On our first day in Paris, we wanted to take it easy, so we planned a visit to see the city from the top of the Montparnasse Tower. While many people prefer to view the beautiful city from the Eiffel Tower, we decided to do it differently. Viewing from Montparnasse allows you to see the Eiffel Tower itself, plus we could avoid the crowds and queues at the Eiffel Tower.
History of Tour Montparnasse
Tour Maine-Montparnasse, commonly known as Tour Montparnasse, is a 210-meter (689 ft) office skyscraper in the Montparnasse area of Paris. Constructed from 1969 to 1973, it was the tallest skyscraper in France until 2011.
Our Experience
After arriving at the base of the tower, which is opposite the Gare Montparnasse, we found the area around the tower to be beautiful, filled with many people, gardens, and a bus stop, though a few blocks were a bit stinky. We had half an hour before our assigned entry time, so we roamed around and visited a crepe cart to enjoy some crepes. We also stopped by a souvenir shop to check prices and ended up meeting a couple of guys from our hometown working there.
After completing the security check, employees guided us to the elevator that took us to the observation deck on the 56th floor. The observation deck has a food kiosk, a souvenir shop, a photo booth, toilets, virtual reality kiosks that explain the landmarks of Paris, and a projector setup that demonstrates the history of Paris and the Montparnasse Tower. There is also a fine dining restaurant, ‘Le Ciel De Paris,’ on the 56th floor, which serves French cuisine. You can find more information about the restaurant in this video.
We spent almost an hour on the observation deck, enjoying the 360-degree views, learning about various monuments’ histories, and taking pictures. Then, we climbed two flights of stairs to the rooftop to soak in the unobstructed view of the romantic city. There is an ‘I Love Paris’ sign and other spots to take great pictures. We sat for a while before heading back downstairs. We visited the gift shop but found it a bit pricey, so we didn’t purchase anything. However, on our way out, we saw machines where you could buy a souvenir coin with the Montparnasse Tower printed on it for 3 euros, so we purchased one.
Within seconds, we were back at the base of the tower and decided to take a bus ride to see the city. It took some time to figure out where to go and which bus to catch, but we managed eventually. There were very few people on the bus, so we grabbed seats and enjoyed the ride. It was Sunday, so many shops were closed, but cafes and restaurants were full.
On our walk back from the bus stop, we visited a supermarket to buy wine, chocolates, and other food items. We planned to have dinner at the restaurant – Pink Mam, opposite our hotel, which is quite famous on Instagram, but there was almost an hour’s wait time, so we decided to skip. Tired of traveling, we ate what we had and went to sleep. The next day was planned for a BatoBus hop-on-hop-off water taxi and a Big Bus night tour.
How to Reach Montparnasse Tower
From Pigalle metro station, take a metro (line 12) towards Mairie D’issy and get off at Montparnasse-Bienvenue, then walk for 5-7 minutes to reach the base of the tower. Other options to reach the tower are:
Metro lines: 4, 6, and 13
Bus lines: 28, 94, 96, 91
For all transportation-related information, you can use the RATP official website, RATP app, or Google Maps.
How to Book Tickets
We kept an eye on the tickets but didn’t book in advance due to uncertainty about our arrival time. Once we arrived, we booked tickets online from the official website: Tour Montparnasse. We paid a total of 52 Euros for 2 adults and a child. There is a price difference between online and offline tickets. They offer different combo tickets as well.
I hope you enjoyed reading the blog. Stay tuned for the next one!
If you have come so far, you may also like reading about our arrival experience in Paris.
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