500 Adrenaline Adventures (Frommer's) - Lois Friedland [204]
The Eiffel Tower, Paris, France: You can see most of Paris from the top of this monument built in 1889 for the Centenary of the French Revolution. If you’ve indulged in too much French cuisine, walk up the more than 700 steps (or take an elevator) to the second floor. The view is nice from here, but for the best views of the Parisian skyline you must take the elevator up to the top of the tower to the indoor and outdoor observation decks. From here, at 276m (905 ft.), you’ll be able to pick out famous sights, from the Arc de Triomphe and the Trocadero Gardens to the Sacre Coeur and the Pantheon. www.tour-eiffel.fr.
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Dinner in the Sky
Up, Up & Away
Locations Worldwide
If you feel like you can’t sit through another business lunch, or the thought of attending one more quarterly sales meeting leaves you bored to tears, here’s a twist that will leave you breathless: Hold your next get-together hundreds of feet off the ground. No, not in some skyscraper, but on an open platform that’s suspended from a gigantic crane.
The company behind this high-flying idea, Dinner in the Sky, has evolved into an international marketing group that franchises the events in 28 countries around the world. Locations and costs vary, and the company arranges for local permits and other details. The specially designed platform can accommodate up to 22 guests, and there’s room for three chefs or waiters in an aisle at the table’s center. And yes, they will lower you down to Earth when it’s time for a restroom break, then back up again for more bird’s-eye sightseeing.
Dinner in the Sky gives eating out a whole new meaning.
These affairs are not for those with vertigo—guests are strapped into leather seats that have no walls or railings behind them. Such safety features would, of course, block the views. And what views they are: Guests have been transported above the glittering casinos of Las Vegas, the skyscrapers of London and Toronto, the cathedrals of Amiens, France, and the minarets of Istanbul.
Meetings and dinners aren’t the only uses for floating aloft. Entertainment events have included poker games and New Year’s Eve parties. Some clients have included a second crane with a band to provide live entertainment (dancing is, of course, discouraged). The company has expanded their offerings to include Weddings in the Sky and a range of other custom offerings. When it comes to developing your next creative event, the sky really is the limit. —ML
Dinner in the Sky ( 32/02/333-3810;www.dinnerinthesky.com).
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Trapeze School
Channeling Cirque de Soleil
New York, New York, U.S.A.
As it turns out, flying through the air with the greatest of ease isn’t so easy. But you’re bound to have fun trying.
Up above the crowds of Manhattan’s busy streets, the Trapeze School of New York is open all summer on the rooftop of Pier 20 alongside the Hudson River. (If you’re in town during the chillier seasons, don’t worry; there’s also a year-round tented location in Chelsea.) When you arrive and meet your instructors, you’ll go through a brief safety briefing and demonstration. Then it’s time to strap on your belt, hook your carabineers onto two ropes, and begin climbing—up an extremely narrow metal ladder for 7m (23 ft.). These steps are where the panic starts to set in, and your heart starts pumping faster. When you finally reach the top, take a look at the priceless views. You’ll see the city’s magnificent skyline on one side, and the famous Lady Liberty standing tall in the New York harbor on the other.
Standing on the thin wooden platform getting ready to fly, remember to douse your sweaty palms in chalk and keep breathing as your instructor holds onto the back of your belt and you