The restaurant is located on the 56th floor of the Montparnasse tower. From the restaurant, you may gaze Paris and its monuments, in all sorts of weather and in air-conditioned surroundings. You may also go up to the panoramic open-air terrace. Standing 209 meters above Paris, you can see up to a 40 km radius. You may even get closer to the horizon with the telescopes.

The THERMINIC Banquet will be held at the restaurant "Le Ciel de Paris, la Tour Montparnasse" in Paris at 19.00 sharp. Address:       Tour Montparnasse       33 Avenue du Maine       75015, Paris Métro station:       Montparnasse Bienvenue Tel.: +33 (0)1 45 38 52 35 Fax: +33 (0)1 43 22 58 43

Some history: As early as 1934, the French Railways were already aware that the Montparnasse station was becoming inadequate to meet growing requirements. The project for modifying the Montparnasse area was finalised by Paris urbain development authorities in 1956, confirming the relocation of the railway station around which the entire area was to be restructured. Started in 1958, and coordinated by a semi-public company this operation was to cover an area of 8 hectares and involved the demolition of a number of particularly run-down streets including the rue Moulin de Beurre, rue Bourgeois, rue Perceval, de Médéah, and a large portion of the rue Vercingétorix. Like the World's Fair of 1889, the operation required an outstanding focal point: the Montparnasse Tower, on the very site of the old station. The large tower was constructed in a single phase from the end of 1969 to the end of 1972. Its 56 floors each covering nearly 2000 m2 represents 112.000 m2 of superstructure. Three important aspects had to be taken into the MontparnasseTower design:     - The presence of the metro underneath,     - The nature of the underlying ground,     - Those factors inherent in the construction of any high-rise building. For urban development reasons, it was decided to place the tower directly above the metro. The principle adopted was that of completely dissociating the two structures by enclosing the metro and its foundations in a sort of corset, while bringing the supporting elements of the Tower down independently and straddling metal girders across the metro. At the level of the metro foundations, the ground is composed of a layer of limestone 10 to 12 meters thick, overlying a 20m. thick clay formation and 10m. of marls, before reaching the chalk basement located at a depth of 62 meters. The principle was to lean on the chalk by means of 56 piles cast in place, so that the limestone layer on which the foundations of the metro and the other buildings rest, would not receive the weight of the Tower. The building itself is composed of a concrete core, designed to withstand the wind and floor loads, and a steel structure made as light as possible. The technique used in constructing this core was sliding formwork, and the structural steel frame is classical. The external appearance of the Tower, in glass (light bay windows), aluminium and bronze, highlights the vertical lines of its structure and reflects the sky, while its curved shape (like an almond with indented ends) softens the general volume. Architects: Messrs. BEAUDOUIN, CASSAN, de MARIEN and SAUBOT. Total height: 209m. Length: 62m. Width: 120,000 metric tons. Depth of foundations: 70m. Nbr of floors: 58, plus a terrace (59th). Passenger lifts: 25, service lifts: 2. Out of the 58 floors, 52 are occupied by offices (working population: 5000), the useful area per floor being an average of 1,700 sq. m. Two floors are open to the public, the 56th, and the terrace on the 59th; three are reserved for technical installations. The electronical power equals that of a town of 30,000 inhabitants. On the 59th floor, the highest terrace in Paris has been constructed. On a clear day, the view covers a radius of 40 kms; you can see the planes taking off from Orly Airport. Designed as a safety measure for visitors, the guard-rail can be removed in only 120 seconds to allow helicopters to land. The construction of this building, the highest in Europe, aroused much controversy. Anything that is new disturbs people, and no other structure in Paris caused more uproar than the Eiffel Tower, now the most beloved and famous landmark in the city. Towers have always been criticized and decried. However, one of man's fondest dreams, ever since the Tower of Babel, has been to reach the sky and dominate the Earth.