Paris – Tour Eiffel

Originally uploaded by Añelo de la Krotsche

Well I suppose most people feel the need to visit the Eiffel tower once or twice whenever they first go on Paris breaks and all will take a picture or two. Maybe from the top of the steps at the Trocadero, or from right underneath or possibly of the Eiffel tower at night when it’s lit up. But this picture is a bit different which is why I chose to feature it today on the Paris breaks blog.

Paris, 4* Holiday Inn Paris La Villette, 2 nights from £139.00pp
Available on selected dates, address :

216 AVE JEAN JAURES PARIS, 75019 FRANCE

The Holiday Inn Paris La Villette is a modern hotel located opposite the museums of music, science and industry and La Grande Halle (theatre and convention hall) and within direct reach of the main historical monuments, cultural and shopping areas of Paris by metro. The hotel has 182 air conditioned bedrooms with many facilities including a TV with in-house movies, minibar, safe, hairdryer and telephone. There’s also a fine restaurant and a mini gym. Great for Paris breaks with familiar comforts.

Holiday Inn Paris breaks

Within walking distance is a unique complex associating the Science and Technology complex, the Music complex, the Grande Halle and the Zénith venue.

The “Porte de Pantin” underground metro (line 5), situated only 50 m from the hotel will quickly take you to Notre Dame de Paris (20 min), the Eiffel Tower (30 min) and the Louvre Museum (20 min) .

Paris breaks in the 19th Arrondissement

Today, Paris visitors come to what was once the village of La Villette to see the angular Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, a spectacular science museum and park built on a site that for years was devoted to the city’s slaughterhouses. Mostly residential and not at all upscale, the district is one of the most ethnically diverse in Paris, the home of people from all parts of the former Empire. A highlight is Les Buttes Chaumont, a park where kids can enjoy puppet shows and donkey rides.

The Trocadero in Paris is sadly best known as the nearest metro station to the Eiffel Tower, as people on Eurostar breaks hurry to conquor the iconic landmark. I say sadly, only because there is so much more to the Trocadero area than that, and besides it’s actually nearer to get there via Metro Bir-Hakeim.

Trocadero is in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, which is an upmarket area with some very prestigious properties and lots of expensive hotels, which is great for Paris breaks where money is no object. The cafes and restaurants in the area tend to be a tad more expensive than other districts of Pars too, but don’t let that put you off – it’s always going to be possible to find an affordable side street establishment if you’re on a more modest budget .

Trocadero Metro Paris

Paris Trocadero History

The Trocadero lies across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower. It’s another area of Paris named after a famous French war victory. The French won the Battle of Trocadero in 1823 protecting the autocratic Spanish King Ferdinand VII. Some forty years later they honored this victory by renaming the square called Place du Roi de Rome (King of Rome Square). Next year, the Palais de Trocadero (Trocadero Palace) was built on the site as the centerpiece of a world fair celebrating France’s recovery from its defeat in the Franco-Prussian war. The Palace was built like a concert hall in mixed Moorish and Byzantine style with a large aquarium occupying the lower level. For the Exposition Internationale World Fair of 1937 the old Palais du Trocadero was demolished and replaced by the modernist Palais de Chaillot.

The complex now includes several museums.

• The Musee national de la Marine (Naval Museum)
• The ethnological Musee de l’Homme (Museum of Man)
• The Musee national des Monuments francais (National Museum of French Monuments)
• Theatre National de Chaillot (Chaillot National Theater).

At the Palais de Chaillot the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The esplanade was renamed the esplanade des droits de l’homme (esplanade of human rights).

So there are plenty of cultural and educational destinations in this arrondissment to greatly enrich any length Eurostar Breaks to Paris  -  after you’ve been up the Eiffel tower of course !

Paris 7th Arrondissement – Eiffel Tower and also the Musée D’Orsay

Apart from the greatest tourist attraction of all, the 7th arrondissement on the Left Bank dis largely a district of smart residences and dull offices. The Eiffel Tower of course is one of the most recognisable landmarks in the world, but many Parisians especially in the immediate neighbourhood hated it when it was unveiled in 1889 as a temporary exhibition for the World Fair. There are many other Parisian monuments in the 7th too, such as the Hôtel des Invalides, which contains Napoleon’s Tomb, the Musée de l’Armée, and the fantastic Musée d’Orsay, the world’s premier showcase of 19th-century French art and culture, housed in the old station termial building – the Gare d’Orsay. There’s much hidden charm here in the 7th as well, such as the Rue du Bac, which was once home to the real Three Musketeers and to James McNeill Whistler, who moved to no. 110 after selling Mother. Auguste Rodin the father of modern sculpture lived at what’s now the Musée Rodin, 77 rue de Varenne, until his death in 1917.

Both the Rodin museum and the Musee d’Orsay are essential visits for art lovers on Paris Breaks in the 7th arrondissement, and did you know you can also walk all the back to the latin quarter just by following the Boulevard St Germain which starts in the 7th, or take the batobus which stops just outside the Musee d’Orsay.