An Evening at the Eiffel Tower

Trip Start Apr 30, 2004

Trip End May 09, 2004

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Flag of France Paris, France
Sunday, May 2, 2004

Our own hotel has a fine looking restaurant, Le Jardin du Roi, with tables on the sidewalk. We decide to patronize it, as the menu looks good and it's within our price range. We still have not dared to explore the proper menu, and select from the set menu. I'm sure we are missing the best of French cuisine by doing this. Nevertheless, we stick by the tried and true for the moment, just like most of the other tourists are doing. It's a good repast with friendly service. But like all eating in France, it's not fast food, and we find that by the time we are ready to leave, we have probably lost our sunset.

We rush into the Metro, but although we have a direct line from Saint-Michel, the Eiffel Tower doesn't have its own metro stop, and we have to walk back from the Bir-Hakiem metro station. There is quite a long queue to purchase the €10.40 (US$ 12.80) three-stage tickets to get to the top

01. Eiffel Tower lit up.

. If you wish, you can walk up the stairs to the 2nd. floor for a paltry €3.50, none the less, you cannot take the 1665 stairs right to the top! All the attractions and restaurants up to now have accepted our Washington Mutual check card, and the Eiffel Tower will be no exception. http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/.

We ascend the first two floors on a huge lift that crawls up one of the tower's legs like a bug. It stops briefly on the first floor for the Altitude 95 Eiffel Tower Restaurant, then on up to the second floor. Here is the prestigious Jules Verne Restaurant, which has its own private lift on the south pillar. We are 125 metres (410 ft.) high, and the night view is already magnificent. We circle the viewing platform and the lights of Paris seem to stretch to infinity. It's also beginning to get chilly! We have to queue again here to continue to the top by small vertical lifts. At one point during our wait, the whole sky lights up as if we were in the middle of lightning. There is no noise, but it just keeps going on. We realize that the "lightning" is in fact the effects of thousands of white strobe lights flashing over the whole structure of the tower. Viewing it from afar, it is truly stunning. Open the website above and click in "The Sparkling Tower" to get an idea, though it is far more impressive being there than any photo can express.

We finally arrive at the top, 300 metres (almost 1,000 ft.). If the view over Paris from the 2nd. Floor was magnificent; the view from the top is just staggering. It's almost too much to take in. It is not unlike flying over a city in an aircraft prior to landing, but having an unobstructed and unmoving view. If it were not for the cold wind whipping through the open railings, we would have stayed all night

02. Eiffel Tower double lit.

.

The descent is rapid, and we decide to cross the Seine on the Pont d'Iena to view the lighting effects from the Palais de Chaillot http://www.parisdigest.com/monument/palaisdechaillot.htm. We are not alone, as there are dozens of people also waiting for the show. At eleven on the dot it starts. It is a magical sight, and one which is burnt on our memories. The brilliant strobe lights flash on and off in such as way as create a fairyland appearance of this magnificent monument. To top it all, the brilliant display is reflected in the ornamental pools below the Chaillot Palace. At ten past the hour, it stops, and we wend our way back to the nearest Metro station to end another truly spectacular day.