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Eiffel Tower

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deezee
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4 out of 5
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65
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Editor Pick

An Iconic Monument

  • July 10, 2009
  • Rated 5 of 5 by tartlette from Bath, United Kingdom
An Iconic Monument

On my recent trip to Paris with a friend I knew that I wanted to go up the Eiffel Tower. I’d been up the Tower about 16 years ago but the last time I was in Paris, about 6 years ago, I couldn’t go up as the ex-Mr Tart was scared of heights. My friend and I both made the Tower a priority for our trip.

SOME HISTORY:

The Tower was designed by Gustave Eiffel for the Paris Exposition to celebrate the centenary of the French Revolution in 1889. It was originally supposed to be pulled down after a few years but the French realised it was good for communication so allowed it to stay up. The Tower is made from over 18000 pieces of metal and 2.5 million rivets. The Tower is painted every 7 years to stop it rusting and it takes nearly 60 tonnes of paint! It is visited by around 6 million people every year. The Tower now stands at 324 metres since a TV antenna was added in 2000.

LOCATION:

There is a story of Guy du Maupassant who said that he ate in the Tower every day because it was the only place he didn’t have to look at it from! While an exaggeration, it is true that the Tower, being the tallest structure in Paris, can be seen from all over the city. It is located on the Champs de Mars, on the south bank of the Seine. The nearest metro stations are Bir Hakeim, Trocadero and Ecoles Militaire.

PRICES:

The prices depend on age and how far up the Tower you want to go. To go to the top it is €13 for an adult, €9.90 for a young person (12-24) and €7.50 for a child or disabled person. For the second level that goes down to €8, €6.40 and €4 and for the stairs €4.50 €3.50 and €3.

THE EXPERIENCE:

We approached the Tower from the south. Looking along the park to the Tower it does look very impressive. I could never say that it was a beautiful structure but it is so iconic that you really can’t help but be impressed.

You can queue to go up any one of the four legs of the Tower, although one was closed for renovation when we went which made the queues longer at the others. You can choose to climb the stairs from the south leg or take the lift from the others to get to the second level. YES – I did just say stairs! Needless to say we opted for the lift (it’s about 660 steps to the second level!!). The queue for the south leg was much shorter and costs less but even my famous frugality wouldn’t encourage me to do that!

The queue was very long. We queued to buy our tickets for around 45 minutes. It was annoying being constantly hounded by men selling flashing Eiffel Towers and Eiffel Tower keyrings. We were there during the Easter holidays so it was understandably busy, although I think it would be busy all year round so prepare to queue! The only way to avoid them seems to be to be part of a group as only large groups can pre-book.

The lift took us up the leg of the Tower to the second level. This lift was a double lift which carries a lot of people. You then have to queue again to get to the top of the Tower. At the bottom it had said that it would take another 45 minutes of queuing once we were on the second level, but we only waited about 15 minutes which was a relief! The second lift was much scarier than the first. It was a lot smaller and a lot faster. I was feeling a little jittery in the lift! For me, it’s the getting to the top that bothers me. I don’t mind being high (oh dear…that sounds wrong!) but I mind the journey up!

Once at the top there is an indoor viewing area. This has photographs where you can see exactly what you are looking at from the Tower. You can then walk up a flight of stairs to the outside observation deck. This is where you really see how amazing the view is. You can see for absolutely miles and can spot all of Paris’ landmarks laid out below you. Look out for Notre Dame, Les Invalides and Sacre Coeur. You really can’t help but be inspired by this view.

Also up the Tower there are two restaurants, 58 and Le Jules Verne. We didn’t try these out as they are hugely overpriced. 58 costs €65 for dinner with no drinks and Le Jules Verne costs €200 (!!) for dinner. There is also a snack place on the ground, first and second floors which does hot dogs etc, which cost around €7.50. No thank you very much! There are also gift shops at the base and on the first and second floors.

The main trouble with the Tower is that you have to queue so long to get up the flipping thing! Once you’re up there you walk around the top, see all the views, take the obligatory cheesy photos and then you have to start the queuing process again to go down. When we saw the sign saying 45 minute wait on the second floor for the top floor lift my friend asked if it was worth going all the way to the top. I was insistent as I don’t think you can only do half of something and you have to do the Tower when in Paris.

CONCLUSION:

Ok, so I think the Tower is not very attractive, the queues are hugely frustrating and it is quite expensive if you take the lift and yet I’m giving it five stars. In reality, despite its flaws, I think the Eiffel Tower is one of THE icons to visit in the world. If you are going to Paris, unless you are terrified of heights, it is a must see. The views are absolutely amazing and it really is worth the queues. Recommended!

