Clock tower of Paris-Gare de Lyon, Clock tower at Gare de Lyon station, 12th arrondissement, Paris, France
The tour de l'Horloge de la Gare de Lyon is a metal clock tower rising about 220 feet (67 meters) above the train station in the 12th arrondissement of Paris. It has four large clock faces, one on each side, and is topped with a zinc dome.
The tower was built at the end of the 19th century when the station was rebuilt for the 1900 World's Fair. The architect Marius Toudoire designed the structure using metal construction methods similar to those used for the Eiffel Tower.
Many Parisians use the large clock to check the time as they pass through the neighborhood or wait for trains. The four clock faces, each several meters wide, are visible from the street and make the tower a familiar landmark in everyday life in the 12th arrondissement.
The tower is not open to visitors every day, but it can be visited on special occasions such as European Heritage Days in September. Reaching the top platform requires climbing about 400 steps on a spiral staircase, so comfortable shoes are a good idea.
Until the late 1920s, the clock faces were lit at night by 250 oil lamps, which had to be refilled and maintained by hand by railway staff. After a storm damaged the mechanism in the late 1990s, a radio signal system was installed in 2005 to keep all four faces in sync automatically.
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