Bonjour, my name is Lora and I'm a Francophile. There, I said it. Some of you will think I'm bonkers but I love anything and everything French. There's just something incredibly magical for me about France – the culture, the language, the food, the people. Paris, in particular, holds a special place in my heart and I was lucky enough to spend some time living and working there, an amazing time which I'll never forget...

So, what's the attraction? My boyfriend, himself a Frenchie, told me on our first meeting that I was naïve to like France as much as I did. He's said the same thing to me ever since...and I'm sure I'll never persuade him otherwise. As a Lillois born and bred, he's almost trained to hate Paris as most of the rest of France is.

And yet when I took him sight-seeing in the capital...his face literally LIT up as I led him around a corner and the Tour Eiffel stood majestically before him. Ah oui...

Histoire de la Tour Eiffel

There's something magical about the Tour Eiffel. It's become the symbol of Paris, the symbol of France itself, and yet it was never meant to stand for more than a year. It was originally supposed to be erected in Barcelona, but plans designed by Gustave Eiffel were rejected. Construction finally began in Paris, where the tower was to create an entrance archway for the Exposition Universelle in 1889. 120 years later...and the Eiffel Tower continues to stand the test of time, despite being branded an eyesore by many of the great French names of the day. One of its greatest critics was Guy de Maupassant, the French writer who allegedly dined at one of the Eiffel Tower's restaurant every day as it was the only place in Paris where he wouldn't have to look at the tower!

It became particularly symbolic during the Second World War, when the French cut the lift cables, meaning Adolf Hitler would have to climb the steps to the summit. When German soliders eventually did climb to the top to fly their flag, it was too big and blew away several hours later. The smaller flag they replaced it with was in turn replaced by a French flag, hung by a Frenchman who scaled the tower. By 1944, with the Allies approaching, Hitler gave the order to the military governor of Paris – Dietrich von Choltitz – to demolish the Eiffel Tower and reduce the whole city to rubble, an order which von Choltitz ignored.

And after surviving a fire at the summit in 1956, the Eiffel Tower has gone from strength to strength. It was the centre of an amazing firework display to celebrate the Millennium and ushered in its 200,000,000th visitor in 2002.

La Tour Today

The Eiffel Tower is one of the most visited paid monuments in the world, let alone in Paris. It offers spectacular views over the city and is an intriguing-looking structure both up close and from afar.

Instantly recognisable, the tower has three floors, two restaurants, its own Post Office and even an ice-rink (in winter).

Practical Information

If you do want to visit the tower, there are lots of important things you should know. First off, OPENING TIMES – the tower is open every day of the year. The opening times do vary depending on the time of year and are subject to change – these can easily be checked on the website.

ENTRANCE FEES are also liable to change with very little notice, and there are tonnes of concessions and group rates that are worth checking out on the website. Taking the stairs is cheaper than taking the lifts, but you can only take the stairs to the second floor (I say 'only', but it's a fair old climb – yes, I have done it!) Needless to say that one, adult ticket to the top taking the lift will set you back €13.30, with reduced prices for youths (12-14) and children (4-11). As previously mentioned, there are other concessions available, including a concession for disabled visitors.

DISABLED ACCESS has greatly improved over the years, and improvements have been made to ensure that disabled visitors now have direct access to each of the pillars, large capacity elevators, toilet facilities and windows added at railing height to ensure that wheelchair users can take in the city's panorama. However, due to safety reasons, visitors with mobility problems cannot access the top floor. There is also a loop system fitting available for visitors with hearing impairments.

SOUVENIR SHOPS can be found at the pillar entrances and on the first and second floors and though the majority of it is undoubtedly overpriced, they do claim to sell some souvenirs that you cannot find elsewhere. There's definitely a great range of choice, from the small novelty items, emblazoned with the Eiffel Tower, to the much more expensive items, which are very beautiful and interesting to look at. To be honest, you're probably best buying your souvenirs somewhere else at a more competitive price.

RESTAURANTS – they were good enough for Guy de Maupassant, but what about your average tourist? Well, I've never had the pleasure of dining at one of the Eiffel Tower's restaurants, but I would love to – just to say that I have!

58 Tour Eiffel is the first restaurant and can be found on the first floor. I've very quickly skimmed the lunch menu and it looks like a fairly reasonable place to eat. I base this on the fact that the prices are pretty much the Parisian standard. Yes, you can find cheaper, but the prices are about average. The evening menu, however, is considerably more. Just to give you an idea – a fixed lunch menu comprising of starter, main and dessert will cost you €22.50, the fixed evening menu will set you back €62! A fresh fruit salad will cost you €6 at lunch time, but almost doubles in price, setting you back a cool €11 in the evening (although you do seem to get some 'Marco Polo tea sorbet' thrown in for good measure, whatever that is!)

