Hi!
Concerning the Eiffel Tower... I%26#39;ve been reading it%26#39;s best to take the stairs to the 2nd floor, saving some time and money? Is it a very hard climb? Are you boxed in with hordes of people where if you had to stop to catch your breath you%26#39;d fear getting trampled? :-P
Another option I was thinking of is making reservations at Altitude 95. I think it might be fun to have a meal there, see the views from the restaurant. Does anyone know if after the meal there%26#39;s access to go to the top or do you have to buy tix for that seperately on the ground floor before going up to the restaurant?
Also, is the %26quot;third floor%26quot; the top of the tower?
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The Lourve... I was debating even attempting this since we%26#39;re only going to have 2 days in Paris, but I think I really want to see the Mona Lisa in person once in my life even if it%26#39;s glimped over the rooftop of many heads!
So I%26#39;m thinking of buying tix online... (anyone do this?) It should save us a bit of que time. Unfortunately we wont be able to get there right when it opens... we%26#39;ll be arriving in Paris on a Monday morning in April and by the time we get to town, drop off our luggage and have a snack ,it will probably be close to 1pm I%26#39;d imagine. Of course Tuesday%26#39;s not an option since they%26#39;re closed.
Anyway, I%26#39;ve just found out that kids under 18 are free! Pretty cool!
So if we already had our tickets, we%26#39;d show up and then they%26#39;d let my son in for free with his passport or student ID?
Thanks in advance for any info! :-)
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If I had only 2 days to spend in Paris, I wouldn%26#39;t go to the Louvre, though I would pass by and view it from the outside. There are so many beautiful sights to see, and hopefully you%26#39;ll be fortunate to have nice weather for strolling around when you%26#39;re there in April. However, if going inside the Louvre is a real priority by you, then by all means you should do it, and of course it%26#39;s your decision to make. BTW, most people I know who have seen the Mona Lisa were a bit disappointed since it%26#39;s not a large painting. I can%26#39;t say that I was very disappointed simply because I had already prepared myself not to have very high expectations.
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The Eiffel Tower can be quite crowded depending on what season and time of day you go. There are many hundreds of stairs, so the very efficient elevators are preferable depending on your condition. Your entry ticket, purchased at the base kiosk, gives you access to the tower and its elevators in their entirity (as I recall). You can get off and get back on again at any time on any of the 3 floors. There are 2 viewing levels on the top ( 1 enclosed/ 1 with no roof). The Altitude95 is great (the foods not bad either) -- what a view. Note: there is another, much more expensive and hard to book restaurant in the Eiffel as well (The Jules Verne--has mixed reviews). Check their website for more info (www.tour-eiffel as I recall). The Louvre also has a very good website. Can%26#39;t remember the www at the moment (Google; Louvre , you%26#39;ll find it). I wholeheartedly disagree that the Mona Lisa is a disappointment. Even though you may have to stand on somebodies shoulders to see it sometimes and the fact that it is encased in glass (causing a glare) -- it is still well worth the effort --Tip; keep your eye on her eyes as you walk across the room, she follows you; her entire head seems to follow you --- DaVinci%26#39;s magic. The Greek and Egyption collections were my favorites. Tip; when on the Louvre website, pay particular attention to the entry access points -- there is more than one and you miss the lines (queues) if you know about them. We strolled right on in at the %26quot;Lion%26quot; entrance. As I recall, you also get to bypass some lines if you have the Mussepass which can be bought on-line (prior to arrival) but this only makes financial sense if you%26#39;re planning on getting your monies worth out of it by visiting a number of other (included) attractions. Good luck -- have fun.
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%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt; As I recall, you also get to bypass some lines if you have the Mussepass which can be bought on-line (prior to arrival) but this only makes financial sense if you%26#39;re planning on getting your monies worth out of it by visiting a number of other (included) attractions %26lt;%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
I just want to caution that because the Paris Museum Pass is so easy to buy at any of the participating museums that it really is **never** advantageous to buy the pass online. Really.
