I must admit this one took the family a bit of convincing. But I took a gamble and succeeded to put the 59th floor view from the Montparnasse Tower into our agenda for our latest trip to Paris. But did it pay off?

Our alternative was to go up the Eiffel Tower, and whilst I would always encourage everyone to go to the top at least once in the lifetime for the experience, during the summer months the queues at the Eiffel Tower can have you there waiting a few hours.

We opted for a night view and made our way to the Montparnasse tower late one evening – it closes at 11.30pm in the summer. The entrance is opposite the Montparnasse Railway Station that serves the West and South West of France. No queue, straight into the designated lift waiting for us – 30 seconds later we arrived on the 56th floor, where the lift’s journey ends – you then need to climb the stairs to the rooftop on the 59th floor.

Bypassing the ubiquitous photo opportunity run by the tower’s staff you get your first glimpse of Paris by night from 200m above the French capital – and what a view! The first thing you see is the illuminated Eiffel tower.

The rooftop is breathtaking, warm winds greeted us as we reached it, with the lights of Paris filling our gaze as we began to identify the areas of Paris we know. There are glass screens around the rooftop for safety, but the view is crystal clear and incredible. As a family the experience was great, no waiting around, no trinket hard sell and a magical view for all us to share and remember. But there is no doubt, that one day we would come back here as a couple and share in the romance that this view of Paris offers.

Now for the big test… what did the children think? Tom (9) ‘The lift and seeing the Eiffel Tower was awesome’; Isabella (11) ‘My favourite bit was reaching the roof and looking around at the city from above for the first time’ and Georgia (14) ‘It was amazing, we could see the whole city from here and find all the areas of Paris we had visited’.

We loved the view from the Montparnasse tower, all the better for having the Eiffel Tower in it. No waiting around meant it was perfect for a visit with children and prices between the two towers are around the same. Did the gamble pay off? Yes it did!

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