The Eiffel Tower is not only an engineering marvel, it is also an aspirational symbol of human ascent across years. One can say without an iota of doubt that it is the most visited monument in the world.
The Eiffel Tower was inaugurated for the 1889 World Fair in Paris. Though now, the monument draws universal love, it was not the case to begin with. In July 1887, when the construction started, the commissioner’s officer received a petition letter from a consortium of architects, sculptors and artists; stating that the construction of the ‘ridiculous tower’ be stopped with immediate effect. The complaints were brushed aside; and the tourism industry was blessed, forever!
The Eiffel Tower has been visited by nearly 275 million visitors.
Back in 1887, it cost 7,799,401.31 French gold Francs to build the Eiffel Tower.
With the construction in July 1887, it took exactly 2 years, 2 months and 5 days for the tower to be built.
Yes, it is known to grow seven inches when exposed to summer seat. It shrinks in the winter by six inches. But the change is not discernible to the normal eye. The reason for Eiffel Tower to expand and shrink is because it is made of or iron alloy (wrought iron). Since, the tower is made of metal, it has the property to expand and shrink in response to changes in the temperature.
It is 984 feet or 300 meters tall without the antenna. If you add the antenna, then it is as tall as 1063 feet or 324 meters. It was the world’s tallest building for 41 years, till the Chrysler Building with a height of 318.9 meters stole its thunder. In a matter of 11 months, in the year 1931, the Empire State Building broke the record held by Chrysler.
You can equate the height of Eiffel Tower to an 81- story building The base of the building measures 410 feet or 125 meters, each side. When Eiffel Tower was constructed, it became the tallest manmade structure in the world, beating the Washington Monument, in the process.
Eiffel Tower included a broadcasting aerial at the top, in 1957, making it taller than Chrysler Building by 17 feet or 5.2 meters. To sum it up, the height of Eiffel Tower makes it the second tallest building in France, after Millau Viaduct.
It is a mighty tower, weighing around 10,000 tons.
The Eiffel Tower was built by architect Gustave Eiffel as an honor to the French Revolution and display the industrial progress by the French. It was supposed to be scraped off after 20 years. But since it began drawing in the crowds, the tower persisted and is now a tourist delight.
Gustave Eiffel engraved the names of 72 French scientists, statisticians and engineers as a recognition for their contribution in building the tower.
Though the name Eiffel Tower is associated with Gustave Eiffel and his engineering company, , Compagnie des Établissements Eiffel; he had little do with the actual construction and design of the tower. Eiffel Tower was designed by two senior engineers, Maurice Koechlin and Émile Nouguier. At that time, there was a need to make create an apt looking structure for the 1889 Paris Exposition, an event held to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. Eiffel Tower persisted because it worked as a good interceptor and radio antenna. Gustave Eiffel acknowledged that the design of the tower was inspired by Latting Obsevatory in New York, in 1853.
Gustave Eiffel was known to ensure that the construction of the tower adhered to high safety norms. Wooded scaffolding was arranged and assembled around the structure, when it was being constructed. Creeper cranes, screens and guards were used as the tower was built as a part of the construction. There was just one casualty during the building of the Eiffel Tower. Overall, 300 workers were employed to work on the project, who had to assemble close to 18,040 pieces of wrought iron. All of these pieces were intricately designed and made to an accurate calculation of a tenth of an mm. These pieces were then kept ion place with rivets, with a four-member team, working on each installation. While one would warm the iron, the other would hold it property in place, the third person would work on shaping it, while the fourth person would drive it in with a hammer.
Barcelona would have been as popular as Paris, from the tourism point of view, but for this colossal mistake. The Eiffel Tower was made for Barcelona, but Spain rejected it. Now, Eiffel Tower is worth more than 400 billion Euros.
A man named Pierre Labric bicycled his way down the tower, back in 1923. It was in pursuance of a bet that he won, but was arrested by the local police for his unnecessary bravado.
There was a stair climbing championship in 1905. A man called A.M. Forestier won the competition, he took 3 hours and 12 seconds to reach the second floor.
Hitler had a special interest in seeing the Eiffel Tower demolished. When Hitler asked the military governor of Paris, Dietrich von Choltitz, to demolish the tower, the general flatly refused. When Hitler entered Paris, the French acted swiftly and cut off the lift cables to the tower. Hitler and his troops had to take the stairs if they had to reach the top. But Hitler and his troops didn’t give up and climbed the stairs anyway. The German soldiers placed a swastika over the tower. But the size of the Swastika was large and blew away in a matter of hours. They had to put a small Swastika as a consolation. In June 1944, the Germans were driven away from Paris, and their flag was replaced by the French tricolor.
Throughout the Nazi Occupation, the tower remain closed and lift was repaired in 1946.
The Eiffel Tower is also called the Iron Lady, a name that was actually given to the tower from 1925 to 1935. The name was given by virtue of a commercial billboard by the car company Citroën. It is the only company to use the Eiffel Tower in their advertising material.
