Le Petit Journal Montparnasse No doubt, when talking about the most beautiful cities in the world, Paris immediately springs to mind. There are lots of historical and beautiful structures that make this city outstanding. The most famous is indisputably the Eiffel Tower, which is the tallest building in the city. But there are some amazing places that most people are not aware of and one of these is the Montparnasse Tower aka Tour Montparnasse.
As a tourist visiting Montparnasse in Paris for the first time, one place you absolutely must check out is the Montparnasse Tower.
“Montparnasse Tower View”
Montparnasse Tower is the oldest skyscraper in Paris that dates back many centuries. Although this building is not as attractive as it used to be-in fact, it is one of the greatest eyesores in Paris-it still remains one of the top tourist attractions in Paris. This 680-foot tall building gives you the perfect opportunity to enjoy a stunning view of the city, thanks to its open-air roof.
Let me take you through some interesting facts you probably didn’t know about this landmark.
At 680 feet (210 meters) tall, the Montparnasse Tower is the tallest building in France. It has 56 stories, six underground levels, 7,200 windows, 1,306 steps, 40,000 m2 of facade, and a total surface area of 120,000 m2. The Tour Montparnasse, as it’s fondly called by the locals, is built over several underground (metro) lines and has an extremely large foundation. The foundation is 700 meters deep, has 56 reinforced concrete pillars and weighs about 150,000 tons.
The Tour Montparnasse has five service elevators and 25 lifts that takes you to the top of the building for an amazing view of the city. The fastest elevator connects the first floor to the 56th, at an altitude of 196 meters in about 38 seconds, which is about five meters per second. You can only access the top floor and the terrace via stairs.
The 56th floor has a café? The 360o café? And visitors are allowed to access the terrace on the top floor. And unlike what you’ll contend with when you visit the renowned Parisian landmark, the Eiffel Tower, there are no long queues, which means you don’t have to wait for too long before you can enjoy your ride to the top.
While at the top of the building, you can comfortably enjoy the astounding views of Paris in all directions. On a day when the weather is clear, you can see up to 24 miles (40 km) away and watch aircrafts taking off from Orly Airport.
Looking down from this building, you can view all the major attraction sites in Paris such as the much talked-about Eiffel Tower, Musee d’Orsay, Les Invalides, the Arc de Triomphe, Sacre Coeur, the Luxembourg Garden and the Louvre.
The observatory is equipped with avant-garde interactive and audio-visual facilities to aid in interpreting the views of the city you see below. These include exhibitions, binoculars, interactive facilities, viewpoint tables, quizzes and more.
“To add to your already wonderful experience, you can order a glass of champagne at the 360o cafe on the 56th floor.”
Activities on the Montparnasse take place on daily basis, and you may spend as much time there as you wish, depending on your schedule.
The schedule of activities at Tour Montparnasse is as follows:
Start Time
- April 1st to September 30th
- Daily: from 09:30am to 11:30pm
- October 1st to March 31st
- Daily: 09:30am to 10:30pm
Location
This stupendous tower is situated at 33 Ave. du Maine, 75015 Paris, France. The entrance is at Rue de l’Arrivee, while the nearest metro stop is Montparnasse Bienvenue.
With all these facts you now know about the Montparnasse Tower, it would be remiss of you not to have a taste of this wonderful tourist hotspot. You can view the city of Paris in its entirety from one place. The experience is breathtaking.
