After visiting the Foire du Trône, I made my way to the centre of Paris to have something to eat at the local Hard Rock Café near the – at least in the francophone world very well known – waxworks museum Musée Grévin. In the immediate vicinity there are three really beautiful shopping arcades of the 19th century, Passage Jouffroy, Passage Verdeau and Passage des Panoramas, which invite you to go on a discovery tour.
Since I like to look at Paris from above on every of my visits, I went to Gare Montparnasse on Daniel’s (lacront at onride.de) advice to try out the viewing platform of the Tour Montparnasse. Thanks to the Paris Visite ticket, a visit to the platform is supposed to be quite affordable, but 25% discount on an entrance fee of 18€ was not worth it in the end. Instead, I decided to visit my favourite framework construction.
From the Champ de Mars it is only a short walk to the Eiffel Tower. The tower, which is now completely fenced in, can be reached after a security check. Since I only wanted to get to the second floor anyway and the lifts that were in operation were overcrowded, I decided to climb up the tower on foot. As expected, there was nothing going on here. After buying the tickets and another security check the ascent could start right away. It falls easily from the hand and at some point the first floor is reached. Because of the lower crowd it is worthwhile to stay here for a while and have a look at all the boards and other media. The view is outstanding even from this level.
One level higher, you could see all the people who wanted to get to the top in the second lift and thus were queuing. Meanwhile I allowed myself an espresso and while waiting in the queue I was entertained by a very target-oriented “non” from the saleswoman to an Indian who had just tried to pay with a $100 note. After I took one or two photos up here as well, I went back down to the first floor and enjoyed the moment a little.
In the meantime it was already 9 pm and I slowly wanted to go back to Torcy. As I left the Eiffel Tower grounds, the rain was getting heavier and heavier and suddenly the flying Eiffel Tower merchants besieging the exit of the tower became experts for umbrellas. I did without, but unfortunately I reached the railway soaking wet and dripping. At 11 pm I was back at the hotel.
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