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PA R I S
Eiffel Tower
PARIS
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The Eiffel Tower is one of the most recognisable landmarks in Europe, if not the world. It is an iron structure built in 1889 for the Universal Exhibition of that year in Paris. It is named after its designer, the famous engineer Gustave Eiffel. The co-architect of the tower was Stephen Sauvestre and the engineers in charge were Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier.
workers who joined together 18,038 pieces of puddled iron (a very pure form of structural iron), using two and a half million rivets. It is still the highest building in Paris and one of the most visited (paid) buildings anywhere on planet earth. More than 243 million people have visited the tower since its construction for the Exposition Universelle of 1889.
The tower is repainted every 7 years, and each It took over 2 years round of repainting to build the tower. takes between 15 to 18 Standing at 324 metres months. Approximately tall, it was built by 300 60 tons of paint are
used and 25 painters are commissioned to carry out the work. The tower is illuminated daily from sunset until 1:00am (2:00am during the summer months). Every hour, on the hour, during the illumination timespan, the tower also sparkles for approximately 10 minutes.
Visiting the Tower There are three levels on the Eiffel Tower for visit - the first (57 metres), the second | 3
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Did You Know? The Eiffel Tower is six inches taller in the summer than in winter. Due to the steel contracting when its cold and expanding when its hot.
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(at 115 metres) and the top (276 metres) floors. Visitors may either climb the stairs or take the elevators to go up the Eiffel Tower. The stairs are open to the public and go up until to the second floor. There are over 300 stairs from the
ground to the first floor, and similarly another over 300 stairs from the first to the second floors. Three elevators (north, west and east pillars) go up to the first and second floors. Only one or two will be in service on any given day due to maintenance and security reasons. To reach the top of the tower, visitors must take another elevator from the second floor. During the peak seasons, the wait may be considerable as the number of visitors allowed at any time is controlled for comfort, safety and security purpose.
Opening Hours The Eiffel Tower is open every day: September to June: 9:30am to 11pm June to August: 9:00am to12am During Easter weekend and the spring vacation the Tower will remain open until midnight. Access to the top of the tower may temporarily be closed if the weather conditions are unfavourable or if there are too many visitors at any given moment.
COST Ticket price for the tower varies, depending on the level and method of access (valid until 31 March 2014): Adult: Youth (12-24): Child (4-11):
€13.40 €11.80 €9.30
€8.20 €6.60 €4.10
€4.70 €3.70 €3.20
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Notre Dame
PARIS
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The Cathﾃｩdrale Notre Dame de Paris (Notre Dame Cathedral of Paris) is a beautiful and imposing Gothic cathedral that stands on ﾃ四e de la Citﾃｩ. Although the hunchback did not actually live here, it was this tale by Victor Hugo that saved the cathedral from destruction and immortalising it in words. Taking nearly two hundred years to build, the construction of Notre Dame began in 1163 and was completed in 1345. In
the next few centuries, between riots and misguided notion of cathedral modernisation, the cathedral suffered damages but not as heavily until French Revolution took place.
giving us much of the current appearance of the cathedral that many have come to admire and appreciate.
Since 2000, a major cleaning effort on the west faﾃｧade of Notre Dame has been It was looted and underway, removing many of its treasures destroyed. The publica- centuries of filth mainly tion of The Hunchback from massive industrial of Notre Dame in 1831 activity. This meticubrought forth attention lous cleaning process is from across Europe, its accomplished with the use of lasers and countpopularity attracting visitors to flock to see less tiny brushes. it. Today Notre Dame is Ultimately this spurred one of the most poputhe restorative effort in lar sights in Paris and of the mid-19th century, France.
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Opening Hours Cathedral
dral and mass are held daily. Priests are also available for guidance and confession. Please consult this page for more information.
Monday to Friday: 8.00 am to 6.45 pm Tower Saturday, Sunday: 8.00 am to 7.15 pm April to September: 10am to 6.30pm Treasury June to August, on Saturday and Sunday: Monday to Friday: 9.30 10am to 11 pm am to 6.00 pm October to March: Saturday: 9.30 am to 10am to 5.30pm 6.30 pm Sunday: 1.30 pm to Last access 45 minutes 6.30 pm before closure. The hours may vary ac- Closure: 1 January, 1 cording to exceptional May, 25 December celebrations. The entrance for the Mass and Services visit of the tower is located outside of the This is a working cathe- cathedral, on rue du
COST Cathedral and Treasury Access to the cathedral and its treasury is free of charge.
Tower Normal adult rate: €8 Group of 20 or more: €6 18 to 25 years old: €5 Free for anyone under 18 Free for 18 to 25 years old who are EU citizens 8 |
Did You Know? The towers go as high as 69 meters with a total of 387 steps to ascend with no elevator or lift facility available.
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Cloître Notre-Dame. The tower is managed by the National Monuments Centre. The number of visitors at any one time is limited to ensure comfort and safety, so the queueing time may be long.
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Arc De Triomphe
PARIS
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Located in the 8th arrondissement, the Champs-Élysées is considered by many to be the most impressive avenue in all of Paris. At one end of Paris’s most famous avenue, the Champs Elysees, the triumphal arch is older than the Eiffel Tower, but is somewhat new in the tradition of building arches to celebrate victories. The Romans did it much earlier. In fact, the Arch of Titus had inspired Napoleon to build this 19th-century tribute to his ‘Grande Armee’.
The avenue connects the Place de la Concorde and the Place Charles-de-Gaulle, two very large and heavily trafficked squares in the capital of France. Measuring roughly 1,910 meters long and 70 meters wide, the sheer size of the Champs-Élysées is enough to impress the most jaded visitor.
meters in height, the Arc de Triomphe is encircled by a busy, car-filled roundabout. Visitors can access the monument through an underground tunnel. It is possible to make the long climb to the top from inside the Arc de Triomphe, and those who do will be rewarded with great views.
The Arc de Triomphe was built between 1806 and 1836 — commissioned by Napoleon, who wanted to honour the victories of the French troops after the Battle of Austerlitz. Reaching almost 30
You can admire the arch from below at the ground level either on foot while you’re windowshopping on the Champs Elysees - or by automobile if you’re lucky enough
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The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was added in 1921. The ‘eternal flame’ is re-lit every evening at 6:30 pm.
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Did You Know? The names of 128 battles of the first French Republic and Napoleon’s Empire are written on the white walls under the vault.
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to get caught in the swirl of traffic that plays dodgem around its base. If you choose not to brave the crowds visiting the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe is a great alternative. It’s also less expensive if you’re traveling with
students or children. Kids and teenagers, age 17 and younger get free admission. The top can only be reached by climbing up its 40 stairs. But before you get to the stairs, you have to get to the monument itself (which isn’t as simple as you’d think). DO NOT TRY CROSSING THE TRAFFIC CIRCLE! There is an underground tunnel on the Avenue de la Grande Armee side of the circle. You can access this tunnel from the Wagram exit of the Metro.
Opening Times From April to September: 10am to 11pm From October to March: 10am to 10pm The cash desk closes 1/2 hour before Closed on January 1, May 1,May 8 (am)July 14 (am), November 11 (am) and December 25 One of the best days of the year to visit the Arc is July 14th, Bastille Day. The Bastille Day parade follows the length of the Champs Elysees and a huge flag billows from the Arch.
COST Adults: €8 Students (18-25): €5 Groups of 20 or more: €6.20 Free for children and students up to Age 17.
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