After seeing Notre-Dame, we decided to tackle the Eiffel Tower. We wanted to go to the first level to avoid the long lines for the elevator to the higher levels. We still had to wait in a line for the stairs. It was Easter weekend so crowds were expected. The first level gave you a nice view of Paris so I was happy that we did not go to the higher levels.
After the Eiffel Tower, we visited the Place de la Concorde. Place de la Concorde is most notably known as the site of the guilletine of the French Revolution. It is also across the street from the Tuileries, a famous park in Paris. The Palais des Tuileries once stood on its grounds (occupants included Louis XVI and Napoleon). It was burned to the ground in 1871, but the gardens remain. By walking through the Tuileries, you come to the best view of the Louvre. We did visit the Louvre for a few hours. I am embarrased to say that we only spent about 3 hours there. It is so big that you cannot see everything, so we just hit the highlights! We spent most of our time in the main gallery. I was able to get about as close as you can to the Mona Lisa so I captured a bleary picture (because of the glass). After the Louvre, we headed back to our hotel to get ready for our trip to London.
The last two pictures on this blog is our view from our hotel room. Because we arrived in Paris a day early, our room at our hotel was not ready. The hotel did not have any rooms available, but one of the penthouse suites. In order to fill the room, the hotel gave us a discount rate and they said we could stay in the room for the next two nights. From our hotel room, we could see the Eiffel Tower and Montmarte. We realized we will never have another view quite like that one again!
