Visiting the Towers of Notre-Dame

One of the most famous cathedrals on the planet, the Notre Dame is situated on a small island in the middle of the Seine River. The construction of the Notre Dame originally began in the 12th century and through the centuries it’s gone through several additions on its way to becoming the masterpiece it is today. I have to be honest, typically cathedrals don’t do much for me. However, the Notre Dame was certainly an exception. There are some stunning details to the cathedral that upon close examination really allow you to appreciate this marvel. That said, this post is only about visiting the towers of the Notre Dame and not the interior. So if you’re looking for some good info on making your way up to the top of Notre Dame cathedral, you’re in the right spot.

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The towers of Notre Dame offer what is in my opinion, one of the best views and photographic opportunities in the entire city of Paris. After wearing out your legs a bit going up close to 400 stairs, you’re rewarded with panoramic views of the River Seine, the Eiffel Tower, and the marvelous French architecture all around spanning all the way to downtown Paris. Here’s a quick look at what you need to know if you’d like to venture up to the top of the towers.

View of the Eiffel Tower from the Notre Dame cathedral
View of the Eiffel Tower from the Notre Dame cathedral.

1. Price

At €8.50 per adult, I’d say the price admission is somewhat reasonable. Like just about every other destination they offer discounts for certain people, such as students. There’s a sign by the entrance that states that you need exact change for your ticket but don’t worry about that because once you get in, there are cashiers that will offer you your change in the event you don’t tender exact change.

2. The towers have a separate entrance from the cathedral

The towers are managed by the National Monuments Centre and are basically an entirely separate experience from seeing the inside of the cathedral. You’ll enter into a separate line and will not be given access to the interior of the cathedral as part of your visit. Thus, if you’re planning on seeing the inside be sure to allocate enough time to wait through that line as well.

3. The line gets pretty long

The line for the towers begins at the base of the north tower (if you’re facing the front entrance of the cathedral it will be on your left). The line goes down the side of the cathedral towards the back and it can get pretty long. When the line moves it will only move in blocks. So at times it feels like you’re not making any kind of progress. The good news is that there are several cafes across the street where you can by some drinks or something to eat to help with the wait.

My advice is try to arrive at the towers a little before opening. If you wait until later you are pretty much guaranteed to have to wait in a pretty long line. One option you can look into is after hour tours that will allow you to jump the lines after the towers are closed off to the public. I’ve heard many of these tours offer great talks on the history of the towers and can be a great way to go up in the towers without dealing with the crowds.

4. The stairs… aren’t exactly easy

Once you are given access to the entrance you’ll begin your walk up the spiral stairs. But this will only be a taste of what’s to come. You shortly arrive at the gift shop/admissions desk where you will actually buy your ticket. After getting your ticket, there will be a worker at the door where you entered that will give you the green light to proceed ascending the stairs. That’s when the real fun begins.

To get to the top of the Notre Dame you’ll have to work your way up over 380 spiraling steps. I consider myself to be in average health. I’m not going to win any bodybuilding competitions any time soon but I can knock out a few miles without losing my breakfast. I found the walk up to the top to be what I’d call a calve burning experience. There were a few people in front of us who ended up taking breaks on the way up because it was so difficult. The hardest part for me was keeping my claustrophobia at bay and dealing with the dizziness that came from going up the tight spiraling stairs that seemed to get smaller and smaller as you approached the top. If you find yourself getting worn out feel free to take a breather or two and you will be up to the viewing deck in no time.

Stairs at the top of the Notre Dame tower
The tight spiraling stairs of the Notre Dame tower.
Man on Stairs

5. Capture the best photo opportunities with the chimeras

Once your legs are close to giving out you’ll be relieved to see the sunlight lighting up the stairway — you’ve made it! You’ll make your way through a small door opening (pictured above) and out onto the platforms where the chimeras are. This area is covered by a steel cable-fencing for protection as seen below. Yes, the cables detract somewhat from the view, but as far as photos go it’s extremely easy to fit your camera past the cables to get them out of your way. Plus, it’s completely understandable that they’d need some form of protection up there. Some of the walkways get a little tight as you make your way around, so be prepared for some pretty tight spaces.

