Visiting Paris for the first time I knew had to run to see the Eiffel tower. I’d already heard a few people describe it as the “awful tower” and “a lot like Blackpool tower” but I wanted to see for myself anyway and judge for myself what was so bad about it. I was pretty eager, we (me and friends) dumped our luggage at our hotel and whisked out the map of the Paris underground immediately to route our journey to the awful tower.
We got off at a station called Champs de Mars – Tour Eiffel which as the name suggests, is very close to the Tower. Off we tottered trying to find it. It wasn’t difficult considering you can actually see the huge tower for miles around! All cameras came out tourist-stylee ready to snap at all angles of it. I prepared myself to see the awful tower for the first time,
eyes wide, camera at the ready…and we turned the corner to be greeted by the huge, sturdy, solid, beautifully lit up Eiffel Tower. It is a breathtaking site and beyond me why my friend called it the “awful tower”.
A Brief History
The Tower was created to celebrate the Centenary of the French revolution. The design of Gustave Efifel, a bridge designer, was chosen from many others and the tremendous tower took only 21 months to complete. (That’s less than some 3 bedroom houses take to build these days!!). Work began on 1 July 1887 and was finished on March 31 1889. It took 18,000 pieces of puddle iron, 2.5 million rivets and 300 steel workers to complete the mammoth task. The tower stands proud at 324 metres tall and the view from the top of the tower is well worth it.
Cost
The tower has three platforms which you can climb, either by steps (NOT recommended unless you love torturing yourself) and lift and according to which platform you’d like to access, the price varies: (the current rate of exchange is approx 10FF to the £)
Adults/ Children
1st floor: 24FF/ 14FF 2nd floor: 45FF/ 25FF 3rd floor (yes, the very top!) 65FF/35FF
The queues to climb the tower are always very long but surprisingly they move faster than you think so don’t be put off. Also, last access to the third floor is around 10:20pm depending on the weather and probably season as well. Access to the top floor is approximately £6.50 which is a bit pricey because the tour isn’t very long but in my opinion its worth seeing Paris from such a great height and spotting the various other landmarks from the top platform.
Access to the first and second floor is via one lift. You then need to change lifts if you want to reach the top floor. The lifts are spacious, although everyone very eagerly pushes and shoves constantly so watch those handbags. Rest assured the lifts are safe and don’t creak or anything. It was slightly daunting as the lift reaches the halfway point and you’re very aware that you’re quite a way up! I soon got into the swing of things though and wondered loudly if see through floors would add to the thrill of climbing the tower. My friends squealed “NO!”
The Top Floor
The top floor is amazing. Naively (or rather stupidly) I was under the impression that the entire thing would be open and not enclosed like it was. The top floor consists of two levels. The bottom level is a big round room which have windows for everyone to glue their faces to and “ooh and ahh” over the fantastic view. There is a huge map that circulates the entire room telling you precisely where to look for which monument or landmark. I spotted the Statue of Liberty from here (the French one, not the US one). Also, if you walk around the bottom level you will spot flags of the different countries. Each flag is placed in the direction the country is and with the distance from the Tower. Quite clever.
The top level can be accessed by a single flight of stairs, which are always very crammed with people trying to ascend or descend them. This level is semi-enclosed with a cage like construction. Again, the view is amazing and it’s actually hard to find an empty space near the railings. Whilst you wait patiently for people to clear off you can peer into Gustavve Eiffel’s office. It’s located in the centre of the floor and is a replica of what Mr Eiffel’s office used to resemble.
The top floor isn’t accessible to wheel chaired people and they are unfortunately restricted to the second floor.
The Extras
Eiffel Tower revealed itself to be a min department store. It houses a tourist office, an exchange bureau, a post office and a gift shop. The gift shop is fairly pricey and instead I bought my little Eiffel towers from the street sellers that exist in big numbers around the tower. There is also a very expensive restaurant located at one of the 4 bases of the tower The Jules Verne restaurant. Although very expensive, the restaurant has many visitors and is reservation only.
The Street Sellers
There are quite a few street sellers that hang around the tower and will sell you all sorts of little novelty goods ranging from Eiffel towers to postcards. They are quite insistent and they will approach you offering you their goodies. Be careful of these sellers, as each one will quote you a different price for the same item. Shop around and come back to the best prise. I was surprised to discover that haggling actually works and after a hesitant start I quite enjoyed haggling my way to a bargain.
The Awful Tower?
Certainly not! It’s a brilliant piece of work that’s been described as one of the seven wonders of the modern world. I can’t say whether it’s better to climb the tower in the day or night but the price is well worth the experience! The only grumble I have is the lack of historical information placed in and around the tower. There were a few placards here and there but all in French. Sigh…how I want to go back to Paris! Sigh sigh!
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V.helpful review! I went when I was young and my dad had to piggyback me halfway up because my parents wanted to take the stairs for some reason and we never made it to the top (probably cos my dad was crippled by then), I want to go back so I can see all of it!
Judoka5 13.11.2005 04:01
A great review. Having lived near Paris for 3 years I always made my way up the eiffel Tower. To me is is always a thrill. Well done
harishvijayan 01.01.2002 11:37
Great op. I've been there, and although it was a bit of a crush trying to get to the top of the tower,, the breathtaking view was certainly worth the wait. I'll go back someday.
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Advantages: Great views over the city, interesting things to look at / read at different levels, most bon waffles in the cafe Disadvantages: No trampolines like in Blackpool's :(
zoe_page 25.02.2003 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Tour Eiffel, Paris
Advantages: Fair pricing, Amazing views and scenery, What a nostalgic and historic monument! Disadvantages: Avoid if you don't like heights, Can be cold and windy and slightly peturbing at the summit!
WormThatTurned 14.11.2002 ·
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Review of Tour Eiffel, Paris
Sep 12th, 2001
very helpful by (100%):
