Tower at heart of Paris opens to the public for the first time
The IndependentFor free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. For the first time since it was built in the early 1500s, the Tour Saint Jacques, a mysterious stand-alone Gothic tower in the geometric centre of Paris, is opening to the public this summer. It has also been, at various times, a weather station, a municipal fire-spotting platform and, in the early 19th century, a factory for making lead shot, which was dropped in molten drops from the top and became cylindrical by the time it reached the ground. The strange name of the church is explained by the fact that it was re-founded in the early 16th century by the powerful guild of butchers from the nearby Les Halles food market.
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Eiffel Tower to reopen but you will have to take the stairs
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