LaTour and Centre Pompidou

With some trepidation, we decided to venture out into the tourist melee that is the Eiffel tower. We had heard all sorts of horror stories about people in lines for 3,4 or 5 hrs just to get to the top of this enigmatic structure. It took us all of 2 min to get to know the Metro, another example of public transportation infrastructure that just works. period. It makes travelling around Paris so easy and pleasant that every other city we visit will be judged by this Parisian standard.

We woke early and got to the Eiffel around 0830 (it opens at 0900). It soon became apparent that the longest lines were for the elevator-only trips. There was a tiny line for the stairs (all of 10 Eu) to the second floor (about half way up). Well, we were up for it. All 480-odd steps. Off we went....

What a fantastic experience. You get a real sense of climbing up through the intricate steel-work, seeing all the various plumbing, electrical and hydraulic system at work. Before we knew it we were up at the end of the stairway at the very substantial second-floor. Many of our fellow travellers stopped here without going any further. We decided to pay another 12 Eu or so to take the elevator to the observation deck. Here we go....

At the top, we marvelled at how the Eiffel was a living, breathing, organic structure. You could feel the almost imperceptible swaying and yawing of the deck as the 4 elevator cars berthed at the observation deck. There was an inspiring silence around everyone there, we were all in awe, not only of the tower but of the wonderful city that it revealed, spread out like an enormous tablecloth, beneath us.

One of the must-see destinations in my book was the infamous Centre Pompidou. It was compleeted in 1977 and was the center of much debate among Parisians. Many loved it... many more hated it at the time. It stands between the Seine and La Marais, you get tantalising glimpses of its awkward, skeletal knuckles and exterior ducting and pipework, down many of the narrow streets as you walk down Rue Beauborg. We wanted to see it (and its fantastic collection of modern art) in the flesh, so we left La Tour, hopped on the Metro #9 and headed for it. It was certainly worth the trip...

The highlight was the Roy Lichtenstein exhibition...