26 August 2020

D'une tour à l'autre

One of the jokes about the Tour Montparnasse in Paris is that you get the best views of the city from the top of that 1970s-era skyscraper, mostly because it's the one place where you actually can't see the Tour Montparnasse. But the fact is that the Tour Montparnasse offers some of the city's best views because you can see the Eiffel Tower from up there.



In the photo above, you can see the 18th-century École Militaire; the military parade grounds called le Champ de Mars; la Tour Eiffel; and the big business park called La Défense on the west side of Paris proper. Below is a composite image of the École Militaire and the Champs de Mars with the Tour Eiffel in the background.


10 comments:

  1. As usual, I was wondering about "fixtures" in your photos. In the first photo, what was that lone tower just left of the Arc de Triomphe? It is the SAP tower in Levallois-Perret. Ouf!

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  2. The enlarged photo is so nice!

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    1. I originally planned to post the two photos separately, but at the last minute I realized they could be made into a composite image.

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  3. Thank you for feeding my Paris addiction! Mwah!

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  4. I quite like the classical building at the bottom of the last picture. Have no idea what it is though. Great views, and I think I agree about not seeing the Montparnasse, it always seems out of place.

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    1. Hi David, it is the main building of the École militaire founded by Louis XV in 1750. The parc in front of it (at the end of which stands the Eiffel Tower) is called Champ de Mars where military exercises took place. The UNESCO Headquarters are across the street on Place de Fontenoy.

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    2. Google World Heritage Centre Paris and click on Wikipedia. You'll get to see a photo of the whole École militaire.

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    3. P.S. When I wrote my comments I had only in front of me the third photo and didn't remember that Ken already gave this information. Sorry about that. On the left on the second photo, you can see the Y shaped UNESCO headquarters. My place is a short walk away.

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  5. Thanks chm and Ken! I had to look and look to find the Arc de Triomphe in the first picture...way over to the right!

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