Day 5: 14 October 2009, Wednesday
Today would be an exciting day as another member would soon be joining us in Paris. Our mutual friend TH was working at Coventry in England at the time and he managed to take a few days’ leave to travel with us. He would be coming to Paris by the Eurostar train from London, arriving at Gare du Nord railway station at about 11am.
While waiting for TH to arrive, KP and I decided to go to Montmartre since it was close to the railway station. At the time of our visit in 2009, our memories were still fresh from a pair of popular films that were both released in 2001 and set in Montmartre – Amélie and Moulin Rouge! As such, it was with great anticipation that we approached our visit. From QM’s apartment, we took the Metro and alighted at Anvers station, a short walk away from the heart of Montmartre.
Montmartre is a large hill in Paris’ 18th arrondissement. The hill stands at 130 metres tall and it is the highest natural point in Paris. On top of the hill is the Sacré-Cœur Basilica (Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris), one of Paris’ most distinctive landmarks.
Construction of Sacré-Cœur Basilica began in 1875 and was completed in 1914. It was consecrated in 1919 after the end of World War I. The Basilica was built in the Romano-Byzantine style, unlike the Gothic style of Notre-Dame Cathedral. The Basilica was built with a white stone called travertine, which came from the Souppes-sur-Loing quarry in Seine et Marne, located about 130 kilometres south of Paris.
From its lofty position atop the hill, the all-white building gleamed in the morning sun. It was truly a beautiful sight. When we arrived at about 8:40am, there were not many people around yet so we were able to enjoy the wonderful atmosphere without being disturbed by the crowds. We took lots of photographs and soaked up the view from the top of the hill.
At 9am, we were the first in line to buy our admission tickets (€5/S$10.35) to access the dome of the Basilica. There was no lift so we had to climb 300 steps to reach the top of the 83-metre-high dome. However, the resulting view was well worth the effort!
From the dome, we were at an elevation of over 200 metres above the river Seine. In fact, this is the second highest point in Paris, after the Eiffel Tower. The weather was glorious that morning and we had a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside. We spent about half an hour snapping photos from all angles before making our way down again.
The area around Sacré-Cœur Basilica was very lovely. At that 10 o’clock hour, it was quite lively but not overrun with tourists yet. Montmartre is known for being a hip neighbourhood with many nice cafés and restaurants lining its cobblestoned streets. It is also where many budding and talented artists gather to paint and sketch. We enjoyed strolling through the streets to observe everything that was happening. We also popped in to a small café to buy a chocolate éclair, which was very delicious.
After visiting Montmartre, we walked to Gare du Nord to meet TH. We then went back to QM’s apartment for TH to drop his luggage before heading out again. Our first stop was the Centre Pompidou, a multicultural complex housing a library, museum and performance theatre. Completed in 1977, it is famous for its “inside-out” building architecture.
The reason the Centre Pompidou is described as “inside-out” is because all the systems (ventilation, electricity and water), lifts and escalators are located on the outside of the building. Nothing is concealed; all the inner workings are visible from the outside. The most striking feature on the exterior is the huge mechanical escalator, known as the “caterpillar”. The framework for the six-storey building was designed to resemble a huge construction toy. I must say the design of the building is really quite unique.
For our lunch, we had something light – a sandwich, fruit tart and a can of soda. We were saving our stomachs (and money) for a good dinner later. After refuelling, we continued walking and soon reached Les Invalides. KP and I had cycled past here during our first day in Paris but we didn’t enter the premises then so we went in for a look today.
Hôtel national des Invalides (The National Residence of the Invalids), to give it its full name, is a group of buildings dedicated to France’s military history. It comprises of several museums including the Musée de l’Armée (military museum of the Army of France), the Musée des Plans-Reliefs (museum of military models) and two churches. It still retains its original function as a hospital and hospice for badly injured and disabled war veterans.
The most prominent building here is Dôme des Invalides, topped by its impressive golden dome, which was decorated with 12.65kg of gold leaf. At a height of 107 metres, it is the tallest church in Paris. It is also famous because it is the final resting place of French military leader Napoleon. Even though we didn’t pay to enter the museums, we saw some of the military equipment like cannons and tanks displayed throughout the premises.
We then came across the Flame of Liberty at Pont de l’Alma again. It was night the last time we were here so we got to see the golden flame clearly today. As we walked along the river Seine, we marvelled at our good fortune, for today’s weather was incredibly beautiful. This was Paris at its prettiest and it was truly a pleasure to stroll along the river on such a fine autumn’s day.
