Travel: Awful Eiffel

FURTHER to our tale of Americans in Switzerland (Independent Traveller, 20 March), M Martin of Newmarket writes of a trip he made with his wife up the Eiffel Tower last summer.

'Having gone right to the top, we got in the lift to come down with four Americans. The girl pressed the button, the door closed and then opened again, because somebody was obstructing it.

'As the door was opening - without the lift having moved an inch - one American said to his wife: 'I guess this is where we get out, honey.' He had got in the lift, shut his eyes when the doors closed and must have kept them shut until he heard the lift door open again]'

I sympathise with this unhappy American. The Eiffel Tower is one of those tourist attractions that makes you wonder whether they are worth all the effort. Unless you choose your time carefully - say, a wet Tuesday morning in February - a trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower involves endless queuing and great expense. And what do you get when you reach the top - often you see nothing but clouds. And if the view is good, the experience is terrifying.

Any other nominations for the world's most overrated tourist attractions?