Behind the Scenes Tour of the Eiffel Tower

Taking the "Behind the Scenes" tour of the Eiffel Tower was like being on the TV show "How Stuff Works" on the Discovery Channel.

Our tour guide, Aurora, was animated and informative as she described the history of the tower.  Contrary to popular belief Eiffel did not design the tower all by himself.  A team of engineers from his firm did the designing, including architect Stephen Sauvestre and structural engineers Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier.  But Eiffel made sure to keep 99% ownership.  Upon his death, ownership of the tower passed to his family, but the city of Paris eventually purchased it from them.  Currently, the city leases operations to a private company and they split the ticket receipts 50-50.

Aurora walked us over to what appeared to be a maintenance shed near the tower.  It was the entrance to an underground military communications bunker that sits directly below the Champ de Mars and runs from the tower to the École Militaire at the other end.

Did you know that they originally intended to take the tower down after the 1889 World's Fair?  Eiffel saved it by obtaining permission to conduct scientific experiments at the summit.  Near the beginning of WWI, the military began using it as an antenna for the wireless telegraph which put an end to any discussion of taking down the tower.

Poster advertising use of the wireless telegraph; below right: original telegraph lines used (they have since been cut).

After exiting the bunker, we got in line at the tower's east pillar.  It is the only pillar that still uses one of the original elevators.

Before getting on the elevator Aurora took us below, to the inner workings of the elevator.  It was a very technologically advanced piece of machinery for 1889.  A hydraulic piston drives a series of Otis-designed pulleys to raise the elevators upwards and sideways to the 2nd floor.

The diagram does a good job of explaining how it works, but it was also very cool to see the equipment in action.  Aurora noted that because the equipment dates to the 1880's, modern lubricants can't be used.  They lubricate the cables with pork fat; other parts are lubricated with bull and sheep fat.

The white stuff underneath the piston on the left is animal fat.  Yuck.

And now it was time to actually get in the yellow elevator.  There is a little "operator" figure outside; it would have been a real person back in the 1880's.  The elevator moves vertically and horizontally on a diagonal track from the ground to the 2nd floor.  The 2nd platform is only 1/3 of the way up the tower.

There are two levels to the second floor.  The upper level seemed to be one long queue to get on the elevator going to the top.

The "Behind the Scenes Tour" stops on the 2nd platform.  But our "behind the scenes" access allowed us to climb some steps to the roof of the Jules Verne restaurant, and check out the views from there.  The Trocadéro, across the river (with La Défense behind)...

The Seine river, with a view of the Île aux Cygnes ...

A guy playing soccer all by his lonesome...

And of course the view of the Champ de Mars with the École Militaire and the Tour Montparnasse.

There is also a great view of the top of the tower, above...

...and of the tower's shadow across the Pont d'Iéna.

We also spotted the lights that make the tower sparkle at night as well as the upper pulleys for the elevators.

The tour ended on the second floor.  From there we had the option to purchase elevator tickets to the top for 5 euros, but the line was already more than 40 minutes wait time.  Instead we spent a few more minutes enjoying the view, then hiked down the stairs to the first platform and had lunch.

Even from the first floor the view was spectacular.

The people on the ground below look like ants.

We were quite glad to have taken the tour.  Not only was it a great explanation of the inner workings of the tower, but it allowed us to skip the ground floor queues for the elevators and stairs!

Jardin des Plantes and the Institut du Monde Arabe

Another walk today in the 5th district, this time to the botanical gardens of the Jardin des Plantes.  In addition to plants, the garden also is home to several science museums and a small zoo/menagerie.  Today we just took a wander through the gardens.

The gardens were laid out in a style very different from the typical formal French gardens we've been seeing, and almost all of the plants were labeled.  Plants were grouped into separate areas -- alpine plants, arid climates, aquatic plants, etc.

Some very patient gardeners had managed to train the lantana shrubs into trees with thick trunks.

This frightening statue of a hunter stabbing (and simultaneously being mauled by) a bear
was done by Emmanuel Frémiet.  Hmmm...maybe I'll avoid the menagerie today.

Here are a few more images of the grounds.

The gardens lead out to the Seine, so we walked along the Quai St.-Bernard for a while.  Along the quai are a series of modern sculptures known as the Musée de la Sculpture en Plein Air.  Unfortunately many of the sculptures had been vandalized, like the one on the bottom left.

But other parts of the park were quite pretty...it's hard to "tag" a flowerbed.

We also passed the entrance lock to the Port de l'Arsenal; this separates the Seine River from the Port de l'Arsenal/Canal Saint Martin. 

Our final stop was the Institut du Monde Arabe.  It is a beautiful building constructed in the 1980's and designed by architect Jean Nouvel (who also designed the Musée du Quai Branly).

In the central courtyard was a very modern-looking mobile art pavilion designed by architect Zaha Hadid, showcasing a temporary exhibit of her work.   