Man at top of Notre Dame tower

Being up on that deck was my favorite part of the Notre Dame Towers because I thought taking photos with the gargoyles and chimeras in the foreground and the Eiffel Tower in the background was pretty amazing. They make for very striking photographs and really capture the mystique of the cathedral in very picturesque way.

Notre Dame Gargoyles
Notre Dame Gargoyles

When we visited, the south tower was closed off (apparently this happens from time to time). The south tower is the tower that is home to the huge “Emmanuel” bell that is over 300 years old and weighs 13 tons! The Emmanuel is hardly ever rung, however. I’m guessing that in an effort to preserve the bell they’ve decided to only ring it a few times a year, such as on special holidays like Christmas and Easter. In the north tower there are four bells that ring daily for the time. Be prepared for the loud clamoring of the bells when you are up there; it can be quite jarring when you’re not expecting it.

After you’ve wandered around the first deck you then have the option to go up to the top or go back down. The staff at the tower strictly regulates the amount of visitors that are at the top. This means that you may be standing in line for some time while you wait for the top of the tower to clear. Once they give you the okay to head up you’ll have to deal with even tighter spiraling stairs to make it up to the top of the towers, so if you were struggling with the first batch of stairs just prepare yourself for a little bit more agony (it’s really not that bad). The view from the top of the towers is pretty much the same view you get from the bottom — you aren’t that much higher. The good thing about the top is that you can wander all around the top of the tower for a full panoramic view of the area, which is pretty cool.

Notre Dame top deck
View from the top deck of the north Notre Dame tower.

After you’ve circled around the top of the tower, the staff will make you wait for the stairs in the tower and then send you back down. If you didn’t get a chance to check out the gift shop you can stop by it on your way down.Otherwise, you’ll descend all the way to the bottom floor exit. They way back down is much easier on your legs. The only difficult part of it for me was, once again, dealing with the dizziness that comes from heading down spiraling stairs. Once you finally arrive at the bottom a door will automatically slide open for you to exit and just like that you are back outside of the cathedral.

6. Don’t forget to go in the cathedral if you have time

Like I mentioned, you will have to enter into a separate line to go into the cathedral. On Sunday at about noon the line going into the front was pretty substantial, although it appeared to be moving at a pretty steady pace. Unfortunately, we were a little short on time and weren’t able to see the inside but if you have the time then I recommend you hanging around to see the inside.

That’s the skinny on visiting the towers at Notre Dame. I hope that these tips help you better understand what to expect and that you have a great time visiting this beautiful place!

The Eiffel Tower: Save Time and Money

Once the tallest structure in the world, now the Eiffel Tower stands out as probably the most recognizable tower in the world. You can see the tower from just about anywhere in central Paris and for travelers it serves as a constant reminder that “you’ve made it” (to Paris at least). Admiring the tower from afar or even up close is good enough for many. But for others, going inside the tower is an irresistible experience. Visiting the Eiffel Tower itself is a relatively straightforward process. You wait in line, buy your tickets, and then go up and down the elevator or stairs. However, there are a couple of things you may want to take into consideration when planning your visit to the Tower. Here are five bits of information for making your visit to the tower a good one.

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1. Prices (as of October 2014)

A ticket to get to the top of the tower via the elevator is €15 per adult (less for students and children).

To get to the second deck via the elevator it’s only €9.

To get to the second deck via the stairs it’s only €5.

Under Eiffel Tower

2. How to beat (or deal) with the lines

You can beat the lines by reserving your visit online. The only problem is that you usually have to make this booking about one to two months in advance! That means you’ll have no idea what the weather will be like on the day you choose to visit. Still, it may be better to play the odds with the weather and not have to worry about standing in line.

Another way to beat the line, or at least mitigate the damage of time standing in line would be to get in line about 30-40 minutes before opening or to go at night (at a risk). If you arrive before opening, the line will start picking up about 30 to 40 minutes before opening so make sure that you are there extra early. You can always buy some coffee and crepes from a nearby cafe to appease your appetite while you wait. Be careful about going at night, however. The reason is that sometimes they will close the elevators due to a high capacity of visitors or even worse they may close off admissions entirely if too many visitors are coming in. So while the night time may offer great views and potentially shorter crowds, that comes at the risk of not being able to enter the tower at all.

