Last Updated on 07/20/22 by Rose Palmer
For about 4000 years of so, the tallest man made structure was the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, with an original height of 481 feet. A few European cathedrals eventually topped out a bit higher than the pyramid, but they also didn’t reach heights much above 500 feet. Even the Washington Monument built in 1884 was only 555 feet high and only held the tallest structure title for 5 years.
Then, in 1889, Gustave Eiffel built his tower as the entrance for the Paris World’s Fair, and in one fell swoop, almost doubled the height of the tallest building in the world with his tower topping out at 986 feet. The Eiffel Tower has since become one of the most recognizable buildings in the world and the defining icon for the City of Lights. For me, the Eiffel Tower is also entwined with many memorable visits to Paris over the past 20+ years.
November, 2000
The Eiffel Tower stands tall above the rest of the buildings in Paris and can be seen for miles around. You can’t stroll along the Seine River without a view of it. Seeing it from far away, it can be hard to get a sense of how big it truly is.
It’s only when you stand right under it that its true magnitude becomes apparent and you can’t help feeling awed by the sheer size of it towering over you. The base is 328 ft. wide, almost as wide as an American football field’s length. Yet, its iron lattice structure produces an open, graceful, and delicate feel that belies its weight of about 10,000 tons.
The Eiffel Tower IS Paris, and a first time visit to the City of Lights is not complete without a close up view. I got to share my first visit to this icon with the rest of my family. It was our first trip to Europe, and with my husband, our 8 year old daughter, and our 13 year old son, we had planned a two week whirlwind tour of Europe’s major destinations. The trip ended with two and a half days in Paris before heading back home.
We toured all the famous sights in the city, but while the kids patiently put up with seeing the Mona Lisa at the Louvre (“She’s so small”), they were very excited about going to the top of the Eiffel Tower – we were all excited. As we walked underneath the tower for the first time and looked up in awe, it was a “Pinch me I can’t believe I’m here” moment.
We planned our visit to the top of the Eiffel Tower once it was dark so that we could also experience the special light show that had been installed in celebration of the Millennium. We had seen the light show earlier that year when the New Year’s celebration was broadcast on TV, but now we got to actually see it in person and up close. Sharing this “first” as a family made it all that much more special.
My daughter’s favorite souvenir from that trip? A foot tall model of the Eiffel Tower that decorated her room until she moved out after college.
June, 2008
On my second visit to Paris, I was helping to chaperone a group of junior and senior high school girls on an organized tour in Europe (what was I thinking!), which also included my daughter, now 16. We started in Dublin, continued to London and then ended in Paris.
The cap to the last day of the trip was a visit to the top of the Eiffel Tower. For most everyone in the group, this was a first time visit and the excitement levels were about as high as the Eiffel Tower was tall.
I went up with the girls for the viewpoint at the first observation deck, but that was all my fear of heights could take. As they went up to the next level I chose to wait for them on terra firma and waited while they enthusiastically climbed down the 704 stairs back to earth.
As I waited, I enjoyed a banana, Nutella and whip cream crepe sitting in the shadow of steel that looked like lace. At that moment, it was the best crepe I had ever tasted, it’s flavor enhanced no doubt by my surroundings – neither the heat nor the crowds dampened my joy for that moment. Afterwards, I would frequently make banana and Nutella crepes at home, but they never tasted quite the same.
One day, my daughter got tired of hearing me complain that my crepes never taste as good as the one I had under the Eiffel Tower, so she brought the souvenir model of the Eiffel Tower from her room and plopped it down on the table in front of me. Nice thought, but my crepes lacked the contented joy of that original experience.
June, 2011
In the summer of 2011, a project for work took me to Paris – it was a tough job but someone had to do it! I went with a good friend and co-worker who had never been to Paris before. I scheduled all our sight seeing activities for the weekends when we had free time. She saw all the major sights and I had a chance to visit places I had not seen on my previous trips.
We started with an early morning stroll to the Eiffel Tower since we were staying close by in a small hotel on Rue Cler. Because it was very, very early (we were still trying to get over jet lag), there were hardly any other tourists and even very few locals. It was a peaceful walk along the gardens of the Champ de Mars as we approached the tower – something not possible any other time of day.
We walked up to the tower and stared up in awe. Standing under the Eiffel Tower in the early morning without being surrounded by a throng of tourists is a completely different experience. You can hear the wind whistle through the open supports and the birds chirp as they fly above you from one girder to another.
My friend was, of course, thrilled to see this icon – it was the firsts of many wonderful moments for her and years later she still comments about what a wonderful trip that was. Her excitement was contagious and even though I was no longer an Eiffel Tower newbie, it ended up being another memorable moment for me as well.
May, 2017
On a more recent trip to Paris I decided to visit the Eiffel Tower again, as it had been quite a few years since I had seen it up close. I was dismayed, though not really surprised, to see that the Iron Lady as the French call her, was now wearing a new necklace in the form of a metal security fence all around the base of the tower. And not only was there a strong police presence, but also a heavily armed and very serious looking military presence. No, I did not dare take any photos of that.
Since I wasn’t planning on going to the top, I didn’t feel like dealing with the security check and the lines just to walk underneath it, so I just walked around it and admired it from afar. Sadly, no more easy ambling underneath the tower to look straight up and be awed by it. No more sitting under the tower on a whim with a banana and Nutella crepe and revel in this unique Parisian experience. My heart ached for those lovely memories.
June, 2019
I was back in Paris for just one day before a barge cruise on the Burgundy Canal. After my disappointing visit two years before, I had no desire to get close to the city’s most famous icon. Just looking at it made me feel sad for lost experiences. I avoided the crowds and was much happier taking idealized photos with my Eiffel tower inspired quilt.
June, 2022
I was in Paris once again, but only for an afternoon before heading to another barge cruise in the Loire Valley. This time my husband was also with me – this was his first trip back to Paris since our first family experience back in 2000.
To battle jet lag, we walked along the Seine from the Jardin de Tuileries all the way to the Eiffel Tower. It was a Saturday afternoon and as we approached it from the side along Rue del l’Universite the area became more and more crowded.
I should not have been surprised to find that like a high fashion Paris model, the Eiffel Tower was once again changing its look. The metal fence had been replaced by a more aesthetic glass enclosure, though the lines to get through security were still long.
The tower itself was also getting a new runway look in preparation for the 2024 Olympics. One side was covered in scaffolding as the brownish paint tones were getting replaced by a more metallic and shiny golden hue – a fitting symbolic medal for the Olympic host city.
As we walked around the base of the Eiffel Tower, I could tell my husband felt some of the same pangs of nostalgia for the memories of his first visit when there had been no crowds and no fences. We stayed only long enough to take a few photos and moved on.
So, is the Eiffel Tower worth visiting?
If it is your first time to Paris, then absolutely, YES, the Eiffel Tower is worth going to. The Eiffel Tower is a beautiful and incredible piece of engineering that needs to be experienced up close and personal at least once. And whatever the circumstances, that first visit will always be special and memorable.
To make it the best possible experience, do your homework before you travel and get the most up to date information on visiting, starting with the Eiffel Tower’s Planning a Smooth Visit Page.
Final thoughts
Over 7 million people visit the Paris Eiffel Tower annually. With so many visitors, I can understand the need for the increased security, especially in today’s political climate. Still, I mourn for the simpler days when such security measures were not even conceivable, much less necessary.
I dream that one day we will have a more peaceful and trusting global climate so that such security will no longer be necessary and an easy amble with a banana and Nutella crepe underneath Gustave’s Tour Eiffel will once again be a reality. I can dream, can’t I?
Thanks for visiting.
Rose
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