Our next stop was la Tour Montparnasse (the only skyscraper in central Paris).
You can pay to go up to the very top, or you can go up to the restaurant for free, and have a coffee..... The restaurant only faces in one direction, so you don't get the 360-degree views you get from the top, but this view is pretty good!
If you bring an attractive young woman with you, you may get seated right by the window. In addition to la Tour Eiffel, we can see les Invalides, upper right, and a Metro station on the left (above ground).
The Sèvres-Lecourbe Metro stop is on the 6 line, which ends at Nation. We took trains to and from Sèvres-Lecourbe several times, on this trip (and would return to it a few hours after we left la Tour Montparnasse, to go see la Tour Eiffel sparkle).
It was still raining, on and off. We got some dramatic skies.
Central Paris is pretty uniform in height. It has a very human scale, and with all the trees..... A very pleasant place to walk.
What a super place to sit and enjoy the view and an espresso.
Who knew, looking at la Tour from the other side (as we do from the webcam), that there were so many skyscrapers behind it, looking from this direction!
Les Invalides, and le Grand Palais.
Le Grand Palais.
More cloudy drama.
La Place de la Concorde (if you click to embiggen, you can see the gold top on the obelisk, center, left, quite clearly), and la Madeleine (with the green roof, upper right), which we walked by earlier this morning.
The rain came, and went, as we watched.
A closer look at the Sèvres-Lecourbe station, and the Cambronne station behind it.
We got out a map, and looked to see what else we ought to be able to see, from our lofty position. Most everything in Paris is made from the same stone; on a rainy day it can be hard to see details in a sea of beigey gray.
Checking the map. We ought to be able to see the Arch of Triumph, and, sure enough!
Twisting to the right, we can see Sacre Coeur. With the Louvre in the foreground. Left, center, with the greenish roof and the golden angels is l'Opéra.
Looking out from up here really helps one get a good idea where things are in relation to each other (remembering, of course, that the zoom lens makes everything look closer together than it really is....).
An interesting building pretty much underfoot. I want to see inside.......
Trees informing us as to the season..........
We didn't want to overstay our welcome. After 5:00, we got out of the way, so people who were coming up for dinner could have the prime seats.
One last look................
What a great place to visit! So glad we went up! Highly recommended!!!
See my daughter's take on this excellent day here.
In order to facilitate chronological traverse of these posts, here is a link to the post that comes after this one.
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