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Thank you to all of those who gave me good ratings! Please comment freely on anything you like. It would be great if you trusted me, too!
Member since:09.06.2007
Reviews:16
I went to Paris last year with my family, and after visiting several other attractions, we decided to go to 'La Tour Montparnasse'. This decision was mainly based on the fact that the queues for the Eiffel Tower were huge; they were almost as big as the tower itself! My family and I decided that we would not wait for such a long time to travel up the famous tower; after all, we had other things to see. We could actually see Montparnasse from the Eiffel Tower, so that could have determined our fate!
So, we travelled to Montparnasse on the metro that evening. We went at about 5.45pm, which turned out to be foolish, as you will see later on. As you get off at the metro station, you think you are being very ignorant because you simply cannot see the tower. I think we were actually underneath the tower when we asked an office worker, "Pouvez-vous nous dire ou nous pouvons trouver la Tour Montparnesse?" She, of course, giggled and told us that we were right underneath it. We followed the path around a corner and looked up to see a monolithical structure. Of course we were impressed by the sheer size of the building, but one couldn't help but to think of how ugly and serious it looked. You will read it is mainly dominated by offices, but when you enter the building, you don't see anything of this. I think we paid about £35 for my father and I to travel up the tower, which was reasonable, compared to the price of ascending the more famous Eiffel Tower. We were then directed to the lifts; they boasted that they could travel up the 56 floors in just 38 seconds. They stuck to their word and sure enough, the lift pinged and the doors slid open.
We entered into a large open area; in front of us being a small gift store and all around us, large, tinted glass windows. We approached the windows and the panoramic views became evident. We could see everything that we would have liked to see: the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower and la Grande Arche at La Defense to name a few. We spent a good half an hour taking in the spectacular views and using the features that were provided: binoculars, quiz games and many others. The gift store was horrifically overpriced as was expected; all attractions like towers charge extortionate fees for their products. The mistake that I mentioned earlier was the time we went up there; we were up there just before dusk, so it was not clear, but there weren't any night lights on so that we could see the attractions of the city lit up. We were quite upset, but I guess we should have thought in advance.
After being asked to take several photos of groups, we zoomed back down the high-speed lift, boarded the next metro and found our way back to Bussy-Saint-George, which was where our hotel was.
I think that going up the tower was a good experience. It is the cheaper alternative to the Eiffel Tower and offers the same main advantage: views over the whole of the city. However, the building lacked the magic of the Eiffel Tower; it was bland and dull, the staff were uninviting and the gifts and services were overpriced. However, if you go to a place that is second best, it is bound to have advantages: it wasn't very busy and the metro was very quick and painless. I am giving the experience 4/5 because I don't think it really had the X factor that the Tour Eiffel has, but it was certainly reasonable and provided what we wanted for a better price.
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Advantages: best view of Paris from the roof top, easy access, shopping center nearby Disadvantages: a little expensive to go up, not the best architectural piece in Paris
Advantages: best view of Paris from the roof top, easy access, shopping center nearby Disadvantages: a little expensive to go up, not the best architectural piece in Paris
Advantages: perfect city to be inspired by architecture, culture, shopping and fine cuisine Disadvantages: just too many tourists, hope this review wont bring too many extra ones
From_The_Continent 18.03.2001 (24.03.2001)
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