The photos below show the difference in the crowd from a 5pm on a Saturday and about 45 minutes before opening on a Monday.

Crowd Under Eiffel Tower
The line at the Eiffel Tower at about 5pm on a Saturday.
Eiffel Tower no crowd
The line at the Eiffel Tower approximately 45 minutes before opening.

Finally, in addition to going at the tight time, a way to beat the lines is just to take a hike up the steps. Many feel this is the most rewarding way to view the tower. Not only do you save money (and likely waiting time), you get a more intimate experience as you make your way up the tower step by step.

Remember though, while you’ll be entering into a shorter line you’re going to have to climb a good enough amount of stairs (about 600) to get to that second level. If you’re in decent shape this shouldn’t be a big problem but if mobility is somewhat of an issue for you then I recommend you looking into the elevator route. Also, not to be ignored is that those with extreme fear of heights may struggle a bit due to the exposed sights below. While you are barricaded in by steel and fencing, you can see right through the stairs and surrounding structures on your way up and that may induce a little bit of vertigo in some, so just be mindful of that.

Eiffel Tower elevator view
View from the elevator.

If you decide to go the elevator route you may be a bit surprised by the smoothness of these machines. They seem to almost float up to their next floor. While they can get a little stuffed with visitors, I think the employees do a good job of not squishing a ridiculous amount of people in the elevator at once. After you switch elevators on the second deck to get to the top, the speed picks up as you ascend hundreds of feet and before you know it you are at the top. If I had to grade the elevator experience I would give it an A+, and coming from a claustrophobic guy that’s saying a lot.

3. Is the view from the top worth the extra money?

I hear a lot of people ask this question. I have to say that personally I do think that it’s worth it but it’s really a matter of personal preference. Paris is such a beautiful city and a lot of that comes from the amazing symmetry of the architecture and the layout of the parks, monuments, and streets. You can definitely appreciate this at the second level. However, seeing the city from the top of the city just adds “emphasis” to this fact. Check out the photos below to see the difference in the view in terms of being able to appreciate the full-scale of the city’s symmetry. For some, the difference may be negligible but for me, I appreciated the enhanced perspective.

Trocadéro Gardens from Eiffel Tower
View from the top of the tower.
Trocadéro Gardens from Eiffel Tower
View from the second level.

The other reason for wanting to go to the top is just to say that you were at the top. For me this was the primary reason. Much like going to the top of the Empire State Building, traveling to the top of the tallest structure in Paris is just a cool experience and offers a bit more “bragging rights,” especially if you are willing to add the extra cherry on top with a €10 “glass” of champagne. (Note: the “bar” at the top is really just a walk-up bar where you grab your glass and go so don’t expect an elaborate set-up.)

Top of Eiffel tower

I realize that bragging rights and pricey champagne may not be important to everyone and if it’s not then you will not feel cheated one bit from just visiting the second level of the tower. The views are still sweeping and for some arguably better. Remember, this area of Paris isn’t full of high-rises. Thus, a higher vantage point won’t necessarily improve your sights of many of the four and five story buildings. So while you can appreciate the full scale of the city’s symmetry better from above, that may come at the expense of missing some of the fine detail of the buildings from the second deck. For that reason, the second deck has it’s own advantages and you should stop and check out that view even if you are primarily interested in the view from the summit.

Another shot from the top of the tower.
Top of Eiffel tower

So I guess the answer to which view is better or more worth the money is that you truly can’t go wrong with either choice. And just in case you were wondering, no you cannot walk up the stairs to the very top of the Tower. While such a workout would be unforgettable, they only allow you to access up to the second level via the stairs.

4. Scammers and souvenirs – $ave your money!

Avoid the scams in and around the Eiffel Tower area! There are basically two ways you may get scammed. One are these Romanian Gypsies who wander around asking you to donate to some deaf and blind “charity.” They will approach you asking if you speak English and if you answer in the affirmative then you will become fresh meat in their eyes and they will try to pressure you to “just sign your name” and then donate. They usually have about four or five names on their little sign-up sheets already marked to try to entice you to donate, but don’t fall for it.