The advice about seeking out an alternate entrance (other than the main Pyramid), is quite sound, and if you spend some time studying a map of the Louvre, you%26#39;ll see that it will be pretty easy for you to pop in and out of the place to see Miss Mona without spending too much time. I would put money on the notion that, without any mobility issues, one could see the big three, from Metro exit, through the musee, and back to your starting point, in........53 minutes.
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Hi there, I%26#39;ve never been to Paris but I%26#39;m booked to go and booked a table at Altitude 95. There is a separate ticket window if u are going there that lets you skip the queues (otherwise you would miss your booking)
I%26#39;m not sure if you could then go up to the top after the meal but I see no reason why not!
Hope this helps!
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I can%26#39;t remember which night the Louvre is open late, but that is my favorite time to go. The lines are much shorter, and the last time I did this there was only 6 people visiting the Mona Lisa. It was a great experience to really appreciate her without a hundred people behind you.
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Louvre is open late on Wednesday nights and Friday nights.
You can definitely get in pretty quickly from the metro entrance through the shopping area. It%26#39;s easy to navigate after getting off of the metro.
Shoesy, hate to disagree, but I loved seeing the Mona Lisa. The %26#39;big three%26#39; are now closer in proximity to each other, so if you want to do a whirlwind visit, you can.
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the ticket lines are not long at the Louvre -- I have never had more than 6 people in front of me to buy a ticket at one of the booths under the pyramid -- and there are also machines
the lines are for security and are not skipped with the pass
so the key as noted is to use the carousel entrance where the lines are usually (except on %26#39;free Sundays%26#39; -- best avoided) short there --
I would skp the Eifel and do the Louvre if I only had two days in Paris --
you can %26#39;do%26#39; the Louvre quickly if you identify the handful of must sees for you personally -- I have spent many a happy 7 hour day there -- but you can also go in and spend an hour or two and see the handful of things most important to you -- it is undeniably wonderful to see winged victory, venus, the scribe and even mona in person at least once in your life (and who can resist the Marie de Medici cycle in the %26#39;Rubens Room%26#39;?)
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Thanks for the great advise!
I%26#39;m doing my research, and seriously thinking of booking reservations at Altitude 95. From what I can see from a picture, the interior looks very interesting!
A suggestion to skip the Eiffel Tower?????? No no no... !!
Gotta! :-)
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I%26#39;m so glad to hear that a number of posters really found seeing the Mona Lisa such a worthwhile experience. I never doubted the fact that such people exist; I only stated that I%26#39;d heard of people being disappointed, probably because their expectations had been too high. What I really did like was the feeling that I was actually there with Mona and so many other treasures in that palace of a museum. The Louvre itself is so breathtaking, and we can easily spend hours (days, weeks?) there, and that%26#39;s why I believe it%26#39;s best to visit it on a trip consisting of more than just 2 days.
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I know 2 days isn%26#39;t nearly enough time... we were originally going to do the day trip from London, but decided to fanagle more time there.
I just don%26#39;t know when the next opportunity will come up to see Paris before my son is all grown up! (He%26#39;s 15, but he%26#39;s still %26quot;my baby%26quot; :-) I know we wont be able to see everything, but we%26#39;ll see what we can. We%26#39;ll also make sure just to take a nice walk! We%26#39;ll be staying on the Ile St. Louis so we%26#39;ll be close to the Latin Quarter and Marais and St. Germain.
I remember once years ago visiting some friends on Long Island in New York and they took us into the city for one day!!! It was insane!!
We went by train, and took cabs here and there. It certainly helped we had our friends to whoosh us around! We managed a trip to the top of the Empire State building, a carraige ride in Central Park, the diamond district, lunch, in China Town, dinner in the Italian neighborhood... it was a crazy whirlwind, but a day I%26#39;ll never forget!
(The only reason we didn%26#39;t attempt the statue of Liberty was it was the 100 year anniversery, and the lines were 4 hours long!
Anyway... if Paris ends up enchanting us, I%26#39;m sure we%26#39;ll figure out a way to get back there again at some point!
Cheers!
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