Pont de l'Alma
If you have a bit more time and don't mind a little walking, approaching the tower from the Pont de l'Alma can be very rewarding. Pont de l'Alma is a bridge just under 1km east of the tower along the river Seine and is serviced by the Metro stop called Alma-Marceau. Choosing this slightly more time consuming approach offers another gem which may be of interest to many and that is the Flamme de la Liberte, Positioned north of the Pont de l'Alma at the Place de l'Alma. Flamme de la Liberte is a full size gold leaf replica of the top end of the torch carried by the Statue of liberty in America. More recently this site has also become the unofficial memorial site for Princess Diana, as it was in the under pass directly below place de l'Alma where her car crashed on the evening of August 31st 1997. The site is literally plastered with images of the Princess with many personal messages written on the walls and even on the pavement.
To get to the Eiffel tower from Alma-Marceau is very simple as you will be able to see the tower from here, there are however many ways of going about it. I personally would have a wonder on to the bridge to take a couple of pictures above the water facing west towards the tower then re trace my steps to the Avenue de New York and follow it walking towards the tower. There are many places to stop and take pictures along this path with river Seine between you and the Tower, another which being a foot bridge called Passerelle Debilly, and with the Bateu going up and down it becomes a very quintessentially parisian view. You could spend a while experimenting with different angles and exposures and I'm sure you will want to spend more time on this route than you would of allowed yourself.
The avenue de New York will bring you to Pont d' l'ena which is the bridge that connects the Eiffel Tower to the south, and to the Trocadero, north. At this point its really up to you where you want to go. In the previous two chapters outlined how to get back from either the Trocadero or from the Parc du champs de mars via Ecole Militaire. The closest Metro stop at this point is the Trocadero. However if you have run out of time and need to get back quickly you can cross the river and continue west along Quai Branly and use the RER station called champ de mars – Tour Eiffel. This station is on RER line C and although does not go through Chatelet it does stop at St Michel which is just on the south side of the Seine and is a nice walk over the islands and only 10 mins walk to Chatalet. Simply board the train heading in the direction of Massy – Palaiseau / Saint-Martin-d'Etamps and get of 4 stops later at St Michel.
Quick directions.
Chatalet → Alma Marceau.
M1→La Defence, 6 stops, changing at Franklin D. Roosevelt. M9→Pont de Sevres, 1 stop. Exit Alma Marceau.