Eiffel’s Enduring Symbol

Today, it’s a popular place to visit. Put it on your list of musts!   Address & Getting there Found at the River end of the Champs-de-Mars. Walk across the Pont d’Alma for best views. Ecole Militaire is beyond the Champs in the distance. The best metro stop is Trocodero or Bir Hakiem Bus: 42, 69, 72, 82 to Champ-de-Mars Hours Apr-Mar. 9:30 – 11 PM Summer: 9 AM –midnight   Minimum time to Allow: Once you’re there, allow 10-30 minutes in line for a ticket (more during holidays). Climbing to the top is possible or purchase double-decker elevator ticket. First level is 189 feet. (360 steps) SPACE CINEIFFEL (Cinemax)  for Audio visual panorama show Souvenir Shop & Post Office Restaurant “Altitude 95” Tel: 45 55 20 04 Second Level: 379 feet. (700 steps) Telescope panorama Shops & displays “Jules Verne” Restaurant (Expensive) Reservations only Tel: 45 55 61 44 Third Level: A must if you do not fear heights. Memorable View, day or night, 360 degrees and up to 45 miles. Displays and guide showing history. Accommodates 800 people   Parking Available on site   Statuary Next to the ticket kiosque is a golden bust of Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923) created by Antoine Bourdelle in 1930.   Cost: 1st floor elevator 3.70 euros Adult, 2.30 euros children under 12. 2nd floor: 7.00 euros Adult,  3.90 children 3rd floor  10.20 euros Adult  5.50 Children   On foot restricted to 2nd floor, 3.30 euros per person. Children free   GROUP RATES: www.tour-eiffel.fr   Interior: The two lower levels are quite spacious but the tower gets rapidly narrower as you rise. All along the view is spectacular even rising through the steel girders. At the top level there are telescopes to zero in on your favorite building or area. It is safe but could be frightening on a windy or crowded day. Note: There is a 4.75 inch sway caused by wind.  It could be very cold, especially at night. Dress accordingly.   SOME INTERESTING STATISTICS & FACTS:   . Some of the original lift mechanism is still in order . The tower took 2 years to build (1887-89) . Height varies according to temperature . It takes about 40 tons of paint to cover the girders every four years . Communications tower on top adds 20 meters . It attracted almost 2,000,000 visitors in 1889 . Total visitors in 2002 grew to over 6,000,000   There is certainly no other tower like it. Even the delicate design of the steel girders offers a pleasing view. Over the years the steel has been added to and the tower has been made stronger. Over the years there have also been publicity seekers who have done daring or foolish stunts in or on the tower. One man climbed the tower in 1954 like a mountain climber. Two men parachuted from the tip in 1984. The 1920s mayor of Montmarte rode a bicycle down from the first level and in 1911 a Parisian tailor unsuccessfully attempted to fly from the top using a modified pair of wings. He was dead before he reached the ground.   A series of spotlights highlight the tower which, when seen after dark or from a boat on the Seine, looks like sparkling lace. Slogans have hung from the tower or have lit up their messages. There was a countdown to the 21st century every night and both German and Cuban revolutionaries used the tower to advertise their cause. Even Greenpeace flew a banner saying ‘Save the Seals’.   Until 1931 when the Empire State building was completed, the tower was the highest structure in the world. This is no longer the case but it still is most famous and now the pride of all Paris.   People would take detours during the 19th century to avoid seeing it. Now they take detours in order to see it. I particularly like standing in the center of the structure at ground level and looking straight up. The design and depth is awesome. However, I don’t recommend that you look up for too long as the area is often rife with pick-pockets.   I love approaching or departing from the site at night by boat. It is as though the tower is moving in space and set against a black sky, illuminated silently as a beacon of hope.   Once considered useless and monstrous, it now stands as a testimony to French ingenuity and reminds us that man has always reached for the stars. Atop the Eiffel Tower you are just that much closer to heaven.