MJ and I have now been to Paris twice, and twice we refused to go up the Eiffel Tower! There are some pretty good reasons for this, a.) there are so many other things to do in Paris, especially museums and artworks, especially in the spring/summer when the weather outside is so nice. b.) It requires booking way in advance to get a ticket for the elevator ride to the second section viewing area of the tower, and even booking in advance to WALK up there. c.) MJ doesn't like climbing excessively. d.) there are beautiful views of Paris all around the city, and the thing with seeing Paris from the Eiffel Tower is you're missing one giant landmark in your view- the Eiffel Tower, because you're viewing from the tower. Can't see the beautiful lighting up of the tower at night when you're standing in the tower itself. I have the same philosophy about other landmarks in other cities: I don't advocate going up Seattle's "400-day miracle" Space Needle to view the city because it's a bit pricey and you don't actually get to see the Space Needle up there, Empire State Building, Sears Tower, etc.
Every city should have a huge landmark like the Eiffel Tower, a building that defines what it is and leaves an impression in visitors' minds, if only as part of a travel ad they click on to get them to come. Most tourists at least will know one thing about a city and make their decisions about whether to visit that city based on that impression, and if the Eiffel Tower's helping visitors lean towards coming, then it's really paying for itself over the long term. It's also a beautiful piece of architecture (spoken as someone who knows nothing about architecture) but it's really impressive watching from the bottom how different it is from most buildings and setting itself apart. MJ and I got up close from both directions, The Trocadero from across the Seine River as well as the Champ du Mars right underneath it, and it's very photogenic from any angle, but especially on a bright sunny day.
I'm a guy who values underrated things, and I do think the Arc du Triomphe is underrated by many, as it's almost forgotten in that part of the city (most of the other attractions are in a different part of the city). It's more part of the fabric of French history than Eiffel Tower is (Napolean ordered the building of it after his famous victory at the Battle of Austerlitz in 1806, but it didn't get completed until the 1830's by Louise Philippe! Talk about production delays. It's a reasonably amount of distance up, not a devastating flight of stairs (we even saw a lady wearing heels who walked up and down the stairs) and the view of the Champs d'Elysses and the Eiffel Tower as well as Montmartre in the distance really bring out the flavor of Paris, even more than a boat ride down the Seine or Big Bus tour through the city. It really made me feel the exciting vibes of being in a big city, and made me realize that there are only a few cities in the world that can feel like Paris does just due to the layout and population of the city (only one in U.S. that is comparable is NYC). Probably the only time during my 2 visits I wanted to shout "Vive le France!"
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