Arc de Triomphe or Eiffel Tower?
 

My husband and I have been to Paris twice and never got up to the Arc or Eiffel tower. We are planning on going to London this Christmas and were thinking about a day trip back to Paris on the Chunnel ($130 a person roundtrip.) My questions are which should we take the time (wait in line) to go up to the top and is it worth the $260 per couple to do that. Thanks!

We were able to do both in the same day this spring -- a short visit to the Louvre, with a walk/bus ride up the Champs Elysee to the Arc -- then we took the Metro to enjoy the Eiffel tower at dusk. I don't know about the cost of the day trip. We ruled out a day trip to Normandy because of the cost. If you have already enjoyed Paris without feeling the compelling need to see the view from two of the major sites, it might not be worth the $260. On the other hand, we did Paris in a 3 day weekend for the "thrill" of saying we went to Paris for the weekend! It was VERY worth the cost to us.

I'm not sure what your are asking -- is it worth $130 a person to go up in the Eiffel Tower to look down at Paris? (or the Arc, which isn't as tall, but a different location).

no, of course not, unless you have money to burn. My rule of thumb would be if you have to ask, it isn't. Is that really the only reason you would go to Paris for a day and spend that money?

Christina- The $130 per person I am referring to is the price of the train ride to Paris from London. I would consider a day trip to Paris just to walk around the fascinating city again and to eat a crepe or two. I just want to know if I am "missing out" on anything by not going up the Eiffel tower or Arc.

It's very difficult for us to answer these

IS IT WORTH IT?

questions.

It may be worth it to me, but not worth it to others.

If it's something that you <i>really</i> want to do and you'll regret not going, then yes, it's worth it.

And if I were to pick one or the other, I'd definitely choose Eiffel Tower.

But if your goal is to see Paris from a high viewing point rather than going up Eiffel Tower, you should consider going up Tour Montparnasse. Most likely shorter lines, and cheaper too!
http://www.tourmontparnasse56.com

The monuments are close together. You could do both on your day trip.

Is the chunnel at full speed yet? If so, isn't it 2+ hours each way.

I respectfully suggest a day trip somewhere within the UK, instead of wasting half a day on the train.

But, that said, it would be a blast to see what you could fit into that finite time in Paris.

I have been to Paris six times and I did not get to the top of the Tour Eiffel until my las trip. Yes I am glad I did it, but I don't have a desire to do it again.

I have not done it, but I think that time of year Montparnass might be a better choice.

There are so many things to do in Paris, I would question if this would be on the top of my list.

If you've already been to Paris twice and didn't make the time to visit either, I would guess they aren't a priority for you... so why now?

Personally I'd save the money and enjoy London more!

Book lunch at CielDeParis.com on the Montparnasse Tower. The <i>Menu des Gourmands</i> is a bargain at 35&euro;, and you can see every famous monument in the city from your table (if you ask for a window seat).

There's a special elevator (the northmost one) that takes you right to the restaurant, and the ride is free. No lines, no waiting. Maximize your Eurostar investment.

6 times now, and I haven't had time to either - yet. As to views, back in the good-ol'days, when there Samaritan's roof was available, that was nice.

If you know that you will never ever go to Paris again, I guess it would be sorta worth it, however, you can't predict the weather (no view if it's crummy, eh?) or the crowds. You might run out of time and have to go back empty-handed.
That being said, go to Arc first (it has an elevator but is walkable if elevator isn't working) then cab to Eiffel and go to the top.
What could you do with the 260 in London? I'm leaning on a day trip in London and save Paris for a time when you have more flexibility to deal with the roadblocks mentioned above. Please do report back!

Five times to Paris for me and I have yet to get to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Since the buildings in Paris are not very high one does not need an exceptionally high vantage to see the city well. When we went to the Arc de Triomphe there was no line. The view was excellent, especially of the Eiffel Tower.

Really good point about the eurostar slowdown. On Sept. 28 the trip was over three hours.

I would check on this beforehand as in our case it was 3 hours twenty minutes one way which will cut into your time in Paris.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say no, it's not worth it.

Spending a rushed half-day in Paris is like allowing yourself one bite of something sweet and delicious while strictly dieting. Only a masochist would enjoy it.

If I were you, I'd focus on London at Christmas and start planning my third trip to Paris.

<b>It's not a rushed half-day.</b>

You mean half of a 24-hour day? The last Eurostar in the evening (20h50) departs Paris <i>eleven and a half hours</i> after the first one arrives (9h17).

That's plenty of time to take a healthy bite of the City of Light - but you're sure to want more...someday.