If you're baulking at those prices, then it'll probably pain you to know that the €22.50 that would buy you three courses at lunch time at 58 Tour Eiffel wouldn't even buy you a dessert at Jules Verne. Eating à la carte, you'll find the cheapest starter is €53, with mains in the region of €80 and desserts costing €26. Well, we can all dream...

Having never eaten at either of these restaurants, I cannot comment on them in any way, shape or form. I would imagine (and hope) that the hefty price tag at Jules Verne would ensure only the best service. The restaurant has its own private entrance and lift at the foot of the tower and with this restaurant having earned a Michelin star, I'm guessing it's haute cuisine all the way. Bon appétit.

As for 58 – I think the lunch time menu is acceptable – you could expect to pay those prices elsewhere in Paris, and at least here you know that the surroundings and views would make your dining experience an unforgettable one. As for the quality of service and food, I'd be interested to know if it is worth the money...

If neither of these options appeal, there are stands around the Eiffel Tower selling food – things like crêpes, waffles, ice-cream...they'll fill a hole if you're a bit peckish, but are neither exceptional quality nor value for money. You'll get much better crêpes elsewhere in the city, and though the waffle I once had here was acceptable, it wasn't worth what I paid for it.

GETTING THERE - it may seem like a silly thing to include as it's visible from most of Paris. It is located in the 7th arrondissement, or district, of the capital and the two nearest metro stations are Trocadéro and Bir-Hakeim. Champs de Mars - Tour Eiffel is the nearest RER station. There's bound to be a Vélib' station nearby too (for those who don't know - Vélibs' are bikes that you can hire for a set amount of time, with stations all over the city).

IMPORTANT INFO – there are a few other considerations if you are planning to visit the tower:-

* Time – it's safe to say that the Eiffel Tower is a busy attraction on most days of the year, so if you do want to go to the top, you need to leave yourself plenty of time. The queues tend to snake under the tower for some way but they are fairly fast-moving. However, even once you've bought your tickets, on busy days you'll need to queue for the lifts on the way up and on the way down, so you need to leave yourself 2-3 hours to ensure your visit isn't too rushed and you have enough time to leisurely look around and take in the views. Also, on any given day, at least one of the four pillar entrances to the tower will be closed, for safety and maintenance reasons. This means there are only ever 2 sets of lifts (max) running on any given day.

* Belongings – you're not allowed to take large bags with you up the tower, and there is no baggage check, so make sure you're travelling light and not on your way to or from the airport as you won't be allowed to climb the tower. They do check handbags and the security is fairly strict. You also can't take pets up the tower, with the obvious exception of guide dogs.

A View From the Top

The views from the top of the Eiffel Tower are pretty stunning. I've been up to the Eiffel Tower several times, at different times of the day and I've visited all three floors. The view from the very top is amazing, although if you are claustrophobic you may not enjoy it as there isn't a lot of room, and as you would expect there are a lot of tourists hustling and bustling to get photos. On a clear day, you can see for 42 miles (67 km).

The top floor actually consists of two levels – an indoor one and an outdoor one – the inside space is well-used to make it as open and airy as possible (it's quite a small space) while including lots of information, including panoramic photos of the city to help you pick out all of the landmarks and displays help bring some of the tower's history to life.

At 273 metres, the top floor is not the place to be if you suffer from extreme vertigo. Having said that, I'm not a fan of heights and I felt very safe up there.

The views from the first and second floors are also pretty impressive. Though obviously nowhere near as high up, you still get great 360Â degree views of the city. There are also galleries here to help you see all of the sites, and there's a discovery trail for younger visitors to follow.

The Best Views of the Tower

As fabulous as the views from the tower are, many people comment on the one thing that they are all missing...a view of the tower itself! Of course, it sounds like a silly thing to say, but it dominates the skyline of Paris to such an extent that it seems strange to see Paris without it. So I've decided to include some of the places where you can get amazing views of the Eiffel Tower elsewhere in Paris. The great thing about the city is that you can literally turn a corner and there it is, in all its glory.

