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