Travel By Photos – The Magnificent Eiffel Tower of Paris

The symbolic structure in Paris as well as France, Eiffel Tower is one of the most prominent travel attraction in the world where millions of tourists flock in here to witness this superb man made iron structure each year. Having the fact that it was designed and constructed in the 19th century or 1889 by engineer Gustave Eiffel (so now you know where its name came from), this 324m high (equivalent to about 90-storey building) mega structure is truly a magnificent architecture even in today’s standard.

Whenever you go to Paris, Eiffel Tower must be included in your travel itinerary. It shouldn’t be missed also from far as it is the highest building in Paris. Located in the Champ De Mars huge green park area and beside the River Seine, it is reachable by either Metro (subway), RER commuter train, bus or even walking, if you are fit and willing to walk for 2KM from another landmark of Paris, the Triumphal Arch.

If you are taking bus No.42 from Triumphal Arch or METRO Line No.6, like I did, you should drop off at Trocadero station and walk towards the Palais de Chaillot. Within a short stroll, you will reach a wide esplanade in between 2 winds of the Palace on top of Trocadero Hill which is one of the best view point of Eiffel Tower.

Aligned perfectly in a straight line in between Palace de Chaillot, Champ De Mars and Maritime Museum is the Eiffel Tower. Crowds are flocking into this esplanade to view the tower in full especially night hours when there is lighting display which starts at 10pm. Black people are seen walking or squatting around trying to sell tourists the souvenirs such as miniature Eiffel Tower.

Another view from the fountain garden at Palaice De Chaillot.

… and another view…

… and another view. This photo was shot with warm colour temperature and White Balance to create a nostalgic mood.

To Get to the tower from Trocadero Hill and Palaice de Chaillot, you can walk down to the D’Lena Bridge, crossing the River Seine then 2 traffic lights and you are there at the bottom of the tower. Otherwise you can also book a Seine River Cruise to cruise along the river from Eiffel Tower to Champs-Elysees.

Black people are everywhere selling souvenirs, even along the Ponte D’lena.

A view at Seine River from the bridge facing North East.

A view at Seine River from the bridge facing South West. This photo was shot much later in the evening when we crossed back the bridge to have our dinner at Trocadero.

Panoramic view of Eiffel Tower from its bottom. Again, look at those guys selling souvenir packs of Eiffel Tower.

Part of the tower was covered with safety netting in conjunction with its regular maintenance process. Though the massive steel structure is still clearly visible.

There were comparatively less crowds in early Summer.

Ticketing counters to go up the tower. There are 3 levels available for visitors to go up. 1st and 2nd levels consists of a restaurant and are reachable by either walking up via staircase or taking a lift up. Prices are 8.10Euro for a lift up to 2nd floor and 13.10Euro to roof top per adult. You still need to pay 4.30Euro to walk up. 🙁 Huge crowds are always seen queuing up in front of the ticket counters. The better bet would be getting the Eiffel Tower tickets online ahead of your travel.

North, West and East pillars are where you can take the lift up to second floor. From 2nd floor, you can take another lift up to the roof top at 276m high!

Can you read French? Opening hours are from 9:30Am till 11:45PM. Last admittance is 11:00PM for the escalator and 6:00PM for stairs. (During Summer time the opening hours are being extended to from 9AM until 0:45AM midnight)

A different angle of view from bottom of East Pillar.

Lining up straight with Eiffel Tower is Champ de Mars huge garden extending from the tower to Maritime Museum at the far end.

Another angle of view at the D’lena Bridge with Palaice de Chaillot in the background.

The most beautiful moment of Eiffel Tower is at night. The esplanade of Palaice de Chaillot is the best spot to set up your tripod and shoot photos of it.

I’m not sure whether this is prohibited or copyrighted. Before I’m ordered to take it down from this post, take a look at the above photo showing the beautiful glimmering light display of Eiffel Tower that starts at 10PM every night! A must see in Paris.

Click HERE to view full all above photos in full size with high resolution format.

In order to have both worlds of seeing the Eiffel Tower at day and also the glimmering light display as night, plan your itinerary well in such a way that you reach the tower in the evening hours and stay until sunset. Following the recent fear and twice false alarms on terrorists bomb attacks, I hope Paris policemen could further strengthen the security in and around the area. 🙁 – Travel Feeder, your ultimate travel photo blog.

What’s my verdict?

• Attractiveness: Excellent √  √  √ √ √
• Features to explore: Excellent √ √  √ √ √
• Photo Opportunity: Excellent √ √  √  √ √
• Accessability: Good √  √  √  √
  
• Affordability: Average √  √  √

• Overall Travel Score : 88%

• Verdict: There are so many photo taking opportunity at the tower, on higher floors as well as at its surrounding. Reaching there is fairly easy by all types of public transport as well as walking from Triumphal Arch. Entrance fees are quite steep but still worth to go up to the roof top to view the Paris cityscape. However, huge crowds are drawn into the site every day especially during Summertime and extreme long queue to go up stairs could not be avoided. – Travel Feeder