The Eiffel Tower

  • November 20, 2008
  • Rated 4 of 5 by chaoticmum from Coon Rapids, Minnesota
This thing is more gorgeous than in pictures. There is a large mall that in next to it and makes for great photo opportunities when you're still further away from it.
Once you get to the tower itself, you'll want to go up. You can pay to ride an elevator all the way up to the top, or if you're brave - you can climb it. I climbed halfway with my group and even write my name on the side of it. The view from even halfway up was incredible.
You need about 2-3 hours to spend here.

From journal 2000 Europe Trip: Paris, France

Editor Pick

Eiffel Tower

  • March 4, 2008
  • Rated 5 of 5 by aviron7 from chattanooga, Tennessee
Eiffel Tower

When the Eiffel Tower first came into view as we drove down the streets towards it tears formed in my eyes. It seems silly, as many times as i've seen pictures of it, i just couldn't imagine that it would have such an impact on me to actually see it in person; it's quite an incredible site.
We parked down the street at some metered spaces and started walking towards the tower across a park that was in front of it. The park made it so that you could get a great view of the whole thing before you actually walked up to it.
The entire structure is more incredible when you're actually standing under it. To look up and see the ginormous pieces of metal it took to construct this was awe inspiring. although we were there much too early to actually go on a tour of the tower, there was already a long line of tourists formed, just waiting on the ticket counter to open. From what i remember the tickets were about 15 euros per person i believe to take both elevators up to the top and a bit cheaper if you only went up one elevator to the 2nd level. A bit more than i wanted to spend anyway.
To get as close as possible my friend and I touched the base of one of the legs just to be able to say we touched the Eiffel Tower. Sadly, there was a little fence around each leg, so we had to improvise a bit...
After walking around under the tower, we then went to the Musee De L'Homme which is located on the opposite side of the tower and up on a hill. That's where we got the most amazing pictures. It was just as the sun was rising right over the tower and it made for the most beautiful scene, not to mention that there were about 10 gorgeous statues lining the museum area we were standing in.

From journal 7 Hours in Paris

Eiffel Tower

  • January 23, 2008
  • Rated 5 of 5 by jdpenna from Westminster, Maryland
We saw so much...all the obvious attractions, but what we loved the most was just walking the streets and visiting the parks. We would stop at a cafe for some wine and cheese or a sidewalk shop for a delicious crepe! The metro system was wonderful for getting around when we were too exhausted from walking!
The beauty of this city was astounding!

From journal Paris Vacation

Editor Pick

Tour Eiffel (Eiffel Tower)

  • August 17, 2007
  • Rated 4 of 5 by paolo1899 from Naples, Italy
Tour Eiffel (Eiffel Tower)

The tower Eiffel is an iron tower built on the champs de Mars beside the river Seine. The structure was built between the 1887 and 1889 as the entrance arch for the exposition Universelle, a world fair making the centennial celebration of the french revolution. The tower is the tallest structure in Paris and one of the most recognized structures in the world. More than 200.000.000 people visited the tower since the construction this makes the tower the most visited paid monument in the world per year. The Tower was named after its designer engineer Gustave Eiffell.

Including the (79ft or 24m) antenna the structure is 324m (1.063ft) high which is equivalent to about 81 levels in a conventional building. The Eiffell tower weighs 7.300 tons. depending on the ambient temperature, the top of the tower may shift away from the sun by up to 18 cm (7 inches), due to thermal expansion of the metal on the side facing the sun. The tower also sways 6-7cm (2-3in) in the wind. The first and seconds levels are accessible by stairs and lift. A ticket booth at the south tower base sells tickets to use the stairs which begin at that location. On the first platform the stairs continue up from the east tower. The third level summit is only accessible by lift. Once you are on the first or second platform, the stairs are open for anyone to ascend or descend regardless if you have purchased a lift ticket or stair ticket. The actual count of stairs includes 9 steps to the ticket booth at the base, 328 steps to the first level, 340 steps to the second level, and 18 steps to the lift platform on the second level. When exiting the lift at the third level, 15 more steps exist to ascend to the upper observation platform. The actual step count is printed periodically on the side of the stairs to give an indication of progress. The majority of the ascent allows for an unhindered view of the area directly beneath and around the tower except during brief stretches of the stairway that are enclosed.

The entrance fee to the top floor is of 11.50 euros for more enquiries about fees and information visit the official site of the Eiffel tower.

From journal Tower Eiffel

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