Eiffel Tower Trouble
 

My husband and I just returned from a fabulous trip to Paris with our ten and four year old daughters. We found everyone to be friendly and helpful except for our visit to the Eiffel Tower. We went to the top of the tower and there was not a single employee working there. Unfortunately, we were stuck there with a group of about fifteen drunk and rude teenagers. They were swearing and attemting to intimidate the people around them. I was surprised that there was no supervision of the loading of the elevators. They rushed the crowd and attempted to pack themselves into overcrowded elevators. It was a scary situation and many people were complaining. It would seem like that would be an area that should be supervised. Was this an anomaly or is the top of the tower typically unsupervised?

Don't know for sure, but I think it's a rare situation. When I was there, there was definitely someone who was at the elevator and allowed just so many people on it.

What time of the day did you go?

We were there on a Saturday evening. The elevators were operated by employees but there was no one managing the crowd as they attempted to get on the elevators. It became a problem with people pushing and yelling. It was just this group of drunken teenagers that made it scary, and I am not easily intimidated by groups of teenagers...I teach in a high school. It seems like this could have easily been an orderly process if someone had been controlling the flow of the crowd.

I had a kind of similar experience at the top of the tower. After my friend and I had waited patiently in line to get to the elevators there was no one monitoring them. Everyone just rushed for the open door when it came. It took four elevators for me to get on one and my friend and I got separated. It took her three more tries to get down and at one point some man shoved her into the wall with his arm so hard trying to beat her to the elevator she got a small bruise on her arm.

Although that's better than when a few years ago they didn't want to let my two friends up the tower because they are physically disabled (but can still walk.)

Several years ago I had the same frustration. It was easy to get up but hard to get down. Some people waited patiently in line while others just shoved up to the front. I think it's an issue of different cultural approaches towards queueing.

We all know the overall "European" mindset about waiting in lines and I suppose it is worse when nobody ON THE SPOT including those who are "patiently" waiting don't take the initiatve to exert control.

We were there last Dec. and there were quite a few employees at the top. I hope it was a "fluke" because that certainly could be a dangerous situation.

It's not just the top of the tower - the second level was also really hard to get down from.

There was an elevator attendant who monitored how many people got on the elevator, but there was no effort to make sure people got on in an orderly and calm manner.

Pushing, shoving and whacking people with huge backpacks seemed to be the common method for people trying to muscle their way onto the elevator in front of those that had been patiently waiting their turn.

We missed a couple of elevators before we managed to get on, and we eventually had to get a bit aggressive ourselves by pushing back when being pushed.

The experience in trying to get down actually sort of ruined the entire experience at the Eiffel Tower. I'm taking my parents on their first trip to Paris next June and I'm debating whether they'll be up for that.

That's really a shame since it ruined our experience of the Eiffel Tower. I can't comment on the elevators, as we walked the first two levels. If your parents are reasonably fit, walking to the first level isn't very hard, so maybe they could do that.

Sorry-- I meant "your" experience, not "our" experience!

Maureen-

I considered that, and it would be ok for myself, my dad and my daughter. My mother, however has bad knees (had knee surgery on one of them several months back) and wouldn't be able to do the stairs at all.

I guess I'll tell them what to expect and let them decide. It is a shame that the thing I remember most about the Eiffel Tower is the bad elevator experience.

I'm shocked, just totally shocked!

I thought Europeans of all ages were nice, kind, warm-hearted, non-violent people who respected basic human rights and the freedom to not be crushed in an elevator.

We better alert the UN after they come to work this afternoon and start a lively debate on this terrible crisis.

Were there not enough Americans around to take charge and fix a bad situation?

I can't speak for all of Europe, but the Swiss have never really learned how to stand in line. It's elbow, shove and toe your way through the crowd.

Standing in line for lifts at many skiing areas is a prime example of this. You use the front of your skies to push your way through the crowd, leaning your body to stop the person next to you and using various manouver strategies to finally get on the lift. You can even use your ski poles to stop any skiers from passing you. Your partner will either be before or after you...lost from your view.

But don't worry, everyone waits for each other after getting off the lift.

And then you whoosh down the slopes and the whole procedure starts again.

I was last at the ET on a winter day, the elevator was even then a bit crowded. We walked down from the 2nd level, rather than wait.

Pushing and shoving and general lack of courtesy is too often seen, in my old-fashioned opinion, these days everywhere. I think on the day after Thanksgiving, there were near-riots in some large discount stores in the USA concerning a limited supply of bargain-priced computers and other electronics.
I've also seen that unsupervised (teenage) lout behavior in other locations in Europe,including locations where some sense of respect was called for but lacking.