After I caught on to their game, I purposely answered one that I spoke English just to take another look at their sign-up sheet. My suspicion was that all of the previous donators were written in the same handwriting. After getting one of the scammers back over to me, I quickly saw that I was right. All four individuals had their names written down in the same exact handwriting! I didn’t really need confirmation on these scammers, but it was interesting to see how little effort apparently goes into their game on that end.

The other potential scams are the folks selling Eiffel Tower models out on the sidewalks. They are mostly African and usually have a big bunch of metal tower models in three or four different sizes attached on a ring. They aren’t scammers per se, but they will try to get you for your money. They sell Eiffel Tower models for about €10 that easily sell for €2-3 in the nearby souvenir shops. So my advice is not to buy from these people unless you bargain them down to about 25% of their offering price or unless you are just feeling particularly generous with your money.

Eiffel Tower gift shop
Eiffel Tower souvenirs at a local shop, sold for a fraction of the price offered by some of the street vendors.

On that same note, I recommend you spend as little as possible at the souvenir shops inside the Tower. I have to admit, I bought the “official” Eiffel Tower model from one of the shops inside the Tower just because I couldn’t resist, but I don’t recommend you buying a bunch of little items like magnets because you can pay about half the price for those at nearby souvenir shops and little kiosks around the streets.

5. Eiffel Tower Restaurants

I did not have the privilege to dine at any of the restaurants located inside the tower so I can’t say much about them. My advice would to be to read up on Tripadvisor about these places before making plans. Here’s a list of the restaurants found inside the tower.

Overall, the visit to the Eiffel Tower is pretty straight forward and shouldn’t pose any problems for you. I think the main thing is to catch the tower before it opens because the lines underneath get out-of-control and that is your only sure way of being guarantied admission without pre-booking months in advance. Also, be careful when purchasing souvenirs from the street vendors and the souvenir shops because you can easily save 50% by just being patient and buying from nearby shops.

That’s it for now. Enjoy your time in Paris!

Northern Lights… from a plane!?

My recent trip to Iceland to see the northern lights did not go as planned in many more ways than one. One of those failures was not being able to see the northern lights because of crazy overcast clouds. However, on my way flying into Iceland, I was able to capture the northern lights from our plane and thus at least partially fulfilled my wish of seeing the northern lights! Here’s how I did it.

Iceland Air Map

I first noticed the flight path as we were on the ground getting ready to take off. I knew that we would be in the “zone” for seeing the northern lights and that we would be above the clouds so that if the northern lights were actually showing I would be in good shape to see them. When I checked the kp Index I saw that they were predicting a “3” which is a relatively strong indicator that the lights would be out. With that information, I decided that I would stay up all night on the flight.

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About three hours into the flight, everyone on the plane just about was asleep. That’s when I started to focus intensely outside my plane window. After squinting pretty hard for hours, I noticed that there was something outside the window in the distance. It resembled a cloud but seemed to have a different texture and also extended far beyond where I remembered the clouds being. It was difficult to see because of the light pollution coming from the cabin and the light on the wing. I then grabbed a blanket and a jacket and essentially suction-cupped myself to the window, blocking out all stray light. That’s when I was sure I was looking at the northern lights!

I got pretty excited and knew I had to grab my camera. I positioned it on top of my camera bag in an attempt to make myself a make-shift tripod. I then turned up the ISO and put the shutter speed on about 10 seconds. After a couple of trial and error shots, I got the below shot.

Northern Lights from plane

Amazingly, the picture turned out much better than I had imagined. You can see the sky full of stars and can barely see the clouds near the bottom. The color of the lights were not that green in real-life but the camera sensor certainly did its job in picking up the light. I took about 20 or 30 shots of this until the light began to fade as dusk approached. It really was a somewhat magical experience and what was interesting was that everyone on the plane seemed to be asleep and missing out on this awesome sight. I wondered to myself how many other passengers would have gladly stayed up to see the sights and how many other people may have seen the same thing on this flight or another flight. Overall, I still hope to see the northern lights one day from the ground but for now I will treasure this experience — truly unforgettable.

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