• Trocadero – this is, without a doubt, my favourite place to view the Eiffel Tower. The Trocadero is actually the site of the Palais de Chaillot – a palais which is visible when stood underneath the tower. If you cross the road and walk towards the palais, you'll see it's set into a hill. It's a small climb, with a few steps unfortunately, which will take you onto the balcony. From here, not only can you see the small but perfectly formed gardens with the fountains, but you get a magnificent view of the Eiffel Tower. It's the perfect place to stand and have your photo taken, with the tower in the background.
• Champs de Mars – The Champs de Mars is the name of the public open-grass area that runs behind the Eiffel Tower towards the Ecole Militaire. If you walk right towards the end, you'll get some great snaps of the tower. The area is sometimes used for public events, such as concerts – there were also huge screens here for the final for the Rugby World Cup, the Eiffel Tower providing a most unique backdrop.
• Montparnasse Tower – After the Champs de Mars and Trocadero, the best view of the Eiffel Tower you're going to get is from the Tour Montparnasse. Here you'll get amazing views over the city, with the Eiffel Tower in them, and the added bonus is that you won't have this eyesore of a skyscraper in any of your photos!! What's more, it's considerably cheaper and generally quicker
  Pictures of Tour Eiffel, Paris

  

  Sparkly!

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  to visit – when I visited there was no messing about, we bought our tickets and waited about 2 minutes for the lift. Less than a minute later, we were at the top!
• Arc de Triomphe – a little further away, so the Eiffel Tower seems a little smaller, the top of the Arc de Triomphe also has viewing platforms for you to have your photo taken with the tower in the background.
• Parc de Belleville – it might not be top of your list of places to visit when you come to Paris, not least because it's not in the nicest area, but it is a nice little park and a BEAUTIFUL place to watch the sunset over a Paris skyline.
• Along the River – The Seine is a great place to see many of the Parisian landmarks and sights, the Eiffel Tower being no exception. Due to the way the Seine bends, it's possible to see the tower long before you get to it (it actually sits very close to the river itself, so you can walk along the river to get to it). For this reason, a boat ride is a great way to see it. Alternatively, you can see it from many of the bridges along the Seine. Pont Alexandre III is a great bridge for getting a snap of the Eiffel Tower, and it's here that I stood to see in the New Year in 2008.

You should be able to see the Eiffel Tower from as far back as Pont Neuf and you'll also get nice views of it in front of the Louvre, going down towards the Jardin des Tuileries and from Place de la Concorde.

EYE-ful Tower

Whether you think it's a beautiful piece of architecture or a monstrosity, you can't deny that the Eiffel Tower is eye-catching. As blunt as it may look from afar, you'll see on closer inspection just how intricate and beautiful it can be. And as the daylight fades and the sun sets on another Parisian day, the Eiffel Tower takes on a whole new persona. She lights up. Again, you might just think find this utterly vulgar and it's all a matter of taste, but personally I find it enchanting.

The colours of the Eiffel Tower change periodically, often denoting some important event. For example, during France's EU Presidency, the Eiffel Tower was blue, with the Euro stars on the front. The green and yellow colours which adorned the Eiffel Tower during the Rugby World Cup final between South Africa and England were somewhat controversial amongst English supporters...particularly given the end result of the match. At the moment, I believe that the tower is red and white, although why, I could not tell you.

Also, once the sun has gone down and the tower is lit up, it begins to sparkle each hour, on the hour, for five minutes. Since this year, the tower is celebrating its 120th birthday (some 100 years after Gustave Eiffel's permit ran out and the tower was due to be knocked down), a light show runs every night from the 22nd October until the 31st January. This takes place on the hour, from 8pm through until 11pm, lasting a further 12 minutes on top of the 5 minutes of sparkling.

Conclusion

Love it or hate it, the Eiffel Tower really captures something of the French. Of course, a lot of French people don't care much for it and they would probably have me strung up from the tower for daring to suggest that it represented anything of their people. For many, a phallic symbol, I find it to be imposing and striking, yet somehow graceful and beautiful. It stands beautifully in its surroundings, as though its always been there. I can't imagine Paris without it.

Whether you decide to visit it or not, it's definitely worth get up close and really taking a good look at the tower. It's really quite incredible to be stood underneath such a structure, imagining the hundreds of men who risked their lives to build it (in fact, only one man died during its construction, an incredible feat for the time).

I appreciate why so many tourists want to climb it, although the views from the Eiffel Tower are not my favourite in Paris. I've been up three times in total now – visiting the very top twice. I have to say, I probably wouldn't go up again now, having managed to get to top both during the day and a night. The views over the city at night were amazing too, and being on the tower when it lit up and started to sparkle was a pretty cool experience too.

So, do I recommend the Eiffel Tower? Yes, wholeheartedly. I think that it is an attraction worth visiting if you have your heart set on it. However, if it's amazing views over Paris you want – the Tour Montparnasse may be your best bet. If you hate the tower and think it's a real eyesore, it is only from its summit that you will get 100% Eiffel-free Paris views.

Having taken in its splendid views, for me, the Eiffel Tower is much more than a platform to see other things, and I much prefer to view IT from the ground. Whether you choose to climb it or not during your visit to Paris, I would definitely recommend making it part of your visit in some shape or form.