The tower looked just like I expected, but then thinking about it, who should it not. The queues were long, but they did move quickly (you can miss the queues by walking up about 12 flights of stairs to the first level). We took the lift to the second level (my first double story lift). This was quite a scary experience, because the lift basically moves up the leg of the tower, so it moves at an angle. This means that you can see the ground fall away below you as you move. The second level platform is about 115 m high, with an incredible view. You can see from the Arc de Triomphe, across to the Louvre, over to Notra Damme, past the Invalides and finally up and down the river.

Once we had adjusted to this height, it was time to move up. The top level is 276 m high, and this level is (not surprisingly) fully enclosed. It is quite a scary experience being at this height, bearing in mind that I was being held up by what is basically a Meccano toy. I thought that the view from the second level was good, but I had no idea. You are actually so high up that you start to see the ground below through the beginnings of the city air pollution. However I did still manage to see about ½ way back to Cape Town.

The Eiffel tower was built in 1889 for the Paris World Fair. It was built by Gustave Eiffel, who also built the Status of Liberty in New York. Its total height is 320m, varying by about 15 cm, depending on the temperature. It weighs 7000 tons, and contains 2.5 million rivets.

If you do visit, you really must go all the way to the top – it is worth the wait in the queues. I do have to conclude by saying that I was very glad to get my feed back on solid ground after the visit.

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1. No unauthorized weddings on the Tower!
2. France, New York and Shopping
3. The Pont de Gard
4. Safe in Calgary – but almost never made it
5. Orange