Paris1972-Versailles2003

Ok so even if other posts, let me update this one showing the extra security measures now around the Tour Eiffel. I have my world HQ office just around the corner and need to walk in front of it every month in better times. Hope you enjoy the post.

This is the icon/symbol of Paris for whatever you think of it. Even trying to persuade folks to go elsewhere, they keep coming back here. Even with security barriers that looks like a war zone, people keeps coming back. It is Paris after all, it is the Eiffel tower!! As a disclaimer, the last time I was up was in 2005 when I went with an association of my profession that celebrated its 35th  anniversary there. Before that, yes of course even with the family. However, never again, I believe that Paris has a lot more than the Eiffel tower, but , anyway, I will tell you about it for the diehards lol!!!

 

I like to tell you now a bit of history I like.

The tour Eiffel is a steel tower of 324 meters high with antennas at the extreme northwest of the parc du Champ-de-Mars bordering the Seine river in the 7éme arrondissement/district.It was built by Gustave Eiffel for the Universal Exposition of Paris in 1889.  It had originally 312 meters high and remained the tallest building in the world for forty years.  The second level of the third platform sometimes call the 4th level at 279 meters is the highest observation deck in the European Union and second highest in all of Europe.  The tower is set on a square of 125 meters on the side and a height of 324 meters with its 120 antennas and 33,5 meters above sea level. The two pylons on the side of the école militaire rest on a cement base of 2 meters that itself rest on a bed of gravel with a well of 7 meters deep. The two pylons on the side of the Seine river are below the level of the river. The base with its four pylons are house in subterranean squares of 25 meters on each side and 4 meters high with a steel bed and compressed cement stones. There are arches between each pylon at 39 meters high above the floor with a diameter of 74 meters.

On the first level located at 57 meters high with 4200 square meters of surface with a circular gallery that allows you a 360 degree view of Paris. This first level has the restaurant 58 tour Eiffel that extends on two levels with a view on one side of Paris and the other on the interior of the tower. This is where we had our lunch ,but I ate lunch here even before when it was called Altitude 95!!.

The second level is at 125 meters with an area of 1650 square meters. Here in 1986 was created the restaurant Jules Verne  (which I booked dinner for my boss while in Fl USA way back) It was handled by Alain Ducasse and now you have Frédéric Anton as chef. You go up exclusively on the south pilar elevator/lift.

The third level is at 276 meters with an area of 350 square meters. The access is done by elevator/lift and gives to an enclosed space with orientation tables. You climb a few steps you arrived at an exterior platform sometimes call the 4th level arriving at 279 meters.  There is the Champagne Bar!

The upper level has sort of a wax museum showing Gustave Eiffel welcoming Thomas Edison that made think this was the work office of Gustave Eiffel but the historical reality is that it was a meteorological laboratory  and then a testing room. The wax museum can be seen from the outside. Also on the upper level floor there is a model of the top of the tower from 1889, made at a scale of 1 / 50th. Painted in the original color of the tower, “red brown”, it allows everyone to rediscover the initial architecture of the period.

You can discover the gardens around the Tour Eiffel, these have been walked by them almost every month as my world HQ is very near. You can discover the belvedere on the side of allée Jean Paulhan, follow the paths that will lead you there (from the paths coming from entrance 2 to the east or from exit 2 to the north). Also, perched on a rock near the basin, its design melts it into nature and offers you an ideal space to admire and photograph the Eiffel Tower. There is a cave in the west garden on the Allée des Refuzniks side. Adorned with a small waterfall that flows into the basin, it guarantees you a bucolic atmosphere! Just above, in addition to the unique perspective on the tower, the belvedere of the hill offers a refreshing break in the shade in the event of high heat. Among the many trees in the garden, don’t miss the superb bicentennial plane tree, planted in 1814 and 20 meters high! You can contemplate it near exit 2 (West) to end your visit to the Eiffel Tower.

You can see the names of the 72 scientists arranged on the frieze of the four facades of the Eiffel Tower. Gustave Eiffel as a tribute inscribed these 72 scientists men of science. Disappeared during a painting campaign at the turn of the century, they were restored in 1986 and 1987.  The new antenna culminates the Eiffel Tower at a height of 320.75 meters. In 2000, a new UHF (Ultra High Frequency) antenna led to a modification of the height of the Tower, which rose to 324 meters. There are a total of 120 antennas up with 45 TV Channels and 32 radio stations. To our days , all TV from here is numeric. The management of the tour Eiffel is handle by the Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE) webpage: https://sete.toureiffel.paris/en

The official site for the Eiffel tower: https://www.toureiffel.paris/en

The Paris tourist office on Eiffel tower: https://en.parisinfo.com/paris-museum-monument/71062/La-tour-Eiffel

And there you got the wrap up on the Tour Eiffel, nevertheless a symbol of Paris and France for that matter or whatever… Hope you enjoy the post as I. And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!