Like London, there is so much to see
and do in Paris, with many of the sites being very popular and well advertised,
promoted etc that I am only going to briefly mention a blurb on the couple
below.
The Louvre
In the 13th century the
renowned Louvre museum was built as a palace and remained a royal residence
until Versailles was built in 1793. In 1887 the palace was turned into the
world's largest museum. Today famous pieces of art reside there. Leonardo
daVinci's Mona Lisa hangs in the new entrance.
A large spiral staircase that can handle
large crowds leads up to the Louvre’s
entrance----a stunning glass pyramid containing 700 glass diamonds. It was
built in 1989 amid a lot of controversy. Alp mountain climbers clean the glass
every two weeks. No ordinary window
cleaners here! The floor is limestone which looks like marble and fools most
people. However, there are 136 colors
of marble in the Louvre. The ceiling sculptures are stucco, not marble, because
of the weight, but who would know? The Louvre originally was divided into seven
sections and those areas essentially have not changed. The U shaped building is
a mile long on its sides.
The Louvre is huge and it is very easy to get lost, especially if it is crowded—which is most of the time. My advice is to do a bit of research before your visit so you know what you want to see and then hire a local docent to get your around. Otherwise I can almost guarantee you will see a lot but probably not the things most important to you. Like the Smithsonian you cannot see it all in one visit!
Eiffel
Tower
The Eiffel Tower is undoubtedly the Paris landmark and a must-see
monument. Standing 324 meters (1050 feet) high, it weighs a total of 10,000
tons. It is so well designed that the amount of pressure on the ground on each
tower leg is equal to an average size man sitting in a chair!
Built for the 1889 World’s Fair,
it took two years, two months and five days to complete, and at the time was
the tallest building in the world. The Chrysler building replaced it as the
tallest building in 1930, and now it is dwarfed. There was a great deal
of controversy over the tower’s building, and construction was actually delayed
for awhile. Originally slated to be torn down after
20 years, it was saved from demolition
in 1916. One can take three flights of stairs, 669 steps, up to an elevator to
reach the top or walk up a total of 1262 steps to the top. There are a series
of three elevators to the top and a wait of about two hours to get onto the
first one. Today 6 million people visit it each year. On the hour every
evening the tower shimmers with 20,000 lights. The Eiffel Tower is repainted
every seven years, taking two years to complete and using 70 tons of paint.
Mysteriously during WWII and German occupation, none of the elevators
ever worked. The Germans tried to fly a huge flag from the top, but the winds
shredded it every time it was put up.
Souvenir shops are on the first level, while
the second level offers an opportunity to enjoy a gastronomic menu at the smart
Jules Verne restaurant, 125 meters above ground level.
Walking under the tower provides
some unique perspectives of the erector set-looking tower.
If you wish to go to
the top or to eat in the tower, do a little homework to find out wait times,
reservations etc., as you’ll get nowhere
by just showing up and expecting to walk right in.
Both sites are certainly
worthwhile, but plan plenty of time to really see and enjoy them.
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