Our main objective for the day was to visit the Eiffel Tower. But besides that, we wanted to catch both the day and night scenes from above. To do that, we had to time our visit such that we would be up on the tower at the right time, watching the day transition into night.
When we arrived at the tower at 4:30pm, there was already a very long queue at the ticket office. I guess everybody came today because the weather was just so perfect. By the way, there are four ticket options to ascend the Eiffel Tower, with different permutations involving climbing the staircase and using the lift(s).
There are three sections on the Eiffel Tower that you can visit – the First Floor (57 metres), Second Floor (116 metres) and the Summit (276 metres). The first and second floors can be reached by stairs but the summit is only accessible via the lift from the second floor. What this means is that you cannot climb the stairs all the way to the summit.
The cheapest ticket is the 2nd floor staircase ticket. This involves climbing a total of 674 steps (ground floor to first floor to second floor) and it will take you anywhere between 30 and 45 minutes, depending on your fitness level. Alternatively, you can buy the 2nd floor lift ticket to save you the effort of climbing the 674 steps.
However, most people will choose to go to the summit. To do that, you can either buy the Summit stair + lift ticket or the Summit lift ticket. For the former, you have to climb the stairs to the second floor before taking the lift to the summit. For the latter, you will take two lifts to reach the summit, i.e. from the ground floor to the 2nd floor, followed by another one from the 2nd floor to the summit. In other words, the Summit lift ticket requires the least effort and it is correspondingly, also the most expensive.
Perhaps it was because KP and I had already climbed 300 steps to the dome at Sacré-Cœur Basilica earlier, so we felt lazy and didn’t want to climb any more steps. As a result, we chose to buy the Summit lift ticket, which cost €13 (S$26.91). We queued for about half an hour before we got our tickets. After that, we queued for another 10 minutes before it was our turn to take the first elevator. [I just checked the latest ticket prices. As of May 2021, the Summit lift ticket costs €26.10 – double of what we paid in October 2009!]
At 116 metres, the view from the second floor was actually already pretty good. We had a wonderful bird’s eye view of the entire Paris before us. We walked one quick round before joining the queue for the second lift to take us to the summit. I remember the queue for the second lift took quite a long time, perhaps half an hour or so. Even though it was sunny, the wind was so strong I was almost frozen from being stationary.
Finally, we boarded the second lift and reached the summit at around 6pm. To be honest, the view from the summit at 276 metres was not very much different from the view on the second floor. Everything was just marginally tinier, like viewing the same scene through a digital camera but with a different zoom setting. Nevertheless, it felt amazing to be up here, on top of one of the world’s most famous landmarks.
As our objective was to watch the transition from day to night, we had plenty of time to wander around the summit before the sun set. In fact, we had too much time and it got really cold as we were exposed to the wind. The temperature also got cooler as we approached sunset. By this time, we were hungry (because of our light lunch) and cold, almost freezing our butts off.
At long last, the sun began to set at about 7:30pm. The sky turned into a beautiful canvas of colours ranging from blue to yellow to orange to red, with each colour blending seamlessly into the other. It was magical to see the golden orb descend slowly until it gradually disappeared beyond the horizon. As day turned into night, the street lights came on and the buildings came alive. From our vantage point, Paris was like a sea of twinkling lights. It was breathtaking.
After getting our fill of pictures, we descended the tower and went for a well-deserved dinner. It had been a great day with the best weather we’ve had so far. Two more days in Paris before we head back to England for the second part of our trip!
Before I end this post, I would just like to share some recommendations for visiting the Eiffel Tower, based on my experience. If your physical fitness is not an issue, I recommend buying the Summit stair + lift ticket. In this way, you get to experience the best of both worlds – the unique experience of climbing up the Eiffel Tower, and reaching the Summit of the monumental tower. I kind of regret not climbing up the stairs, because I think it would have been a memorable experience to scale those steps while enjoying the breeze and the spectacular view.
But if you’re on a budget, you should just get the 2nd floor staircase ticket, which is the cheapest ticket at €10.50 (price as of May 2021). Because honestly, the view from the 2nd floor is good enough. True, the summit is more than twice as high but the view isn’t exactly twice as good. Going to the summit is more of a “been there, done that” kind of thing, but I feel it isn’t worth the extra cost, especially if you have budget constraints.
Furthermore, from what I’ve read, the queue for the staircase is much shorter than the queue for the lifts, so you get to save both time and money if you choose to climb the stairs to the second floor. In any case, ascending the Eiffel Tower is one of the things you must do when you’re in Paris. Enjoy it any way you like!