David Shoulder - Isle of Wight: March 2024

Lucky granddad. Recently returned from 3 nights in Paris with Victoria and my granddaughters Annabelle and Ayla. The girls are 12 and nearly 10. They had not been to Paris before. We wanted to show them some of the sites as a granddad treat. It was a joy and a privilege.

It was an easy flight from Bristol to CDG and in no time our taxi dropped us at our central Paris hotel - the base for our short stay. We had a programme and had booked things in advance.

First morning we were booked to visit the Louvre at 9.30. We walked - chatting - down the Champs Elysees - across Place de la Concorde and down to the Louvre. I explained about the Louvre pyramid and how controversial it was initially and how well it is now generally regarded. There were plenty of people queuing but their system worked like clockwork. As you would expect of somewhere that ranks one of the world's most visited places everything is well organised and clear. There are 35000 exhibits at the Louvre - the guide book says it would take 9 months to stop and look at each one. We have maybe 2 or 3 hours.

We had talked in advance about the Mona Lisa and why it might be so famous (not sure ha!). It is the star attraction - the must see - which we of course did. Similarly with the Venus de Milo. Vic is really in to history and while she she had been to the Louvre before she could have spent our whole time there. The girls seemed to get a lot from it - they especially enjoyed the gallery dedicated to the French royal family jewels ! Time went quickly.

For lunch we buy filled baguettes - (and Annabelle loves donuts from NoGlu). We eat them sat on a bench people watching. Later we cross back over the Seine - and walk back through the Place de la Concorde and up the Champs Elysees to visit the Arc De Triomphe. This is the first time I have walked to the top. So its through the underpass and up the 234 spiraled steps to the balcony. The girls loved it and I made it ok! The views out over Paris were before us - especially the Champs Elysees. Hard not to be impressed. Later we visited the flame of the unknown soldier which is under the arch. Our full day is finished by a swim at our hotel and then a walk to a Pizza restaurant that specializes in gluten free food. On the way we walk close to the illuminated Eiffel Tower and marvel that if the plan works we will get to the very top tomorrow. Vic organises an Uber back to the hotel. Brilliant value and very easy. Vics stepometer says we have done 27000 steps. The girls were amazing and great company.

Next day we have 9.30 am tickets to the top of the Eiffel Tower. We walk from our hotel. Annabelle has really cracked google maps. She is our navigator. It was lovely being in the center of Paris on a quiet still Sunday morning. We cross the Champs Elysee and the Seine again. The Eiffel Tower is getting closer and closer. It is exciting. 9.30 is the opening. Pre booked tickets is the way to go. There is some security checks but it felt low key. We are directed straight to the lift to the second level and then funneled to the lift up the middle of the tower straight to the very top. It costs more to access the top but it was worth it. The views are obviously stupendous and Vic and I have a strong sense of place and occasion and the girls got it too. We were somewhere special and it was our good fortune. (one rather crude but funny observation - there is a public toilet right on the top of the Eiffel Tower - quite a claim to have used it - ha! ). The girls are really engaged and great. We pick out the Arc de Triomphe (that we had been to the top of the day before.) Now it looks relatively tiny. One thing evident from the Arc and from the top of the Eiffel is how well Paris is laid out. Each hubs with all major roads leading off like spokes in a wheel. The only thing that could be better was if the tree lined avenues were in leaf - alas it is a bit early - but then there are fewer tourists as a bonus. We eventually exit via the lift to the second level and then eventually enjoy the sensation of the relatively long walk down on the metal staircases (made all the more special as pretty much everyone else seemed to be using the lift.) The Eiffel tower really is an amazing structure - especially when you are on it. Here is an extract about the tower from Wikipedia :-

The Eiffel Tower is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889.

Locally nicknamed "La dame de fer" (French for "Iron Lady"), it was constructed as the centerpiece of the 1889 World's Fair, and to crown the centennial anniversary of the French Revolution. Although initially criticised by some of France's leading artists and intellectuals for its design, it has since become a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognisable structures in the world. The tower received 5,889,000 visitors in 2022. The Eiffel Tower is the most visited monument with an entrance fee in the world: 6.91 million people ascended it in 2015. It was designated a monument historique in 1964, and was named part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site ("Paris, Banks of the Seine") in 1991.

