Today was the big one. Today was the most iconic of all Paris’ landmarks, the Eifel Tower. We purposefully avoided it yesterday, although it peeped over the top of the typical Parisian roofs a few times, distant and hazy. It must be because it features in almost every image of the city, on every postcard, on every website, that people associate it as Paris. Imagine if it wasn’t there – what would signify the French capital? It’s true, the city has more than its fair share of landmark and well-known buildings, but it’s the 300-metre tall tower that is the most revered.
The Eifel Tower is Paris. What would the city be without it?
Nik had said that the best place to see the iron lady for the first time was looking across from Trocadéro, and he was right. Walking up the steps from the Metro, you know it’s there, hiding behind the Cité de l’Architecture. Then you walk around the corner, and BANG, there she is, all 10,100 tonnes of her. Reaching up to the sky, she really is an impressive sight, standing astride the Champs-de-Mars like a graceful silhouette.
Best seen from Trocadéro, Gustav Eifel’s iconic tower casts a graceful silhouette over the city
After taking pictures, we crossed the river once more, and climbed the 700 stairs (and the 18 to the second-tier lift platform) to the tower’s second viewing platform. Around halfway up, the city looks microscopic spread out panoramically before you. It’s fun to spot the other famous landmarks that look so small – the Sacré-Coeur and the skyscraper district of La Défense surreally so. It really is a privilege being allowed to climb inside the tower, and it is deservedly one of the world’s most romantic locations. I loved it.
The distant panoramic view from the Eifel Tower looking towards Montmartre
Heading north east for an afternoon in Montmartre, we enjoyed a baguette lunch en route at Esplanade des Invalides and watched the worldly wise of the city play pétanque (or boule to us English). That’s one thing about Paris I’ve noticed – wherever you go, a quiet street is never far away, not like in London. I was hoping that Montmartre would be the same.
Busy with tourists, the Sacré-Coeur sits majestically top the Butte Montmartre
It is quiet, but not in terms of tourists. The square at the top of the hill was more than bustling with nationals from all countries, all fodder for the portrait painters and mussel-serving café owners. Montmartre is most famous for the film Amélie, which used locations in the area, and the big screen depicts it as a quaint and quiet place, with its cobbled streets and pavement cafés. The reality this afternoon was somewhat different, but it’s still a beautiful place. The Sacré-Coeur sits atop the 130-metre high hill – the highest point of the city – and is equally beautiful inside, and quite moving too, if you toured it during a service as we did.
The legend that is the Moulin Rouge dates from 1889
Catching the Moulin Rouge in the sleazy district of Pigalle on the way back down the hill, we headed to the Latin Quarter for quick and cheap eats. We had another rendezvous with the tower, but this time in the dark for night time pictures. Every hour, on the hour, for 10 minutes, a light show takes place with thousands of white flashing bulbs, which zizz and chase up and down the sodium-lit structure.
Glittering light show at the Eifel Tower is a must-see
We almost didn’t make it, having to run through the Jardins du Trocadéro and up the steps to the balcony where we’d seen the tower 12 hours before, bathed in beautiful spring sunlight. But make it we did, and standing there with the small crowd of onlookers and the flashing neon souvenir sellers, only one word sums it up – magical.
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