Is the Tour Eiffel over rated?

(Left: taken from the Tuilleries, looking through Place de la Concorde. Right: taken from the Champs de Mars)


I have heard it said that the Eiffel Tower is overrated. It's too touristy, the French don't like it, it's a glorified transmission tower, the restaurants are a rip-off, the lines are too long...you're much better off at the Tour Montparnasse. The view's just as good, the queues are shorter and it's not so cliched.

And it's fair enough that people may have these opinions. But on Sunday afternoon I decided I needed a 'Paris' moment, so I went to have coffee looking at the Tour Eiffel. It it felt lovely. Perhaps not an activity that made me feel like a veritable Parisienne, but a moment that made me feel I was very much in Paris.

So, I have included some of my photos of the Tour Eiffel, and also one looking back to Tour Montparnasse (the only skyscraper within the walls of Paris.) What would you rather look at over your coffee?

(Left: when trying to leave the Champs I was totally miffed at the construction fencing that didn't have a single gap anywhere in it for me to shimmy through to my metro stop. Instead, I had to turn around and walk half-way back down the Champs to the nearest gap in the fence. Lucky I did- this was the view I got turning around. It was a nice reminder to just enjoy my day. Right: That building in the distance in the middle of the trees is the Tour Montparnasse.)