Paris: Le 58 Tour Eiffel

"You would like to sit by zee window now, oui?". 

A waiter gestured towards the magnificent view of Paris, all twinkling lights and famous monuments.  Without standing up and craning our necks, we couldn't really see it ourselves from where we sat but we knew it was there so took his word for it.

Looking up. 
The Eiffel Tower, Paris 12.04.2011

Typical for someone like me, we'd arrived late with no booking.  The place was packed and the one available table was in a dimly lit back corner far away from the floor to ceiling glass windows showcasing the view.  But I am in Paris, I am at the Eiffel Tower, and I am hungry.  So I am staying.  Back corner or not.  Strangely, we did seem to have windows above us though which meant we could peer upward through the steel structure and watch the evening light show that turned the Eiffel Tower into a disco every night for 5 minutes, every hour on the hour (how the locals must love that).

Two courses down, one to go and because we had started late, other diners had now left.  No need to ask me twice.  Scuttling over to a prime position by an enormous window, waiters followed with our wine, mineral water, desserts, and anything else we'd left behind on the table.

All lit up - the Eiffel Tower.
[Image courtesy of Apple]

As with most tourist icons, my expectations had been low in terms of food and service quality.  Blast that misconception right out of the water because at Le 58 Tour Eiffel, both were excellent.  Like every other bistro, bar and restaurant in France, it offered the obligatory three course menus for a set price  (I'm not sure why this is so popular throughout all of France, but the place is rife with set menus).  Talk about fabulous though.  The food was tasty, beautifully presented and very filling, the wine (French, what else would you drink?) was smooth and complimented the meal, the views (once we got them) were incredible.  I was busily making a mental note to tell every single person I knew that they had to come here to eat.  Just as soon as they flew all the way from Australia, of course.  Don't leave Paris without dining at Le 58 Tour Eiffel, I would tell them.  Take my word for it.

Sydney is 16,962km from the Eiffel Tower.  I know this because on the very top tier - 276m above the ground - there are signs pointing out the distances to major cities around the world.  It feels incredibly high, that top tier.  The elevator that takes you to the very top is glass (naturally) and as you rise, you gaze out and wonder two things.  How strong are these cables? and, is it ever going to reach the top?  The journey seems to take a remarkably long time.  You just keep going up and up and up and up. It is an extraordinary feeling to be up so high atop such a famous steel structure, staring over all of Paris.  From way up here the stylish, beautifully-designed city stretches before you as far as the eye can see. It's almost unfair how many magnificent historical buildings there are, all artfully lit at night.  When you're from a country that is only just over two hundred years old, historical buildings are few and far between.  And 'historical' in Australia is vastly different from 'historical' in France.  By comparison, our historical buildings are brand new.

Despite the unseasonably warm weather Paris was experiencing, when you're at the top of the Eiffel Tower as the sun goes down, it is freezing.  And windy. Hold-onto-your-hat, anchor-yourself-to-the-steel-girders windy.  My advice: tie your hair back and take a jacket.  A very, very warm one.  And then hurry back down to eat at Le 58 Tour Eiffel.