When we were in Paris 35 years ago, our tour took us up the Eiffel Tower at night but only to the second level. We went back during the day to go to the top but baulked at the length of the queue. Having not made last time, getting to the top was an objective for this trip. We figured Friday would be better than the weekend so we set out for the tower via the Paris Metro.
The Metro is rather easy to use. All the lines are numbered and all the interchanges refer to the lines by number as well as name so it is easy to work out where to go. The service is really regular during the day (about every 3-5 minutes depending on the line) and cheap. It only cost 12.50 Euro for a book of 10 tickets. To get to the Eiffel Tower, all we had to do was walk up to Villiers, catch a number 2 line train to Charles de Gaulle - Etolle where we changed to the number 6 line to Bir-Hakeim. The trains on the number 6 line (and some others) are quite unusual in that they run on pneumatic tyres with guide wheels rather like a guided bus.
We caught a first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower as we crossed the River Seine and pulled into the station. It was no surprise that just about everyone on the train with a camera in hand got off with us. We got to the base of the tower and the queues. One of the things we have noticed about Paris is that there information signage is good up to a point and then leaves you a bit puzzled. There was a huge queue waiting for the North Pillar elevator and it was going nowhere fast - you were probably going to be in that queue for 2-3 hours. The queue waiting at the East Pillar was much shorter (probably only an hour long) and as best as I could tell, either queue would get the same result. The difference? Everyone came to the North Pillar queue first and joined without looking any further afield.
As silly as that was, that wasn't the silliest thing. There was a special queue point for people with pre-booked tickets and there was no one in it... We had read about pre-purchasing tickets on the Internet in the cheap (5 pounds) Paris guide we nearly didn't buy before we left London and immediately decided that we would buy some tickets that night and put our time to better use. We walked over the Seine to the Right Bank, dodging all the junk souvenir sellers. They were set up on their square metre of carpet every 3 or 4 metres with the same range of junky and bling Eiffel Towers which no one was buying. The only redeeming feature was that they were not in your face trying to get you to buy their wares.
After consulting our map, we decided to head in the general direction of the Louvre. The Louvre was another of those places were saw from the outside 35 years ago but didn't go in. Anyway, it didn't look that far on the map until we checked the scale and realised that a bus was a must. You use the same tickets on the buses as you do for the Metro but you cannot mix modes i.e. a ticket validated on a bus can be used for up to 90 minutes on any bus but only on buses and a ticket validated on the Metro can only be used on the Metro.
So we went by bus alongside the Seine for a while but got off well short of the Louvre. It didn't really matter though because we got to see the Grand Palais and Petit Palais, the Hotel des Inalides in the distance, walk on the Champs Elysees and approach the Louvre through Jardin des Tuileries, a rather pleasant park. On arriving at the glass pyramid in the courtyard we found the queues rivaled those at the Eiffel Tower (we later found out that Friday is a bad choice of day because 18-25 years old get in for free but have to line up for tickets). As with the Eiffel Tower, there was an entrance for people with pre-purchased tickets so we decided not to waste our time in the queue and investigate the pre-purchase option.
So, leaving the crowds waiting, we continued our stroll along the Seine - now in the general direction of Notre Dame. We had noticed that near our hotel, there was a whole group of musical instrument shops. While it seemed a bit odd, it also made some sense that such specialist shops congregated in one area. As walked alongside the Seine, we were more surprised to find a whole group of pet shops beside each other and then a whole group of florist and gardening shops. It is as if the planning laws zone the types of shops into particular areas - quite strange.
Anyway, we had been on the go for quite a while now and, with only Continental breakfasts on offer now, we were in need of some lunch (in England we often went without a proper lunch having started the day with a full English breakfast). Just off the main road we found A la Tour, a nice little cafe and bar. Just about every cafe has its menu on display out the front and quite a few have an English (among other languages) translation and did the A la Tour. This doesn't guarantee that you will find anyone inside that can speak English but it does at least give you a good starting point to order from. We had ham and cheese "sandwiches" which were what we call baguettes at home. I had a hot chocolate that was unbelievably bitter - but very nice.
After lunch we continued on our way and crossed onto the island in teh Seine where Notre Dame is located. The queue to go inside was quite short in comparison to the others we had seen and moving very quickly (quite unlike the others we had seen). More amazingly, it cost nothing to go. Five Euro on an audio is a good investment if you do go in but be prepared to hand over your Driving Licence as a "deposit". It is a beautiful building and we spent over an hour inside looking around. Once outside (with my Licence back), we walked past another queue to nowhere - actually it was to the top of the Notre Dame towers but at the rate it was moving, those on the end would be lucky to get up before the end of the day...
We left the island where Notre Dame stands and crossed over onto another island in the Seine. This island had a number of very interesting shops which required Anita's attention... Eventually we made it back to the Right Bank of the Seine and decided to head up to the Bastille. On the way we walked past a range of interesting shops which just highlighted how boring and limited the range of shops and products is at home. At the Bastille we found a monument to the Revolution of 1830 and, importantly, a Metro station. We boarded a number 8 train to Opera where we changed to a number 3 to take us to Europe station. From here it was a short walk back to our hotel and an overdue chance to put our feet up.
Before we went out to dinner, we jumped on the Internet and investigated tickets for the Eiffel Tower. They are sold for particular days and times and must only be sold in limited numbers. Between then and the time we left, we only had the option of Noon on Monday. We grabbed that before it disappeared and are now set to go all the way to the top...
We also investigated the Louvre and found that a bit more difficult to organise. However our cheap guide book said that everyone goes to the main entrance (hence the crowds) and that there are other quieter entrances that can be used. We decided that we would try that out tomorrow and went out for dinner. We walked up to Villiers and, after looking around at a number of places, went to the Le Paris Rome cafe opposite Rome Metro station for a very nice dinner.
No comments:
Post a Comment