Tour Eiffel and its views

Here it is -the Eiffel tower, constructed by Gustav Eiffel and completed for the World Fair in 1889. Probably the world's most famous towering monument. There were plans to tear it down when the world fair was over, but most Parisians liked it so much (even though some hated it) that they kept it as anobservation tower. Nowadays it is also a TV tower. The height is 324 m with TV mast and 300m without. But it has just three floors totally! Actually this isn´t Europe´s tallest structure, because there are two TV towers in Germany (Berlin and Frankfurt) plus a few chimneys that are taller. And it is not actually considered a building, more as a monument. But if you consider Tour Eiffel a building (and the TV towers not as buildings) it is the tallest. And it is also the tallest monument in the world. To get up we had to queue for at least one hour in 3 different and complicated lines. It costed about 12 euros in June 2006 to get to the top.

I have also been on top in June 2000, but then all the pictures get destroyed. But not this time, so enjoy!

Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel) is Europe's tallest structure, but cannot be counted as a building. It is 324m to the top of the antenna and 300m to the top of the roof. If the Eiffel Tour is the most recognizable symbol of France, French toast may one of the best known "French" foods. The truth is that French toast did not even originate in France. There are still plenty of places to try French toast in Paris though. Sampling French toast in Paris will be an eye-opening experience after the usual French toast from scratch recipe you are used to having. If you have never made French toast from scratch, you can follow this easy recipe to learn how to make French toast at home.


It was built in 1889 for the world fair and drawn by the legendary architect Gustave Eiffel. It was planned that the tower should be torn down after the fair, but after large protests the plans where, luckily, stopped. It was the tallest structure in the world between 1889 and 1930.




The 4 entrances are in the 4 feet. When standing just beneath the tower, you can feel how huge it is.






It is 58m, the same height as a 19-storey building, to that roof beneath what is counted as the first floor. To the 2nd roof it is 116m, the same height as a 37-storey building. Width: 125m. Length:130m.


Eiffel Tower is situated close to River Seine, on the edge of Parc du Champ de Mars.


Palais de Chaillot with its 2 curved buildings is situated opposite form Tour Eiffel.


Towards Champ de Mars and Tour Montparnasse.


Dubbel decked elevators took us obliquely upwards to the 1st or the 2nd floor. We were riding this to the 2nd floor, where the lower observation deck is.






Details and views seen from the elevator.

Views from the lower observation deck:

Now we are on the outdoor observation deck on the 2nd floor on 116m height (about the height of a 30-storey building. It has 2 levels and a restaurant called Jules Verne.


Palais de Chaillot with La Défense in the background.


La Défense skyline zoomed in. That is where we were a couple of hours earlier.


Hotel Concorde Lafayette (France´s tallest and largest hotel) towering above lowrises.


Arch of Triumph at Place d l'Etoile.


Montmartre and Sacré-Coeur.


Looking up to the top from the 2nd floor.


The mechanism that drives the elevator.


Hôtel des Invalides with its dome.


Towards the bridges of Seine with a highrise cluster in the background.


Champ du Mars walking towards Ecole Militaire with Tour Montparnasse in the background.


People looking above Paris.




Architectural details of Eiffel Tower.




Seine just southwest of Eiffel Tower. The curved building in the first photo is the modern Maison de Radio-France.


Highrises skyline at Quai de Grenelle at Seine close to the Eiffel Tower. The highrises are 100m tall and there is a copy of the Statue of Liberty beneath them.


People are pointing at Sacre-Coeur. The cluster to the right is close to Parc de Buttes-Chamont.


The elevator shaft.


A football game on the ground.

Now a vertical elevator, with glass in the doors and in the roof so we can look out, is taking us to the top, or at least to the observation deck closest to the top of the Eiffel Tower. It is going pretty fast and we can see the ground disappering as we are going closer to the sky.


Looking up…






…and out from the elevator.

Views from the highest observation deck:

These are the views from the top, at the highest observation deck in Europe. It is only the 3rd floor of Eiffel Tower, but is situated on a height of 276m.There is both an outdoor and an indoor observation deck. I prefer the one outdoors.


Here you can clearly see a V shaped pattern, created by famous architects as Hausmann. Just below is Palais de Chaillot and the huge Bois de Boulogne, the large park/forest of Paris is divideing La Défense from the city.


Palais de Chaillot looks very small from here…


…and so does La Défense…


..even with a zoom.


River Seine.


Looking right below on Champ de Mars makes people look like ants.


Looking up to the mast. In year 2000, the same year as I was up there last time, 5m was added to the height, because a new antenna was installed.


Quai de Grenelle from a higher level. Tour Cristal and Novotel are among the tall buildings there.


The same football stadium as seen before, now much smaller.


Gustave Eiffel, the architect behind the tower, had a small apartment on this place of the tower. Talk about view!


Looking down, 2 of its feet, and Seine is visible.




A closer look on the feet.


Well, this is how it actually looked like before editing. I was putting my camera down above the edge of the observation deck to take this photo. When I looked I discovered all these cigarette buts, thrown from the top by tourists. Note that the people looks much smaller than the cigarretts.




Hôtel des Invalides with its dome again.


The indoor observation deck.


Tour Montparnasse with the skyline of Tours Les Olympiades in the background.


Details and signs high above Arch of Triumph.




Looking up the elevator shaft.


This is the mechanism that drives the lower elevator.


A statue of Gustave Eiffel at the foot.


After getting down the Eiffel Tower, we were walking along Champ de Mars towards Ecole Militaire to see…


Eiffel Tower from a distance.

Invalides

This is the area around Hôtel des Invalides, not so far from Tour Eiffel.


The Dôm des Invalides. We were heading towards our hotel with the metro, but stopped by there to see the golden dome, "the golden roof of the sun king".


Hôtel des Invalides. The exterior is 196m long and it was completed in 1676. Napoleon is buried here. It was used as a military hospital several times. There is a chapel, gardens and a military museum in the complex now and the district around it is called Invalides after the building.


A museum by Seine, probably Galerie Nationale.