Of particular interest are the light screens on the facade of the Institut's main building.  The design for these screens was based on moucharibyahs (which are wooden screens that are commonly found on building exteriors in the Arab world.)  The Institut's screens were designed to open and close via motor-control.

From inside, you can see the mechanics of the screens.

From the top floor terrace, we also had a lovely view of Notre Dame and the Île de la Cité.  The tall white statue on the Pont de la Tournelle in the foreground is of St. Geneviève by Paul Landowski.

Rue Mouffetard

Before we went to the Panthéon yesterday, we walked around the Rue Mouffetard area in the 5th district.  Since it was a Sunday, many of the streets were closed to traffic and there were lots of people strolling around.  We started off near the Place de la Contrescarpe.  From Rabelais in the 16th century to Hemingway in the 20th, many writers have found inspiration in the taverns and cafés around this square.  

Further down was the Mouffetard Sunday market.  For the most part it was just like every other street market we've been to -- a few stalls of produce, fish, butchers, etc.  However, something I saw in the street caught my eye.

At first I thought maybe this was just some cheeky street art.  But further investigation showed that there was, indeed, a bowling alley on Rue Mouffetard.

But after looking at this mural in the stairway, I'm not sure they play it the same way.

As we headed down the last flight of stairs we could hear the telltale sound of pins falling.  There were several groups down there enjoying a Sunday bowl, accompanied by loud techno music.

We went back up to the street and walked down to the end, following the sound of accordion music and singing.  There was a whole crowd gathered, and people were handing out song sheets for a big sing-along of French chansons.  A few couples were dancing, as well.

We hadn't been standing there more than a minute or two when one of the organizers approached and asked me to dance.  How could I refuse?  Stephane was very kind and didn't seem to mind that I can't dance to save my life.  It was very fun, though.  He sang along as we danced...the song is Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien.



Here's another short video of some much more talented dancers!

The Panthéon

Today we took a walk in the 5th district, past the Panthéon.  It was originally built as a church to honor Sainte Geneviève.  After the French Revolution, the building alternated between being used as a church and for secular purposes until 1885, when it was made a civic mausoleum dedicated to the great men and women of France.

The Panthéon was built in the neoclassical style and modeled on the Pantheon in Rome.  Twenty-two Corinthian columns line the portico.  Construction was completed in 1790.

The interior contains a mix of religious artwork depicting the life of Sainte Geneviève and monuments honoring the country of France.

At first glance it seems like any other church or cathedral until you realize that there is no altar.  Where the altar would be is instead a grouping called The National Convention, which shows a female personification of France (called "Marianne") surrounded by patriots and revolutionaries.

For the most part the ceiling has been left bare of frescoes, which gives the interior space a light and bright feeling.

The exception is the central dome which has a colorful fresco depicting the Apotheosis of Sainte Genevieve by Antoine Gros.  The dome is constructed with three layers.  The fresco is on the middle layer and is seen through an oculus (hole) in the first layer.  The third layer of the dome is the outer layer, built of stone and covered with a lead roof.

French physicist Léon Foucault experimented here in the Panthéon with a pendulum suspended from the center of the 272-foot dome.  In 1851 he was able to tangibly demonstrate the earth's rotation on its axis by watching the apparent "movement" of a pendulum swinging in an arc (it is an illusion, as the pendulum's arc is stationary -- the earth is what is moving.)  Too complicated for me to explain in a few sentences, the wikipedia article actually has good animation with a scientific explanation to show how it works.  There is still a pendulum on display in the Panthéon, here it is in action:



We then went down to the enormous crypt, which is where all the great men of France rest for eternity.  Flanking the entryway are the tombs of Voltaire and Rousseau.  Clockwise from left: Voltaire's tomb, Rousseau's tomb, statue of Voltaire.

Three literary greats are buried in the same crypt: Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, and Emile Zola.  The remains of Dumas were only just moved to the Panthéon in 2002.  On the right are Pierre and Marie Curie.  Marie Curie is the first woman to be buried in the Panthéon for her own achievements (the first woman interred there was someone's wife).

France has high expectations of its current citizens, because there are several completely empty crypts, just waiting to be filled with "great men".

We came back upstairs just as a tour was leaving for the dome.  You can only go up there as part of the tour, so we joined in.  The birds-eye view allowed us to see the Foucault Pendulum from above.

Another view of the main floor.

Getting up close and personal with the ceiling allows you to see the damage that gravity and time can cause.  Other areas were covered with netting to prevent bystanders below from falling stonework.

We were then led outside and climbed more steps to walk around the exterior terrace on the dome.

The views were pretty great, and you could walk all the way around the dome to get a 360-degree view of the city.

Eiffel Tower, Invalides, Saint-Sulpice with La Défense behind

Notre Dame with the Pompidou center behind

The church of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, just around the corner

And a couple more snaps of us enjoying the view.