Paris - Day 3

After breakfast we started heading for the Eiffel Tower. We hadn't booked tickets but were just going to see what we could get on the day.

We took the Metro, but the nearest station to the Tower, Bir-Hakeim, was closed so the train went on to stop on the other side of the Seine at Passy. We walked back over the bridge, where we could see that the top of the tower was slightly in cloud.

The tower wasn't very busy at all, probably due to the weather. There were lots of fences and security to get through, but once through there were no queues. We bought tickets to take the stairs up to the first and second floors, then the lift to the top.

There are 327 steps to the first floor, then 347 steps to the second.

At the first floor you can walk around and start to take in the views. They're doing a lot of landscaping work for the 2024 Paris Olympics, so a few of the gardens are under repair.

There's a bit where you can walk on glass and see the ground below.

We carried on walking up to the second floor.

We took the lift to the very top at over 300 metres high. It was a bit hazy but we still got good views.

We went back down by the same route, lift then stairs.

We headed into the streets to the east, and looked at the street market on Rue Cler, which wasn't really all that big. Maybe it was the time of day.

We went to the Seine and walked up the left bank for a bit.

We crossed to the right bank and walked through the Tuileries gardens.

At the far end is the Louvre gallery, which was quite busy with people queuing. We had a good look around the courtyards.

We walked across to the İle de la Cité, and had a look at the Notre Dame under repair.

Heading north, we went for something to eat in a café, we had a filled baguette and a quiche lorraine. We had a look in the BHV Marais department store, then visited the Carnavalet museum, which is a free museum of the history of Paris.

We were pretty tired by now, so walked back to the hotel for a rest.

Later we went out for a drink, then had dinner in a local Cambodian restaurant, Heng Heng Rapide. We shared Vegetable Bo Bun and Beef Bo Bun, which was very good.