The tower is 330 metres (1,083 ft) tall, about the same height as an 81-storey building, and the tallest structure in Paris. Its base is square, measuring 125 metres (410 ft) on each side. During its construction, the Eiffel Tower surpassed the Washington Monument to become the tallest human-made structure in the world, a title it held for 41 years until the Chrysler Building in New York City was finished in 1930. It was the first structure in the world to surpass both the 200-metre and 300-metre mark in height. Due to the addition of a broadcasting aerial at the top of the tower in 1957, it is now taller than the Chrysler Building by 5.2 metres (17 ft). Excluding transmitters, the Eiffel Tower is the second tallest free-standing structure in France after the Millau Viaduct.

The tower has three levels for visitors, with restaurants on the first and second levels. The top level's upper platform is 276 m (906 ft) above the ground – the highest observation deck accessible to the public in the European Union. Tickets can be purchased to ascend by stairs or lift to the first and second levels. The climb from ground level to the first level is over 300 steps, as is the climb from the first level to the second, making the entire ascent a 600 step climb. Although there is a staircase to the top level, it is usually accessible only by lift. On this top, third level is a private apartment built for Gustave Eiffel's private use. He decorated it with furniture by Jean Lachaise and invited friends such as Thomas Edison

We get down to the concourse again and enjoy messing around taking photos - like being on a photo shoot with three models !

For the afternoon Vic has booked us in to a cabaret show at Paradise Latin. We were not sure what we were going to get - but it was advertised as suitable for children. We choose to walk again - to have lunch on the way. It is fascinating to walk. You see so much more - and opportunity to chat about what you see. The girls are engaging. Vic is so positive and in tune with her Paris surroundings. Brilliant.

The theatre setting is so much more than we expected - built by the man that built the Eiffel Tower.

The Paradis Latin is a theater at number 28, rue du Cardinal Lemoine, in the Latin Quarter of Paris, in the fifth arrondissement, near Notre-Dame, the Panthéon, and the Tour d'Argent restaurant. The closest métro stations are Cardinal Lemoine and Jussieu.

It was first built on the rue des Fosses-Saint-Victor in 1803 and called Théâtre Latin. It burned down in 1870, but was rebuilt on the rue du Cardinal Lemoine, as Paradis Latin in 1887–1889 by Gustave Eiffel. It was closed around 1900, but was rehabilitated, starting in 1973, and reopened, in 1977, as a cabaret venue.

The setting was so atmospheric. We had our own table and had a glass of champagne. The show itself was of a high standard - the content a bit random - but very entertaining - plenty of music and dancing. Perfect.

By now we are pretty exhausted. Vic sorts an Uber and Vic and the girls hatch a plan to ditch going out for dinner again in the evening but to use the hotel pool and then have a picnic in the hotel. Vic and the girls went to a close by supermarket and came back with a mini banquet. It was a perfect wind down evening.

Next morning we have a civilised flight time - this time back from Orly. Uber is the way to go. The girls are fascinated (because of the one hour time difference) it only takes us 10 minutes to fly home !

A couple of thoughts if you are going to plan something similar. Paris is such a tourist draw and major attractions can get very crowded. Going when we did - sort of out of season - has lots of benefits - if you are lucky with the weather - as we were. The other is book tickets online and take the early slots. Both The Eiffel tower and Louvre have the same approach. There are half hour fixed entrance slots - but once you are in you are in - there is no fixed time. Consequently the attractions get busier and busier as the day develops. I remember the last time I went to the Louvre and The Eiffel Tower - it felt too busy. This time it wasn't - even the Mona Lisa was reasonably accessible.

One final thought on architecture - Prince Charles - now King Charles has pushed new building to be proportionate and blend in with its surroundings - as Poundbury! However the Eiffel Tower - (built in 1880's) an now the Louvre Pyramid could not be more radical in their time. And now what do the Parisians have - two of the most iconic and recognizable (and loved) structures in the world.

Thank you Phil and Vic for making it happen. The girls made it such a special memory.

Ps and the news you have all been waiting for - Annabelle and Ayla beat mum and granddad in the swim relay !

Here are a few mob photos xxx