Food and Drinks
at Eiffel Tower Park
Well, the tower itself has the Jules Verne Restaurant, where a sunset dinner is about as romantic as life gets. Call a few days ahead to make reservations; a week (or month?) if you’re thinking about Saturday night dinner.

Off the tower, snack kiosks are around the square. You can get a fruit-filled crepe or American-style popcorn, and of course cold bottled drinks. Surprisingly, perhaps, there is no outdoor café along the Champs de Mars. If you’re looking for something substantial, like lunch or dinner, all you need do is walk a block off the Mars and choices will be left and right—Paris does not lack for restaurants.

For picnic gear, walk two blocks northeast off the Champs de Mars to rue Cler. You’ve found the city’s fresh-food bazaar. The shops on either side of the street spill into the sidewalk with their abundant foods. Wine shops sell $6 bottles of excellent French wine; the Fromagerie has 400 types of French cheese (buy 4 types: hard, flowery, blue, and goat).

Outside Eiffel Tower Park & Champs de Mars
Some beautiful and historic architecture is around the Eiffel Tower area: the military college stands sentinel opposite the tower; a replica of the Statue of Liberty (pee-wee size) is a few blocks down on an island in the middle of the Seine River; the Hotel des Invalides (home for disabled soldiers) is a massive complex of museums, including the Army Museum (one of the world’s largest collections of historical military artifacts), the tomb of Napleon I, The Cluny Museum, the Carnavalet Museum.

For an interesting view and entrance to the Arc de Triomphe, cross the Seine River behind the Eiffel Tower and veer right along the Avenue D’Iena. To learn more about many other sites and nightlife around Paris, jump to the city page.

Directions to Eiffel Tower Park
You can get to the Eiffel Tower by metro, RER, and bus. Metro stop Bir-hakeim, Trocadéro, and Ecole Militaire are within site of the tower. The RER (regional train; basically just like the metro) Line C, station Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel takes you within a block, right off the Seine River. Bus service in across Paris is efficient, and easy enough to figure out after you stare at the map a while. Routes 42, 69, 72, 82, 87 come to Eiffel Tower from several points around the city.

There is no fee to use the park surrounding Eiffel Tower and the Champs de Mars. The tower is open year round, and costs €4.20 (1st floor), € 7.70 (2nd floor) or € 11 (top), with reduced rates for students and seniors.

(return to the Eiffel Tower Park main page)