Thanks everyone for your input. Like I mentioned, we have been to Paris twice but I think it would be nice to get a birds eye view of the wonderful city. Who knows, this may be our last trip to Europe for a while. I will definitely have to look into the Montparnasse. I feel like the Arc and Eiffel are such great landmarks, it's a shame not to take full advantage of them. We would take the first train out of London putting us in Paris by 9am and we would likely leave around 5-6pm. A nice full day of walking around and eating many crepes!

The view from the Arc de Triomphe isn't all that spectacular compared to 690 feet up the Tour Montparnasse - check out these samples:

http://www.atkielski.com/Wallpapers/...;picheight=768

http://www.atkielski.com/Wallpapers/...;picheight=768

http://www.atkielski.com/Wallpapers/...;picheight=768

Skip both the arc and Eiffel tower; go up the tower of Notre Dame instead.

As for whether it's worth the price, I'd gladly pay $130 right now just to stroll along the Seine for a day, but what you have to think about is whether it's worth taking a full day away from your other destination. Is this your first trip to London, and how many days will you have there? Don't underestimate the time it takes to see London.

After a couple of visits to Paris, when I felt it wasn't worth the time to go up in the Eiffel Tower, we took our children there this summer and considered this a &quot;must-do&quot; for them.

I booked a tour, called a backstage tour. You meet at the Eiffel Tower at an appointed time. The guide takes you down into the mechanical room where you see the giant piston and pulley system that powers the elevators. After a short time in the mechanical room (maybe 20-30 minutes??), the guide takes you to the elevator and up to the first level. At that point, you can follow the guide around for a tour of the first floor. Or, as we did, you can ditch the tour and continue on your own.

(We did have one hitch. When we arrived, the guide informed us that this was the tour in French. We elected to take the tour, since we didn't want to wait in the huge line. We couldn't understand much in the mechanical room, but there were sketches there and it was fairly clear what was going on. When we came home, I emailed the company that we made the arrangements through. They apologized for the inconvenience and gave us a full refund for 4 people. I wasn't expecting that, so I was pleasantly surprised.)

One note about the Arc de Triomphe - I think it is spectacular at night. The view of the twinkling Eiffel Tower in the distance is quite beautiful.

How about a visit to Sacre Coeur for the view.

Hi HL,

I wouldn't do a round trip to Paris just to go to the top of the Arc or the ET.

((I))

I would like to comment that you don't need to take a cab from AdT to ET. The green 6 Metro line will take you from the CDG Etoile station to the Bir-Haiken station (4 stations in between).

The Metro has a nice interactive site that you can plot out your route (www.ratp.info/orienter/cv/carteparis.php).

I read a similar discussion before I went a few years ago and some people didn't see the value of going up the Eiffel Tower at all. How can you not go to the top of the Eiffel Tower at least once? It's just one of those touristy things you need to do. And the view is amazing. I also thought the view from Tour Montparnasse was amazing and there was no line. The view of the Eiffel Tower from Montparnasse is post card worthy.

I'm not going to weigh in on whether it's worth doing a day trip from London versus some other destination in Britain -- or London itself -- but respond to the relative merits of the two alternatives.

The thing about the view from the Arc de Triomph is that it is an intimate one. You're up a bit, but not so high that you're detached. It's wonderful, assuming the weather is decent, to see all the roads leading into the etoile and take in the different vistas offered in different directions, and imagine the vision it took to lay out the city is such dramatic fashion. For that reason, I prefer the Arc. I've been to Paris literally dozens of times, but usually for very short stays en route to other destinations in France, but I must admit that I remember my visits (yes, two) to the top of the Arc with great affection.

A couple of years ago I visited the newish Musee du Quai Branly located right next door to the Eiffel Tower and while I didn't extend my visit to go up the tower, I did wander around . . . and it just goes to show ya that people are different. I'll take the Arc.

ps-One can also get a pretty good view from the cafe atop Pompidou Centre!

One more thing to keep in mind is that it will be FREEZING at the top of the Eiffel tower that time of year.

<i>The view of the Eiffel Tower from Montparnasse is post card worthy.</i>

In fact, that post card is right here: http://www.tourmontparnasse56.com/fr...rte.html?id=18

Oh my, so much to consider. I just may have to do all 3 in one day(am I crazy or what - I know probably impossible?!) the Arc, the Eiffel Tower as well as Montparnasse - plus having to fit in time to eat a few crepes!

I see NO REASON to do all 3. Just pick one and be done with it. Use the rest of your time strolling the streets of Paris and have coffee.

At risk of sounding like the tourists that we are, we've been to Paris three times and visited both sights every time. The views are different and while they can't be compared with other higher points throughout the world (or Paris), there's just something about looking down and seeing those cars going every which way and watching the Seine roll through the City of Lights. If you are wondering whether you should go, then you should go. If you don't get back to Paris, you'll have no regrets later.

--Annie