A guided tour of the Eiffel Tower is on the agenda for many visitors to Paris. I had done an escorted visit to the Eiffel Tower where we were left to our own devices at the elevator, but had never done a guided tour up the tower itself, so when the team at Take Walks asked if Mr Francetravelplanning and I would like to join them for their new Eiffel Tower and Trocadero Gardens tour it seemed like a good opportunity to tour the Trocadero and Eiffel Tower with Take Walks to see for myself whether it was a recommended guided tour in Paris.
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Documentation to tour the Trocadero and Eiffel Tower
As always, our tickets included detailed information to join our tour, including best public transport options and a detailed description of where the meeting point was.
Mr Francetravelplanning and I arrived at the Trocadero metro station as recommended in our booking documentation with plenty of time to spare. The information included a street address which we plugged into Google maps and headed off. Unfortunately, Google maps got very confused and sent us off down the street in the opposite direction to both the Trocadero and Eiffel Tower. Checking our joining instructions we were easily able to correct and find the meeting point – as always the Take Walks information was detailed, clear and easy to follow.
Other members of our group had the same issue with Google maps, so it wasn’t just us who appreciated the care and attention Take Walks give to joining instructions.
Our Trocadero & Eiffel Tower tour begins
Our tour was due to commence at 8.30pm, but with our guide arriving at 8.20pm and everyone being present we were able to start our tour a little early.
Our first stop was the Trocadero. At 8.30pm the Trocadero was incredibly busy with street sellers, photographers and tourists. It’s the sort of place that also attracts scammers and pick pockets, so I was pleased that we didn’t linger in the plaza at the top of the stairs. Our guide described the buildings on either side of us, but kept us moving across the plaza and down the stairs to a less crowded, but no less picturesque spot about halfway down the hill.
Because we were a group of just eight people (max number on this tour is 15) it was easy to listen as our guide talked about the Trocadero in more detail as well as the history of the Eiffel Tower. We also heard about painting the Eiffel Tower (they’ve just changed the colour if you haven’t been up close to it for a while) and other interesting facts about the tower and its role in Parisian life. It was a great spot to take photos, and even a cheeky selfie and our guide was very patient in answering specific questions various members of our group had.
Next it was across the busy Voie Georges Pompidou. Our guide was very adept at shepherding us across the multiple crossings so no one missed the pedestrian lights and got stuck to wait for the horrendous vehicle traffic to pass.
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Our next stop was the very popular Pont d’Iena. In recent years, the Pont d’Iena has become a favorite for photographs in the middle of the road with the Eiffel Tower in the background. The city has maintained the changed traffic conditions from the Olympics, so that most of the lanes are now pedestrian only. We stayed on the footpath as we spent some time taking photos and listening to more of the Eiffel Tower story, but it would have been easy to go into the middle of the road if we had wanted to.
We had been promised a stop away from the crowds to take some photos before we entered the Eiffel Tower precinct. We stopped at a spot which frankly I didn’t know existed on the western side of the tower. While there were a few people there, it was certainly less crowded than the Pont d’Iena, which gave us plenty of opportunity to get memorable photographs.
Entering the Eiffel Tower precinct is always a bit of an ordeal due to the high level of security, but just after 9.00pm queues for the first security check were very short – I’m sure our entrance from the western side helped. After a short briefing about what was going to happen once we entered the tower inside the forecourt area we headed through the remaining security to wait for the elevator.
When I had been on previous tours of the Eiffel Tower with other tour operators, this was where our guide had left us, but not on our Take Walks tour. Our guide accompanied us up in the elevator to Level 2 – making sure we were all able to board the same journey to stay together.
But again, our guided tour was not finished as we exited the elevator. Our guide directed us to the eastern view of the city, and we had a fun time identifying the different landmarks all lit up at night. It really was breathtaking, and for a first time visitor to Paris would have served as an excellent orientation to the view.
Our tour had been perfectly timed, and shortly after our arrival on Level 2 the spectacular 10pm light show started, as our guide bid us farewell, inviting us to stay as long as we wanted.
What we thought of the Tour the Trocadero & Eiffel Tower tour
Although we had visited the Eiffel Tower a number of times before, we still found our Take Walks tour interesting. Because our guide kept us moving most of the time it was well paced with hardly any time spent just standing around. The content was interesting, quirky at times and well paced. I felt it hit the mark in terms of detail and interesting content – sufficiently detailed to be interesting and informative without being overly academic or burdened with scores of facts and figures. Our photography stop was well chosen, and we liked the guiding on the tower itself.
There are a number of stairs, both up and down at the Trocadero although there are some ramps. Otherwise, this tour is well suited for visitors with reduced mobility or for small children. Walking is otherwise flat. Because the tour kept moving I would consider it appropriate for children.
You can find out more about the Trocadero & Eiffel Tower tour with Take Walks here >>
Author’s note: we were guests of Take Walks. As always all opinions are our own. All images author’s own.
