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Four Hot Panoramic Spots In Paris
n this article, Paris not as well known. All are yours
expert Phil Chavanne for the enjoyment.
selects four elevated spots
from which Paris can be best Granted, some of these spots were
viewed. obvious picks. But I bet you
don’t know a couple of them. Here
To my friends who take the trip is the story.
to Paris I always recommend to
‘look up while walking’. Paris The Montparnasse Tower
should not be visited at eye
level only; there is much to be The Montparnasse Tower is my
seen upstairs, just like in New first pick. As a matter of fact,
York City. it is one of the best man-made
elevations you can get for the
Climb to an elevated position, money in Paris.
and you’ve got yet another view
of the French capital. A number The construction of the
of apartment buildings located on Montparnasse Tower started in
the Montmartre hill and in the 1958 and was completed in 1972
nineteenth district offer after a much heated public
panoramic views from their debate. Just like the Louvre
highest floors, but supply is Pyramid, and the Beaubourg Museum
short and not everyone can secure of Modern Art, the building of
a temporary dwelling place with a the skyscraper sparked two
million-dollar view. decades of furious controversy.
The Montparnasse area used to be
So I picked four easy-to-access a small, quaint village, and the
vantage points from where to locals didn’t like the idea of
admire the Parisian panorama. having a 210-meter high structure
Some are self-obvious, others are disfigure their landscape.
as it is undoubtedly the best
The huge anthracite structure vantage point to view 360° of
towers over the Montparnasse Paris.
train station, and stands at the
upper end of Rue de Rennes Just a few facts: the Eiffel
(Rennes St.). Because it was Tower is 324-meter high
built off-axis, the Tower (including flagpole). Its first
gracefully avoids closing the floor stands at 57 meters above
long perspective which connects the Seine, its second floor at
Montparnasse to the 116 meters. It is 117-year old,
St-Germain-des-Pres district. and weighs ‘only’ 10,100 metric
Thank the architects for their tons, concrete footing included.
vision.
Two elevators access both floors
The Montparnasse Tower counts 59 every 8 minutes. Note that this
floors crowned by a terrace which is without counting the time you
is accessible by helicopter. One spend waiting in line, since the
of its 25 elevators is the Eiffel Tower is visited by about
fastest in Europe: it will take 6 million people each year (that
you to the top floor in 38 means, an average 22-minute wait
seconds flat. There is a bar on to enter the structure). If you
the 56th floor where you can have a taste for sport, take the
enjoy the view sheltered from the stairs: 1665 steps to the very
wind. top - though this figure is a bit
misleading since access to the
Eiffel Tower third floor by stairs is
restricted.
OK, that one was so self-obvious,
it’s puzzling why I even picked The first and second floors are
it. Never mind, I like this spot home to two restaurants: Altitude
95, and Le Jules Verne, The structure is hollow, and can
respectively. Both offer a be visited. The ticket booth is
rewarding dining experience. located under the plaza on which
the Arch is built. It can be
Circling each floor, a map points accessed at the end of a tunnel
to the monuments around you. I opening at the upper end of the
advise you to take a windbreaker Champs Elysees Avenue. Taking the
with you; there is practically no tunnel is a much safer option
obstacle on the platforms to than trying to cross the
shield you from the chilly wind. traffic-laden plaza on foot.
Arch of Triumph The entrance door opens into one
of the two pillars facing the
This vantage spot isn’t just as Champs Elysees Avenue. Several
well known as Mr. Eiffel’s tower. flights of stairs will lead you
Yet, it offers a very interesting to the top of the Arch, which
panoramic view of Paris. towers above the twelve avenues
emanating from the star-shaped
Commissioned in 1806 by French Place de l’Etoile. Inside the
dictator Napoleon the 1st, the Arch, a small museum describes
Roman-style structure was how it was built.
completed in 1836 under King
Louis-Philippe. Its four pillars Telegraph Street, Belleville Park
display the names of French
military victories, and its base I bet you didn’t know this one!
shelters the final resting place Who ever heard of the Belleville
of an unknown French soldier who Highs? Mind you, this area is
died on the killing fields of quite interesting, and it offers
Eastern France during WWI. a good panoramic view of Paris.
The highest natural elevation in century. Some streets of the area
Paris stands at 40 Rue du aren’t very safe at night; I
Telegraphe (40 Telegraph St.), advise you to tour the area in
where the Belleville Cemetery has broad daylight.
its entrance. The street took its
name after French inventor Claude The best vantage point of the
Chappe. He had picked the district is the Belleville Park
128-meter high spot to set up his which was opened in 1988. This
‘tachygraph’, a precursor of the expanse of land is tucked between
telegraph. Rue des Couronnes, Rue Piat, Rue
Jouy-Rouve, and Rue
Just down from Telegraph St., the Julien-Lacroix. Its grassy slopes
nearby neighborhood is dubbed extend all the way to the bottom
“Hauts de Belleville”, or of the hill. The park features
“Belleville Highs”. Belleville The Air Museum, which offers its
(literally “beautiful town”) used visitors a full explanation of
to be an independent commune how pollution affects our daily
built on a hill outside Paris lives. Tourists can follow the
until 1860. guided tour in English.
Though the renovation of the A last comment in regards to the
district has been underway since Telegraph Road: visit the area on
the end of the 80’s, Belleville Wednesdays and Saturdays, and you
buildings still illustrate the will do your grocery shopping at
conditions in which the poor and the local fresh produce market,
the working class lived in the between 7 am and 2:30 pm.
early part of the twentieth
About the Author:
Having spent over 2 decades in Paris, Phil Chavanne has become a specialist of the city, and knows its secrets in and out. You can get great stories and useful advices at http://www.Paris-Eiffel-Tower-News.com - a free Paris guide to help you prepare your next trip.
Read more articles by: Phil Chavanne
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