When store owners and attraction staff aren't properly trained or prepared, the mob behavior can get the better of them. There's that, and the afore-mentioned lack of courtesy.
crs7568, sorry you had a bad experience.
Maybe in the winter the ET staff incorrectly assumed that staffing coverage could be reduced, that's no excuse at all.

My experience has been that Italians are the most pushy when in lines and have no qualms about butting in front of anyone at all. Not to bad mouth Italy, we love it, but this habit of theirs is enough to make one upset!

Lined up for an hour and a half to see St. Supulice (sp?) last year, I noted the approach of two cocky Mediterranean fellows. As they edged forward between the crowd and the rope, I wondered if they were newsmen, guards, or other priveleged types. I was about 3 people from the admitting guard when the first edged past the guard without showing any papers. As the second said, "Skusi", I thrust my arm across his path and said, "NO". He and his pal then patiently waited until I was eventually let thru, at which time they cut in front of someone who lacked the stones to say "NO".

Well, it's not just Italians and other Mediterranean types who are rude. I've come across members of other nationalities who are downright rude too. But in the end you shouldn't generalize as there are both nice and nasty people everywhere. Where I live the word 'courtesy' does not seem to exist anymore.

I think it has a lot less to do about rudeness than it does about culture. Some cultures just don't make a practice of standing in line. Isn't traveling partly about discovering differences?

Pushy people are universal. Ever tried getting on a NY bus after work? ;-)

There is always someone at the summit of the Eiffel Tower, but not necessarily in the public area (someone has to monitor the equipment). Personally I haven't seen staff at the summit, and if they are present, they are not present in adequate numbers to control the huge crowds that visit the tower. While this is not a problem with most crowds, rowdy visitors can rapidly create a dangerous situation.

At the first and second levels, there are usually a few staff members wandering around (but not really enough to police a large crowd if it gets rowdy).

There are multiple good reasons for prohibiting people with limited mobility from visiting the summit; even for people in normal health, it can be a pain, as the original poster here has observed. If they stopped your disabled visitors, they were doing their job; if they failed to stop your disabled visitors, they were not, and the loss is to your own safety.

The Eiffel Tower is a magnet for anyone visiting Paris -- and I did notice a "herd mentality" when I was there in September. It's also the one place in Paris where I took on a guy who wanted to pickpocket me (he was REACHING for my purse), and he was only stopped by my loud "WHAT ARE YOU DOING???" because I was lucky to have seen him first.

When I went with my Mom and Aunt (both in their 60s and both with various issues of limited mobility) we were 2nd in line, and a guy tried to cut in front of us, and thought his back was big enough to stop me. I said "Excuse me" in the 5 available languages to me (English, French, Italian, Portuguese, and German), and I finally just gave him a gentle nudge with my own shoulder to clear space for my family and got past him. I was horrified to turn around and see someone wearing an NFL Football jacket, speaking English, and clear as day knowing what I was saying about my Mom & Aunt being disabled and needing to move. I glared at him with a look that would have melted the South Pole.

Yeah, rude people are everywhere, and maybe he thought that's what I was -- but in all reality, it was clear who was first, second and third in line and so on, and he was clearly in the wrong as he had jumped ahead of us as his friend bought a ticket behind us.

We didn't have a problem near the top --it was a Saturday morning and the place was well-stocked with employees, but not when I needed them.

Now let's all just remember the REST of Paris. ;)

Jules

I'm sure glad I went in the evening. I went at about 18:30 one day in May and I didn't have to wait to get to the second floor or the top floor.

I still think that stopping people with a physical disability, who are still capable of walking and could get down the steps if they had to, is uneccecary. It wouldn't be that much more difficult for them than for all the people that drag their children up there. It would be just as easy for someone to have helped my friends as it would for people to either herd their kids down the stairs, or if they were too young to manage the steps quickly and deftly enough, pick them up and carry them.

Catbert

"I think it has a lot less to do about rudeness than it does about culture. Some cultures just don't make a practice of standing in line. Isn't traveling partly about discovering differences?"

Have to disagree with you on this one, catbert. If jumping lines is a cultural practice, then this confirms my view that some cultural practices are not only rude but quite frankly, stupid and not worthy of respect. As it is French air traffic controllers and French pilots observe proper queues for the runway, thank God, or those of us who went to Paris might never have left there except in a long box. Proper queues are safer and more efficient, period - on the runway, or anywhere else.