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xp: Paris - Eiffel Q
2 part question: For part of H's Valentine's Gift; I want to prepay/set up reservations for one of our trips up the Eiffel. We're planning on going up in Eiffel twice; once to 2nd floor and once to summit; and also up the towers of Notre Dame, which would be during the day.
Q1. My debate is; should we do summit at night or during the day? I'm kind of leaning towards during the day? Any thoughts/experience?
Q2. Our first day, we arrive via train at 11:30am and check into our apt. We have reservations for a bike tour at 15:00, which will last 3 hrs (19:00). What time is average for dinner in Paris? I'm thinking we could walk around and grab dinner and then go to Eiffel? Mainly, I'm trying to decide what time to book the Eiffel tickets for on our first night (regardless of if we do Summit or 2nd floor that evening) For reference, it looks like the sun (if it's sunny) will set at 8:30pm/20:30ish
TIA
Re: xp: Paris - Eiffel Q
i haven't been to paris in ten years but can you not go to the various levels in one visit? i am almost positive i did that both times. if this is not the case, i'd probably do the 2nd level at sunset/evening and the summit during the day so you can (hopefully) have the 360 view of paris.
i remember eating at like 7/8ish most nights. and i'm pretty sure the surrounding area is a wasteland for restaurants so i'd choose a nearby neighborhood instead.
refuges des fondues is a fun experience (at the abessess metro i believe) but more communal dining not romantic so i'd keep that in mind.
I've only done the summit but did it twice, once during the day and once at night. Both were lovely so I'm not sure what to recommend.
I have 2 romantic restaurant recs - 1 in Montmartre at Metro Abesses called Basilic and one in St Germaine called Au 35.
When going up the Eiffel Tower you stop and get out at each level, so I would recommend just doing it once. I would suggest doing it at night. Paris at night is just gorgeous.
I would also like to suggest these tours: http://www.discoverwalks.com/paris/
They're totally free and really good. I especially enjoyed the Montmartre one, despite all of the hills.
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I think 10 may be too late to go up. Check out what time the tower closes, and give yourselves more than an hour, especially if you're interested in stopping/looking around at the different levels.
They also have champagne at the top. It's expensive and a little cheesy, but it was a really nice experience.
Pre-book whatever you can. Lines to go in to Notre Dame look really long but it moves very quickly. Lines to go up Notre Dame's tower is very long and moves slowly, so get there as early as you can.
We plan on being at Catacombes and Notre Dame before open to try to get a decent start on lines.
We'll be there the first week of April; so hopefully less tourists than summer; although I think that students in Europe may get that week off for Easter holiday.
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You may want to double check, but I think the Louvre is free on the first Tuesday of every month. So if you're there for that you'll either want to a) get tehre very early and get in for free or else b) don't go on that day if you want to avoid going when it's crazy busy, especially if students are off that week, they'll all be flocking for the free day.
Also, in regards to the tours I mentioned above, they give coupons for a boat tour. It drastically reduces the cost of the boat tour and I really enjoyed it (but it was very cold out on the water). So if you were looking into doing a boat tour, I would recommend that you do a tour to get a voucher for it.
I would also like to suggest, if you have nice weather, get a cheap bottle of wine, a bagueete and some pastried and take a seat in the Tuilleries Gardens and eat and soak up the atmosphere. That was just about my favourite part of when I was in Paris.
Thanks so much for the input. I'll have to look into the Lourve free days; although we don't mind paying. As of right now, we're thinking of going on Wed night since it's open late.
Also, thanks for the heads up on the tour. We're doing a bike tour when we first arrive. We were interesting in doing a Seine boat tour, but then when we started looking at prices, and also knowing that we're doing a canal tour in Amsterdam, we decided not to spend the money. But if we can find a coupon, that'd be nice!
Thanks for the Tuilleries Gardens suggestions. I'll have to locate that and write it down.
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I love that you suggested this!!! Such a fun place!! I can't wait to go back to Paris so I can take my husband and daughter!!
Wow geesh; thanks. It's a Fat Tire Bike tour and the two groups that have recommended both said it was excellent and about 4 hours (which is what's listed on internet); but I suppose that's something to keep in mind. Thanks
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We just got back from our Paris trip, and I don't think it's worth making two separate trips to the Eiffel Tower.
We got there shortly before sunset and bypassed the lines by taking the stairs to the first and second levels. The timing was perfect -- we got to see the city in daylight from the first and second levels, then watched the sunset before taking the elevator to the summit. We ended up mistakingly waiting in line for the down elevator on the second level, so that when we finally found the right elevator and took it to the summit, we were able to see the city lit up in the dark. I think that timing really offers the best of both worlds, without having to make two separate trips -- especially if skipping the second trip will mean you'll have time to visit another site that can offer you a different view.
Besides Notre Dame, you can also climb to the top of the Arc de Triomphe to see the city, which offers a nice view of the Eiffel Tower. Unfortunately we weren't able to climb the Notre Dame tower because of the winter weather so I can't comment on how those two views compare. Sacre Couer also offers great views, although I thought the views from the sites closer to the city center were better.
Most restaurants open for dinner around 7:00/19:00 and supposedly get crowded around 9:00/21:00. We usually arrived to dinner around 8:00/20:00.