Tour Eiffel

May 1st is Labor Day in France -- a national holiday. It’s also Sunday. As a result, many things are closed and those that are open are especially crowded. One of the things you can now do is purchase Eiffel Tower tickets online ahead of time. Just pick the day and time and print the tickets at home and at the appointed hour, you get to enter the queue for the elevator ride up. The downside is you don’t know what the weather is going to be. Fortunately, we bought our tickets before we left as the lines to purchase tickets were unbelievably long. I heard one of the employees say it was a minimum two-hour wait just to purchase tickets to then get in the queue.

The weather was gorgeous and clear. Our day at Sacre Coeur was very hazy so this was a big improvement. There are three levels and you ride one elevator up to the first two floors and then take a separate elevator to the summit. Our lines were relatively short and we were able to have the entire experience in about 2 1/2 hours including standing in line waiting for the elevators for both directions.

View of the Eiffel Tower from the Trocadero

The views from up top were just as spectacular. It was crystal clear and we could see for miles. At the end of the day, we took a river cruise along the Seine and were able to see it lit up at night from the river.

Nightime view from the Seine