Hello everyone! Finally we are going to take a look at the symbol of Paris – Eiffel Tower today! If you think it’s just a tower and you just need to go up and have a look at the city, then I’m afraid your visit to Eiffel Tower is not so romantic. In my opinion, you can spend a whole day from morning to evening, in and around it, trying to figure out why it represents Paris now although its design was criticized by some leading artists initially.
As in my previous posts about Paris, I’ll give you a brief introduction first, (just in case you didn’t see them, if you have just skip the next two paragraphs) 😛
“Paris – the city of love. When I first arrived in Europe, the cities I always wanted to go are London and Paris, but I waited for more than two and a half years. I don’t know why I waited so long but fortunately I went there in May this year, finally. I have to admit, compared to other cities I’ve been to in Europe, Paris is huge. I wouldn’t suggest you explore the whole city by foot. Thanks to Paris public transportation, it is very convenient to go to most of the attractions by metro or bus, and to Versailles, by train.
I spent 5 days in Paris and I believed I made my travel plan pretty intense. However, I would’t say I’ve seen everything I wanted to see. Also, some of the places such as Louvre and Pantheon, I would definitely go and visit again. Well, I guess that’s because Paris is just not the city to be seen enough in one visit. The good thing is I’ve taken a glimpse of many places this time and when I come again I’ll know where to go. If you wanna take a close look at whole Paris, I would say your stay should be at least a week, or, just come back whenever you want to as Paris says, you’re always welcome.”
If you wanna know about Paris public transportation tickets, please click here to read about it in my other post “Paris – Louvre!”.
Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower is a wrought iron lattice tower named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. It is 324m tall and you can see it from a lot of other tourist attractions.
Constructed in 1889 as the entrance to the 1889 World’s Fair, it was initially criticized by some of France’s leading artists and intellectuals for its design, but it has become a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognisable structures in the world.
Around Eiffel Tower
As I said before, if you’re not in a hurry, I suggest that you can spend a whole day visiting the tower and wandering around. However, if you wanna make nice pictures, I suggest you visit Champ de Mars (or that area) in the morning and Palais de Chaillot (or that area) in the afternoon, due to the direction of the sun.
Champ de Mars
Palais de Chaillot
It looks so beautiful at dusk from Palais de Chaillot. As for night, I think it doesn’t matter. You can take nice photos from both places. 🙂
In Eiffel Tower
Unfortunately you can not use the museum pass for Eiffel Tower and the line during busy season is very, very, very long, especially for people who wanna take the lift. (In general, the line for stairs is shorter and moves quicker than the line for lift.) Also, check carefully which line is for which pillar and which pillar is for lift and which is for stairs. Don’t stand in the wrong line……
There are four floors in Eiffel Tower in total, the ground floor (ticket office and entrance mainly), the first floor, the second floor and the top. Remember, there are two ways of going up, either by foot or by lift. However, by foot, you can only reach the second floor and then if you wanna go to the top you need to buy extra ticket by lift.
Opening hours
The Eiffel Tower is open every single day of the year! However, for specific opening hours for stairs and lift please click here.
Rates
For various tickets (by walk or by lift, to the second floor or to the top, reduced price), please click here.
If you are afraid of waiting in the line for hours, please click here, you can buy your ticket online. However, you can only choose to take a lift. Tickets for taking stairs are only sold on site.
As I didn’t want to wait in the long line for the lift, I only visited 3 floors and didn’t go to the top. However, I think the view is the best on the second floor, and you can basically already see everything around. Careful, taking the stairs (704 steps) might be thrilling for those who are afraid of height.
The Floors
- Ground floor: info desk, souvenir shop, cash point, 1899 lift machinery
- 1st floor: transparent floor, immersion show, cultural path, educational circuit for children, souvenir shop, bar and WC,
- 2nd floor: souvenir shop, restaurant,
- top: panoramic maps, a model of Eiffel tower, Gustave Eiffel’s office, champagne bar
If you want know more about what are on each floor please click here.
Galeries Lafayette
Even if you’re not going shopping, it’s worth having a look if you walk by.
Palais Garnier (Opera House)
The Palais Garnier has been called “probably the most famous opera house in the world, a symbol of Paris like Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, or the Sacré Coeur Basilica.” This is at least partly due to its use as the setting for Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel “The Phantom of the Opera” and, especially, the novel’s subsequent adaptations in films and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s popular 1986 musical.
However, unfortunately, due to insufficient time, I didn’t go inside to have a look, but according to the pictures I saw online it’s really spectacular. I suggest if you have time, make it on your list.
- For more info about opening hours please click here.
- For more info about tickets please click here.
- If you wanna know how it looks inside, please click here to check the official website.
Finally! This is the end of my trip to Paris. As you can see from my 5 posts, there are so many things that missed and so many places that I feel I didn’t spend enough time in. However, it’s for sure that I’ll go back. Maybe at that time, you’ll also be in Paris. 🙂
Trust me, it’s absolutely different to explore those place in Paris from reading my posts about them.
So, see you there.
