes away on one of the regular trains departing Paris’ Gare Saint-Lazare.

Meeting us at “rush hour” at the bustling station in Asnieres, Juliette tells us that this is becoming more popular with young professionals and families priced out by the soaring property prices and rents in Paris and La Defense, France’s premier financial and business district, which is just upstream from here.

Walking along Asnieres’ high street, which feels very Parisian, lined with cafes, boutiques and a handsome Belle Epoque cinema, we take a right towards the Seine and descend to the quays. This is where we find Rosa Bonheur a l’Ouest. Open from Wednesdays to Sundays, it’s one of four Rosa Bonheurs in and around Paris, inspired by France’s bygone guinguettes (rustic taverns) and named after a 19th-century Bordeaux-born painter known for her love of nature.

As well as locations in Parc des Buttes-Chaumont and Bois de Vincennes in the city’s east, this is one of two floating Rosa Bonheurs on the Seine. While more tourists frequent the one by the Alexandre III bridge, near the Grand Palais in central Paris, Asnieres’ is a more local affair.

French chatter drifts beside the street art-marked walls by the quay, where a mixed crowd — parents and their children, couples and groups of friends — are mingling on tree-shaded benches and playing petanque in the little courts. We’re tempted onto the covered barge itself, but it’s a lovely evening — 25C — so we end up ordering a bottle of rosé and claiming a table outside.

And over the next few hours, we sip, chat and gradually work and share our way through Rosa Bonheur’s food menu, which includes tapas, plates of cheese and charcuterie and very decent wood-fired pizzas. Despite the sun setting behind us, the colours of the sky before us and in the river below are mesmerising.

It’s no wonder Vincent van Gogh used to like painting in Asnieres (we’re actually close to the old location of Le Restaurant de la Sirene, the subject of a 1887 painting by van Gogh that’s on show at Paris’ Musee d’Orsay).

We haven’t brought our paintbrushes, but we’re soothed by the setting of Rosa Bonheur a l’Ouest, which is also a hotspot for brunch and yoga classes and stays open until after midnight, with patrons often having a boogie on the barge’s dance floor to music by live performers and DJs.

Gazing over the water, our conversation pauses every so often to discuss the other vessels that occasionally float by. Sometimes it’s an industrial barge, other times it’s a sleek river cruise ship bound for Normandy.

I must admit, I am a little envious of those passengers who, over the coming days, will be discovering the painter-friendly towns and countryside that inspired the Impressionists. But I can’t be too greedy. I’m thoroughly enjoying myself here this evening and tomorrow I get to explore more of Paris. fact file + To see menus and events listings at Rosa Bonheur a l’Ouest, see rosabonheur.fr/rosa-a-louest + For more information on visiting Paris, see parisjetaime.com