[Idiom] first hand

[contiluo]

Is the phrasing correct?

The Eiffel Tower is a world-famous building and a culture icon of France. Its romantic atmosphere is worth experiencing first hand.

 

[emsr2d2]

It is a "cultural​ icon". I would probably use "a French cultural icon" rather than putting "of France" at the end.

 

[Matthew Wai]

experiencing first hand.

I don't know whether it is right, but Longman Dictionary hyphenates 'first-hand'.

Not a teacher.

 

[emsr2d2]

It should be hyphenated.

 

[MikeNewYork]

It does not have to be hyphenated. It can be a single word.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Yep. Both are good, but "first hand" won't do. (Although "firsthand" sounds like we're lisping. Like Ethel Thayer.)

 

[Rover_KE]

'...at first hand' is just fine. (Collins)

 

[Raymott]

I would write "experience it at first hand" (noun phrase), but "It was a firsthand (adjective) experience." (Hyphenated or not). Or, "I experienced it firsthand (adverb)". This is similar to "It was an everyday experience"; "It was an experience I had every day."