Before my last trip to Paris, I read Paris, A Novel, part of a series of historical novels by Edward Rutherford.
Rutherford included a fascinating history of the iconic Eiffel Tower.
There were a group of men who had installed the elevator, and they happened to be in the city during World War II, when the city was occupied by the Nazis. When they heard that Hitler was paying a visit to their beloved landmark, and he sort of wanted to install a Paris office on the platform on the top floor, they decided that wasn't going to happen.
These gutsy old guys wanted to stop him without permanently harming the monument. So they snuck in during the middlle of the night and sabatoged the elevator. If the Furer wanted to get the best view in Paris during his visit, they wanted to make sure he would have to walk to the top. And that would be a whole lot of steps, which Hitler declined to climb. He had to just stand at the foot and look up.
I took this picture on my old iPhone while on the elevator headed for the top of the tower.
No doubt about it! This is one of the world's coolest views!
Comments(26)