So yeah. The Eiffel Tower is pretty cool. Our apartment was about a ten minute walk away. We had a nice view from our kitchen window. It was nice to watch it sparkle on the hour in the evenings from the comfort of our lodgings.
The tower is beautiful. The park in front of it...eh, not so much. Like most "gardens" in Paris, the walkways are not paved. They are sandy walkways that dust up your shoes. Plus, tons of vendors will walk up to you trying to pitch "Champagne and Beer?" over and over again. Lots of guys selling illicit souvenirs. While we were in Paris last week the police busted a ring that was selling 2 tons of miniature Eiffel Towers as souvenirs. Maybe I was naive, seen too many movies and seen too many photos...but it was pretty tourist trappy around the Eiffel.
But the tower itself...amazing. Get on the actual grounds and leave that stuff behind. We had a timed entry ticket ordered stateside for the morning. We breezed through security. Took the elevator all the way to the top. The views are staggering. I'm not usually afraid of heights but I was feeling a bit nervy as we made our ascent. But man, what a view.
Climbing stairs to other levels of the Eiffel was also fun. You were literally in the middle of things. Total immersion in the monument.
As with everything, getting there early and prepared makes for a much better experience. Already having our tickets and having them for a timed arrival in the morning made all the difference. There were still a lot of people but we beat a lot of the crowds. Made the whole thing much more enjoyable.
