There is one view of the Eiffel Tower that beats all the others, and it's from the terrace of the Palais de Chaillot across the river — the Tower dead-centre, the fountains falling away beneath it. The trick is the hour: come at first light and the whole thing is yours, before the coaches arrive.
Up from the Métro into Place du Trocadéro, then through the gap between the palace's two curved wings to the esplanade. That's the postcard. Stand and take it in. The eastern wing holds the Cité de l'architecture, with cathedral portals cast at full size and a Le Corbusier flat rebuilt indoors — a good hour if the morning turns cold.
Then walk down through the Jardins du Trocadéro, past the long Warsaw Fountain stepping toward the river, its cannon-jets firing in warm weather. The aquarium is built into the hillside on your right, almost hidden. You don't have to go in.
The gardens end at the Pont d'Iéna with the Tower straight ahead. Take the photograph, then climb back up to Trocadéro.
