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!

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.

When you visit Paris, whether it’s your first time or your tenth time, it’s usually the Eiffel Tower that is the first stop of your "things to see" list as it was the case with me. The Eiffel Tower is in the 7th district and is Paris’ tallest monument and also one of the most widely recognized structures in the world. It was built in the late 1800s to commemorate the World Expo that was being held in Paris at the time.

You can get to the Eiffel Tower by taking either the metro or RER or a combination of both. The station you need to get off is Champ de Mars: Tour Eiffel on RER-C. We showed up late in the day and arrived at the entrance around 5pm. The waiting in line was not so pleasant for we waited over an hour. It was not too bad because I know that earlier in the day, it can be upwards of three hours so one hour doesn’t seem to kill anyone. To keep people entertained, there are often buskers in the area that play their own music. During the peak season, the tower is open from 9am – 12:45am (stairs close at 12:30am) and in the off-season, hours are 9:30am to 11:45pm (stairs close at 6:30pm). Admission fees are moderate in price and vary in price depending on mode of transport and age of person. For general purposes, they range from €2.30 to €11.50. Stairs are cheaper than elevators. Check with the official website for any updates in admission prices.

We decided to take the elevator to the first floor and bought for tickets for just under 5 euros. The view from the 1st floor is amazing and you are overlooking the Seine on one side and Tuileries on the other side. You can see Sacre-Coeur in the distance along with numerous Paris monuments and buildings. Our time on the first floor was disturbed by a group of Kurdish protesters that threw thousands of flyers from the 1st and 2nd floor off all the way to the ground. The group was controlled by a team of special French police officers that detained them quickly and shuttled them to the police station in a van.

The Eiffel Tower is a must-see place for photographers as well. You’ll be able to get great shots, especially at sunset when you have the amazing silhouettes of the structure. The gardens around the monument are peaceful and serene and a great place to have a sit-down lunch or dinner. I would definitely return, especially after sunset, when the tower sparkles for a bit. This is a not-to-miss sight to see in Paris!

A must do while in Paris, even if just to say "I went up the Eiffel Tower." Yes, you can take the stairs; my sister opted for this option and it is a good one if your legs will hold out, as it is less expensive. Or do like the rest of the lazy Americans and take the elevator! You will have to wait in line for tickets either way, and the shortest line of the four days we were there was Sunday morning.

The elevator will take you first to the middle landing where there is a place to eat as well as an observation area. You then hop on another elevator to take you to the uppermost level. This is where you can get the views of Paris! I had never realized how large a city Paris was until this. From up here you can pick out most of the major sights, and also see the transition from Old Paris to the newer business districts of Paris.

The Eiffel Tower is really much larger and taller in person than I would have imagined. The elevators are an experience themselves, as they travel at an angle, and you get a view of the inner workings of the construction, though I would guess that taking the stairs would provide a better view of this.

I was told the restaurant on the first landing is rather expensive, but there was such a crowd there that we never could find out. There is also a restaurant at the base of one of the pillars; I grabbed a peak at the menu and it was incredibly expensive (in the range of 30 euro per person and up). The price for the elevators was €12 per person, though we did not have to pay for our 1-year-old.

It is the most visited monument in the world. I’m sure you’ve seen many photos of the Eiffel Tower on the Internet and in different movies, but it is nothing like seeing it in person. I visited the Tower last summer, on a tour bus. On the way to the tower, we saw a movie where the Eiffel Tower was shown; but I was completely taken by surprise at the tower’s immense size when we arrived. The tower stands at 320 meters or 1,052 feet; it was the tallest structure in the world from 1889 to 1930, it lost its title when the Chrysler Building was built. To give you a better idea of how big it is; you could stack 6 Statue of Liberties on top of each other and it still wouldn’t be enough to match the size of the Eiffel Tower.

If you want to get there before big lines builds up, you better get there bright and early in the morning; you do not want to get there at 2 in the afternoon to find more than an hour’s wait to get in. Yes, there is an admission fee, but it’s totally worth it. There is a chart on their homepage, www.tour-eiffel.fr, that shows the different prices according to age, floors, etc. There are two ways to get up the Eiffel Tower; by elevator or by stairs. Most likely, you will like to take the elevator, but the line to get on an elevator will be much longer than the line to go up the stairs. If you want to skip the line, and take the stairs then you will have to climb 115 meters and then take the elevator anyways if you want to go to the top of the tower. If you are visiting the Eiffel Tower during the peak season, as I did, the wait will be long to go to the top. In my opinion, there’s no reason to go up higher when you already have a marvelous view of the city. If you want to see what I’m talking about, view the photos attached to this journal. After you finish taking all your pictures of the view, comes the most dangerous part of this experience (if you’re not visiting alone). You’re probably asking yourself how the Eiffel Tower can possibly be dangerous. When I visited the tower, my entire family went up the tower and got in line to go back down by elevator. The system of going back down by elevator is simply horrible! Everyone was smashed together into one big cluster of pushing and shoving. Somehow, one of the younger members of my family got pushed into the elevator and they wouldn’t let one of our family members go with him. So, when we got to the bottom we had to spend 15 minutes (scariest 15 minutes of my life) trying to find him. In conclusion, this is amazing place to visit if you are careful.