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Published: July 18th 2012
La Tour Eiffel
Tuesday we toured the Eiffel Tower. The weather was the best we've had all trip. Mid 70's, bright and sunny with just a little wind. It was certainly a pleasant change, since we've had more rain than not on this trip. We definitely didn't expect to get that much rain in France and Belgium. In talking with a tour guide we hired for a horse and buggy ride in Brugges she said this has been an un-usually wet summer. But I guess it just makes us appreciate the sun all the more. It really hasn't slowed us down much at all. We have our rain jackets and umbrellas - so we just make the best of it.
Anyway, back to the Eiffel Tower. There is a new on-line reservation system that allows you to book a 30 minute window to arrive for the tour. I think it's a relatively new system - new in the last year or so. It worked great! We made our reservation for 9AM Tuesday morning and printed our tickets and headed out the door bright and early.
We took the metro, which has really been great
and easy to use. Although we hit the station at 8:30 which is peak time for commuters. So the train was packed shoulder to shoulder for part of the ride. We arrived at our station a few minutes before 9 and had a short walk from there.
There was a line a couple hundred yards long snaking back and forth across the entry court yard as we approached, but we were able to bypass all of that and stand in line with perhaps 20 or 30 people who had the 9 AM appointment with us. We're very thankful the guidebook we're using recommended booking an appointment. It was a huge time savings and made the whole experience much more enjoyable.
There are 3 stages to the Eiffel tower. The main elevator takes you to the second stage and then stops at the first stage on the way down. There's a second elevator from the second to third stage for those who want to go all the way to the top. That's another ticket and another line to stand in. Genevieve and I decided to ride to the top. Charlotte and Madeleine checked out the
second stage. The view from the top, about 280 meters up was amazing. You can see many of the major sites, and the length of the river as it runs through town. It gives you a totally new perspective on the city. From the second stage, you're still high up enough to see all the sights and they are actually more recognizable from the lower height. The pictures we took from the second stage actually came out better than the ones from the top.
After coming down from our tour we walked along the Champs de Mars, a large rectangular park at the base of the tower. We were actually in this park for the fireworks show on Bastille day a few days prior.
After strolling through Champs de Mars and enjoying the beautiful weather, we walked to the nearby Rue Cler neighborhood. It was lined with small shops; bakers, pastry shops, a butcher and small boutiques. We stopped at a cafe and had lunch before heading back. A great day out...
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London
non-member comment
Love the Eiffel tower!