The Eiffel Tower Review

Bottom-Line: If you are planning a trip to Paris, France, do put the Eiffel Tower on your list of must visits if only to say you touched it. 

There is a reason Paris, France is often called the "City of Lights," and heralded as "the" place for lovers and aspiring artists and writers; the city is without a doubt one of the most, if not the most beautiful city in world.  The only city in my mind that can rival it in old-world architectural splendor, charm and soul calming inspiration, is Vienna, Austria, which I also love and have had the pleasure of visiting, but regretfully only once.

I have had occasion to visit Paris twice in my lifetime, and each time I was awe struck by the city.  I love the old-world architecture; the ornate facades, the intricate stone carving, and exacting attention to detail in every aspect of most of the city's older building is astounding.  Walking alone either bank of the river Seine on a warm sunny day sampling the beverages at the various outdoor cafes, or stopping to gaze at the work of artists that line the left bank, crossing one of the ornate bridges that span this most famous of rivers will inspire even the most dormant and hidden of talents.  You will be compelled to write, or draw, or paint, or compose!  It is in Paris that I first tried my hand at writing for myself, and for the joy of it, and the words poured forth like water from one of the many ornate fountains that call Paris home.  How could I do otherwise in a city seemingly built by artist and artisans?

But I digress; we are here to speak of the tower, the Eiffel Tower... 

No visit to Paris is complete without visiting the Eiffel Tower, that seemingly out of place black iron monstrosity that dominate the Paris landscape.  According to Microsoft Encarta Reference Library 2005, the Eiffel Tower is a wrought-iron tower and an early example of wrought-iron construction on a gigantic scale. It was designed and built by the French civil engineer Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel for the Paris World's Fair of 1889. The tower, without its modern broadcasting antennas, is 984 ft (300 m) high. The lower section consists of four immense arched legs set on masonry piers. The legs curve inward until they unite in a single tapered tower. Platforms, each with an observation deck, are at three levels; on the first is also a restaurant. The tower, constructed of about 6300 metric tons (about 7000 tons) of iron, has stairs and elevators. A meteorological station, a radio communications station, and a television transmission antenna, as well as a suite of rooms that were used by Eiffel, are located near the top of the tower.

I visited the Eiffel Tower for the first time on my second visit to Paris some seven years ago, but I can still remember the experience as if it happened yesterday.  In visiting the Tower might I suggest a boat ride down the river Seine, which will let you off at the foot of the structure.  We visited on a sunny but cool afternoon at the tail end of July.  There was a line waiting for us, but it was not overly long; we were able to get into the Eiffel Tower in less than 30 minutes.  That doesn't mean that it wasn't crowed, it was, and that took away from the enjoyment of the visit.  We were whisked to the highest observation point, but it was hard to truly appreciate the spectacular panoramic view of the city because once again the crush of humanity was a constant irritant.  There was a lot of jousting for the too few binoculars, and the view was somewhat obscured by the high railing that wrapped around the deck. 

If you are planning a trip to Paris, France, do put the Eiffel Tower on your list of must visits.  The official website of the Eiffel Tower is: (http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/home_jour.html); it's a great web site and defiantly worth a visit before you travel to Paris. The site contains all you would ever want to know about the Eiffel Tower including ticket prices, history, facts & figures.