Soaking up atmosphere and watching the world go by at one of the City of Light’s celebrated cafés is a favorite past-time, for tourists and locals alike. For years, I took tour clients to see the Eiffel Tower magically light up from the Place du Trocadéro and then snag a prime seat at the Café du Trocadéro, which has the best view of La Tour. Well, it used to. But now the trees that the city planted almost completely obscure the view.
This was a particularly painful observation for my arborist/forester husband. As we were sipping our pricey drinks placed on linen cocktail napkins, he began rattling off a “prescription” that the City of Paris should follow. According to him, the trees could easily be pruned by raising the bottom branches, thinning the canopy and reducing the top and side branches in a way that would open up the view again. It seems that the city has not made this a priority which is confounding, given the million-dollar view the location affords. And it’s equally surprising that the owners of the café haven’t lobbied for the management and care for these trees. Well, maybe they have. But today, this is the view from this prime location. Some people may even not see that La Tour is there!
