by Harry Stevens

Created on: November 28, 2009   Last Updated: November 29, 2009

My personal experience of traveling to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France was one of enjoyment and discovery. In the summer of 2009, I traveled on a 10 day trip to Dublin, Wales, London, and Paris with my high school classmates and teacher. We first saw the Eiffel Tower from the northwest side on the eighth day of our trip. It was surely an amazing sight. There was a stone courtyard area from which one could take photographs. In this area, there were local vendors selling various trinkets and tourist items. Below this stone area was a fountain and grass courtyard from which one could sit, relax, and appreciate the magnificent tower.

Unfortunately, on the eighth day, we were only allowed to stay in the area for 45 minutes. Luckily, we returned the following day, but this time, we were going to go up to the top of the tower. We climbed down the steps leading to the grass courtyard and walked right beside it to the bridge in front of the structure. After crossing the Seine River, we were at the base of the tower. At around 20:00 local time, we began to wait in line to buy tickets for the northern entrance (there are two entrances to the tower: Pillier Nord and Pillier Sud). At 20:45, we finally reached the ticket window, and after paying for tickets to go to the top (which were relatively cheap; only around 10 or 15), we boarded the lift that would take us to the second level. Once we arrived, we were required to get off, as we would have to take a separate lift in order to reach the top floor.

Our group was not in any particular rush, and we decided to stay on the second floor for a while and appreciate the view. At around 21:30, we waited in the lines that led to the top floor lift. After an hour wait, we finally were able to board the lift. Once we reached the top, we were greeted with the magnificent Parisian lights. The top of the tower had both and outdoor and indoor observation deck. We began our viewing by standing outside on the outdoor observation deck, but after several pictures and appreciating the awe-inspiring view, we were very cold, so we decided to spend a few minutes in the indoor deck. In it, they had a display showing the distances from Paris (more specifically, the Eiffel Tower) to several other world cities, such as Rome, New York, and Tokyo. After about 45 minutes of being on the top, our group decided to call it a night and head back to our hotel.

As we were climbing back down and walking back the way we came, I couldn't help but thinking how beautiful the tower was. At that time, the light show was playing, and I was just in awe as to the creative and construction power of human beings. I believed it to be amazing as to how somebody create something so beautiful and wonderful. I cannot wait until I return to the tower, as it was one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life.

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