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Paris Tour Montparnasse
Montparnasse Tower, 33 Avenue du Maine, 75015 Paris, France Phone: Not AvailableAbout
Built on top of the Montparnasse - Bienvenüe Paris Métro station, the 59 floors of the tower are mainly occupied by offices. The 56th floor, with a restaurant, and the terrace on the top floor, are open to the public for viewing the city. The view covers a radius of 40 kilometres (25 mi); aircraft can be seen taking off from Orly Airport. The guard rail, to which various antennae are attached, can be pneumatically lowered in just two minutes to allow helicopters to land. At the time of construction, it was the tallest building in Europe by roof height. The construction of La Grande Arche in La Défense places the tower in a second line of perspective across Paris. Its simple architecture, gigantic proportions and monolithic appearance have been often criticised for being out of place in Paris's urban landscape and, as a result, two years after its completion, the construction of skyscrapers in the city centre was banned. The design of the tower predates architectural trends that placed high importance on a view of the outside, and so only offices around the perimeter of each floor have windows.It is sometimes said, only half-jokingly, that the view from the top is the most beautiful in Paris, since it is the only place from which one cannot see the tower. Interestingly, this is the same claim made by Guy de Maupassant who loathed the Eiffel Tower and ate lunch there daily.
