Paris - Day One - Arrival and the Eiffel Tower

In November, we took a trip to Paris, home of arts, shopping, culture, cuisine and really good croissants. We were to spend eight nights in the city and had a full itinerary planned. So let's begin.

Riding in comfort on the train to Paris

We chose to make the trip by train with a stopover in Barcelona for one night. We could have done it all in one day, but that would have ended up being a very long day on the train and we decided against that. Both legs of the trip were comfortable and uneventful.

Arriving in Paris in the mid-afternoon, we took a taxi to our hotel (the Victoria Palace Hotel) and settled in a bit before heading out to explore.

Our first destination was the Eiffel Tower. We had tried to book tickets a few weeks in advance but could not find openings for tickets to the top. We noticed that slots seem to open up a few days prior so we kept checking and were able to book for our first night in Paris.

The tower, of course, was built for the 1889 Paris World’s Fair. Although the tower bears Gustav Eiffel’s name, it was designed by Maurice Koechlin and Émile Nouguier, two senior engineers working for Eiffel’s company, the Compagnie des Établissements Eiffel.

It stands 330 meters (1,083 feet) tall and was once the tallest structure in the world.

As we approached the tower, we were treated to the sparkling light show that occurs hourly. After passing through security, we wandered around the base for a while until it was our scheduled time to ascend.

Kind of hard to see, but this is the elevator ascending the leg of the tower.

The tower is accessible by both elevators and stairs, and we chose the mechanical option. The elevators in the legs rotate as they ascend so that the passengers remain upright during the trip. Once you get to the second level of the tower you then need to proceed to another set of elevators to reach the top.

A view of the plaza we had approached from.

Paris, the city of light.

At the top you are treated to a panoramic view of the city from the enclosed platform. We poked our heads up to the unenclosed platform above it and quickly retreated due to the high winds. We were not really dressed for that kind of weather.

After spending some time on the platform, we descended again to the second level and then decided to walk down the 674 stairway steps to the bottom.

Leaving the tower, we found a place to eat dinner, then headed back to the hotel for our first night’s sleep in Paris.

Bonsoir.