Jaunted

Travel Snapshot / Paris Travel / France Travel / Eiffel Tower / Landmarks / Souvenirs / → All Tags

Paris Says Its, Uh, Monument is Bigger Than New York's

Someone's got issues.

That was our second thought when we saw this postcard in prime position at a Paris newsagent. Our first thought was "what the hell, is this a Vegas postcard or something?"

No, it seems that size really does matter to Parisians. Not only do they feel the need to boast about the size of their, uh, tower by plastering it in all its phallic glory over every piece of tourist tat, but also they're fully invested in the "our monument is more monumental than your monument" game, even though—yes—this Statue of Liberty does exist in Paris, though realistically on a far smaller scale. We can thank Photoshop for this fantasy depiction.

Poor old Lady Liberty. What we need now is for Dubai to make a similar postcard pitting Monsieur Eiffel up against the Burj Khalifa. That'll make the Parisian smugness wilt just a little.

[Photo: juliab]

Travel Tech / Eiffel Tower / Paris Travel / iPad / Landmarks / → All Tags

The iPad Arrives at the Eiffel Tower for Just $10 Per Hour

After huffing and puffing our way up the stairs of the Eiffel Tower—we don’t know what we were thinking—we stumbled upon a new way to experience one of Paris’ most famous tourist attractions. Instead of simply enjoying the views of the city from high above the ground, there’s now the option to digitally explore things thanks to the landmark’s very own app.

If you’re brave enough to download something despite the international roaming fees, you can add the Eiffel Tower app right onto your device, but what we thought was even more interesting was the opportunity to borrow an iPad right at the top.

more ›

Bomb Threats / Paris Travel / Landmarks / Eiffel Tower / → All Tags

Eiffel Tower Reopens After Second Bomb Threat

Travelers trekking to Paris can rest assured that they'll be able to climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower, one of the world's most popular tourist sights. The iconic monument reopened last night after the second bomb threat in two weeks.

This follows on the heels of a shutdown of the Saint Lazare metro station on Monday, which also turned out to be a hoax. Last night, police evacuated the tower and kept it closed for about two and a half hours to search the premises, but found nothing.

more ›

Breaking News / Paris Travel / Landmarks / Bomb Threats / Eiffel Tower / → All Tags

Thousands of People Evacuated after Eiffel Tower Bomb Threat

Update: The number of people evacuated is unclear. The AFP and BBC say 25,000, but Le Figaro says only 2,000.

Of course, just hours after we talk about what a great affordable vacation Paris in the autumn would be, a bomb threat evacuates and temporarily closes the Eiffel Tower.

As of right now, everyone is safe and no berets or baguettes have been harmed in the evacuation. The full report from the AFP is as follows:

Police cleared the landmark and its surrounding park, the Champ de Mars. About 25,000 people were in the area at the time but they left calmly shortly before 2100 local time (1900 GMT), a police officer said... Those evacuated were moved to the banks of the nearby River Seine. Police with sniffer dogs are carrying out a search of the area, French media reported.

The Eiffel Tower has had it's scary moments since opening in 1889. There was the German occupation of Paris during WWII when a Swastika flew from the top, a few fires and lightning strikes over the years and of course we can't forget Tom Cruise's marriage proposal to Katie Holmes. This bomb threat will no doubt just be another entry into the Eiffel Tower's journal, but we sincerely hope that it doesn't inspire any copycat threats.

[Photo: Maciej Zgadzaj]

Celeb Travel / Justin Timberlake / Eiffel Tower / Paris Travel / → All Tags

Justin Timberlake's New Costar: The Eiffel Tower

A romantic romp under the stars in Paris is the plot of a new perfume ad starring Justin Timberlake, shooting at night around the Eiffel Tower this week. Like an aging diva, the Tower won't travel for just anyone, so the singer/actor had to come to her.

The shoot, for Givenchy's cologne "Play," feature Timberlake and an actress crossing the Champ de Mars and scaling the tower at night. Since an earlier spot for the fragrance included Timberlake on a plane, this must be his destination—which makes sense, given that the brand has called Paris home since its founding in 1952. No sign of on-again off-again girlfriend (and fellow Super World Traveler) Jessica Biel on set, although the pair recently had lunch in Vancouver where she's filming the big-screen "A-Team" remake.

more ›

Eiffel Tower / Tourist Traps / Iconic Monuments / → All Tags

The Eiffel Tower Still Standing Right Side Up

Joyeux Anniversaire La Tour Eiffel! The Eiffel Tower celebrated its 120th birthday today by releasing more than a thousand balloons into the sky, giving joy to all the tourists who happened upon the iconic monument today. But when Gustave Eiffel's creation was first inaugurated in 1889, not everyone was in love with it. A few famous Parisians called it a "dishonor" to the city. Writer Guy de Maupassant said he liked to eat lunch at the tower because it was the one place where he didn't have to look at it.

What a change a 120 years makes. Today, nearly seven million tourists fork over the 13 Euro fee to visit the tower and one woman even married the structure. Let's hope she has a real special birthday present for tonight.

Related Stories:
· Eiffel Tower turns 120 [Associated Press]

Baaaaaad Scene / Travel News / Protest Travel / Champ de Mars / Eiffel Tower / → All Tags

French Farmers Flock To Parisian Protest

As if the herds of tourists weren't enough: French farmers feeling fleeced by fuel costs and falling prices took their flocks to the Champ de Mars yesterday to plead their case for a government bailout.

This week, officials passed a $316 million (€250 million) package to help farmers, one fifth of which would be shorn off for sheep farmers and breeders specifically. But reps for the sheep breeders union say it's not enough to combat the effects of the economic downturn on the farmers, who pull down an average salary of $10,000 a year.

For visitors to the Eiffel Tower, which sits on the Champ de Mars, the herd of sheep probably wasn't the biggest concern: It was the estimated 800 farmers who attended the protest that probably made Paris' most distinctive landmark especially wild and wooly.

Related Stories:
· French Sheep Breeders Take Blocks to Eiffel Tower [Reuters]
· Spotting Sheep -- To The Extreme! [Jaunted]
· Fall Culture Travel: Run with the Sheep in Idaho [Jaunted]