Even if the price of the drinks is shocking, it’s difficult not to fall in love with the view from the 56th floor of the Tour Montparnasse, especially when there’ s beautiful sunset. We went down up there yesterday and were blown away by our beautiful city… again.

Check out our photos!

photos: JasonW

The bar/restaurant is called Le Ciel de Paris (**yawn**) and you reach it by taking one of the lifts inside the Tour Montparnasse (38 seconds to go up 196 metres). Even on the ground floor, you know that this is a tourist trap: around you you’ll hear almost every language except French. Once up there, you’ll discover a noisy room, lots of mirrors (to disguise the fact that the place is tiny), lots of office workers haveing an afterwork drink and… lots of tourists. But fear not, you will hardly notice them, nor the prices as high as the tower itself, because in front of you, splendid, incandescent, dignified, is one of the wonders of the world… Paris.

If you manage to get one of the tables near the windows (and there aren’t many; arrive early) you’ll seethe Eiffel Tower, l’École Militaire, les Invalides, place de la Concorde, Sacré Cœur, la Défense, the metro… all of Paris, or near enough. It’s said to be the most beautiful view of the city, if only because it’s the only one not blighted by the Tour Montparnasse!

Even after so many years living here, we were impressed. It’s a view that makes you fall in love with Paris all over again!

Below is a mini slideshow of our photos taken during the sunset and early evening, but to see them more comfortably click here.

Official site of the bar/restaurant: www.cieldeparis.com