The Eiffel Tower: A Rejected Design That Became Paris

When one door closes, a window tends to open somewhere else. Gustave Eiffel’s company first proposed its iron tower for Barcelona, where it was meant to be the tallest structure in the world. The Spanish Council decided it would clash with the city’s looks, so the design went into a Parisian competition instead. That contest was held to choose a centrepiece for the Exposition Universelle, the world fair of 1889. Paris got the tower almost by accident, and the city spent the next few years wishing it had not.

A tower nobody wanted

The structure was never intended to last. It was temporary, due to be dismantled after twenty years, and plenty of Parisians wanted it gone sooner. Writers and artists complained that the ironwork ruined the skyline. The story goes that Guy de Maupassant ate lunch in the tower’s restaurant every day, not because he liked the food but because it was the one place in Paris where he could not see the thing.

Fortunately for everyone who came later, the city kept it. Today the Eiffel Tower is the symbol of Paris, a world wonder, and the most visited paid monument on the planet. The lesson is a useful one for anyone with an unpopular idea: sometimes the argument is settled by time.

Twenty years between visits

I first saw the tower as a child, and I went back this summer, two decades later. Memory had kept almost nothing: a lift going up, a few turns on the carousel in front of the tower, and feeding pigeons in a park somewhere nearby. Returning was strange in the way that revisiting childhood places always is. I compared photographs from 1992, sat on the carousel again and spent a while doing nothing in the park.

What I would not have understood as a child was the history, and I owe that to Laura, the liveliest guide I have met. I joined an Eiffel Tower tour and sunset cruise with City Wonders, and the evening turned out to be one of the best of the trip.

The cruise first

A boat along the Seine is an efficient way to see the monuments on both banks before committing to any of them on foot. The briefing took place at Trocadero, and then we boarded, with the front deck reserved for our group, snacks and champagne within reach. It was summer, and people were picnicking along the river as we set off, which looked like the correct way to spend an evening.

You pass the bridge covered in love locks, the Louvre, the Orsay Museum, Notre-Dame and neighbourhoods such as Le Marais. The bridge that stopped me was the Pont Alexandre III, which I think is the most beautiful in the city: ornate, pale and almost too dreamy to be real.

Going up

After the cruise came the tower itself. We had skip-the-line passes and went straight to the first floor by lift. Queues at the famous monuments are long enough that booking ahead is sensible whatever ticket you hold. For the rest of my stay I used a Museum Pass, which paid for itself and saved time at other sights.

One thing to expect: even with a pass, you queue for the lift that takes you between floors. The views repay the waiting. The first, second and third levels each offer something different, and the guide took us up to the second, with passes for the third if we wanted them.

Was the top worth it?

I queued for the third floor and, honestly, it would not have mattered much if I had skipped it. The view changes less than you expect, and I did not stay long at the summit. My favourite perspective on Paris is the one that includes the tower itself. From the second level you get the city spread out below and the ironwork in the corner of your eye, which is the photograph I wanted.

After dark

The tower is illuminated every hour at night, and the effect is magical. When the lights begin to sparkle, every phone on the deck comes out at once, including mine. I stayed for the show and left reluctantly. A VIP cruise and a trip up the tower made a full evening, and if that combination appeals to you, the tour is an easy way to arrange both without working out tickets and timings yourself.

As for the photographs from 1992, I am going to scan them, and one day I will put the carousel pictures from both visits side by side. That seems the right way to close the circle.

Practical notes

• Book tower tickets in advance; skip-the-line passes help, but expect a queue for each lift.
• Take the cruise before the tower if you can. Seeing the landmarks from the river makes the view from above easier to read.
• A Paris Museum Pass is worth considering if you plan to visit several museums during your stay.
• Stay for the hourly illumination, even if it means a later journey home.

For cheap places to stay, see these backpacker accommodations in Paris. I have written more about the city too:

• Tips for visiting Paris when you don’t speak French
• Staying in the 12th Arrondissement in Paris: a residential area
• Exploring Montmartre, Paris
• Exploring Paris with a mobile hotspot
• Exploring France through food and wine