Paris

Night View of the Eiffel Tower

Every hour on the hour,
The Eiffel Tower Sparkles with lights

Day-time view of the Eiffel Tower

Tip Top of the Eiffel Tower

View from on top of the Eiffel Tower looking down
on the Seine River and the  gorgeous city

The first night in Paris we took a boat ride on the Seine River. The city was breath taking at night, everything lights up. On top of seeing the city for the first time, the Eiffel Tower surprised us and we quickly learned that it sparkles with lights every hour on the hour. Pictures don’t even come close to how bright and beautiful it really is in real life. The boat ride was a brief tour of the city that we were about to explore over the next few days.

One afternoon we took the trek to the top of the Eiffel Tower. There was an option to take an elevator all the way to the top, but we chose the exciting route of climbing 600 steps to the second level and then an elevator from there to the top. There was something enchanting about the Eiffel Tower. It is a global icon of France and is one of the most recognizable structures in the world. Millions of people ascend to the top each year. We had been warned that the Eiffel Tower is the #1 place for scamming and pick pocketing because it is such a popular tourist spot. With all of the US citizen travel alerts that we have been receiving we were thinking about how the Eiffel Tower is probably a hot spot for terrorist attacks. Luckily nothing happened the day we were there and everything seemed to be secure and safe.

The view from the top of the Eiffel Tower is remarkable. The city of Paris is a very beautiful city to look down on. The Seine River as well as the many gardens and parks add a lot of natural beauty to the scene. I have to admit that the view of Paris was the prettiest view I have ever seen (above New York city and London). I felt really blessed because the weather was beautiful the entire week we were in France so we were able to get the full affect.