Since it was then believed that Eiffel Tower would not be a permanent structure, a con artist called Victor Lustig tricked many scrap metal dealers, telling them that the iron used for the tower was available to be sold for scrap. He took money from many dealers and scrap merchants and fled to Vienna. Greed drove him to come back to Paris again, and when he tried to entice the scrap dealers the second time, he was caught by the police.
Eiffel Tower, no doubt, is a symbol of romance but a woman named Erika LaBrike actually married the tower in 2008! She says that she fell in love with the tower in 2004; post her ‘marriage’, she changed her name to Erika Eiffel. The lady si the founder of OS International, an organization of people who develop romantic interest and relationships with inanimate objects.
During the times of World War I, the Eiffel Tower was used as a radio station to read enemy messages from Berlin. Mata Hari, the famous spy was caught due to a message intercepted from Eiffel Tower, in 2017.
Gustave Eiffel’s penthouse is at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Though it is open for people to check out, during his lifetime, it was not allowed for anyone, except his close friends and guests that he loved to invite, including Thomas Edison.
It takes 20000 lightbulbs to light up Eiffel Tower, 5000 on each side that lights up the tower for 5 minutes, every hour. Read more about Eiffel Tower at night pictures
. Every seven years, the Eiffel Tower is painted. There is a requirement of almost 60 tons of paint to prevent the tower from getting rusted. Since the time it was built, Eiffel Tower has undergone complete repainting at least 19 times, up until 2018. In fact, lead painting was the norm, has been discontinued due to environmental concerns, in 2001.
Yes, it sways to about 9 to 10 centimeters (around 3.5 to 4 inches), but you will feel it only when you are at the top.
The Eiffel Tower has three levels for tourists, there are restaurants on the first and second floors.
There are separate tickets to climb the Eiffel Tower by lift or stairs. The climb from the ground floor to the first level is more than 300 steps, it is almost the same number of steps to go from the first level to the second. There is also a staircase to go the top level, but it is mostly accessible by the elevator or lift. There are 1665 steps in all and most people prefer to take the lift. If you consider how much the lift has traveled, it would be a whopping 103,000 km annually, which makes it 2.5 times the circumference of Earth.
The highest observation deck or the top level of Eiffel Tower is 906 feet or 276 meters above the ground.
The closest Paris metro station to the tower is Bir-Hakeim and the nearest RER (Réseau Express Régional, just like metro but faster with few stops) is Champs de Mars – Tour Eiffel. The location of the Eiffel Tower is at the junction of Pont d’Iéna and quai Branly.
You can reach the Eiffel Tower either from Parc du Champ-de-Mars side (Ecole Militare Metro Station) or Palais de Challot (Trocadero Metro Station. The Trocadero side is recommended, though.
The Eiffel Tower is the most visited paid-monument in the world. It has more than 25000 people go up to the tower every day, which means unimaginably long queues. Since it was completed in 1889, it has seen more than 275 million visitors. The higher number of visitors was recorded in 2015, with 6.91 million visitors. The number is growing each year, with around 7 million visitors coming in each year to check out the Eiffel Tower. 75 percent of the total visitors to the Eiffel Tower are foreigners.
There are two restaurants – Le 58 Tour Eiffel on the first level and another one called Le Jules Verne, on the second level. The name of the restaurant is based on the famous science fiction author, Jules Verne. The Jules Verne restaurant has its own lift, as well, and is run by chef Alain Ducasse, a multi-Michelin star chef. By 2019, star chef Frédéric Anton will manage the restaurant.
It is located at 5 Avenue Anatole France, 75007 Paris, France. The contact number is +33 (0)8 92 70 12 39. Website – https://www.toureiffel.paris/en/rates-opening-times
The Tower is open from 9.30 AM to 11.45 PM. From mid-June through September end, the Eiffel Tower closes at 12:45am or at 11 PM for the summit level. One can easily spend 2 to 3 hours in the tower.
The ticket price for Eiffel Tower is 15 Euros but considering it is the most visited paid monument in the world, you can expect the line to never end. The online ticket window opens two months in advance from your planned date.
The tickets to the Eiffel Tower are based on which floor, you’d like to visit. If you wish to go to the second floor by the staircase, then the cost is 10 Euros. If you wish to take the lift to the second floor, then the ticket price increases by six Euros, making it 16 Euros. If you want to go the top floor, by taking the stairs to the second flor and a lift to the top floor, then the ticket price is 19 Euros. If you want to take the lift all the way to the top floor, the ticket price is 25 Euros. When you have ticket to the top floor, you can go the second floor as well. Apart from booking for restaurants, you can also book your champagne, a white one or a rose one, costing from 13 Euros to 22 Euros.
As expected, since the Eiffel Tower has a steady beeline for tickets, it makes sense to book tickets in advance, online.
You can amazing views from the second floor and the top floor. While some vouch for the second floor, others say the top floor gives stunning panoramic views of the city. The second floor however, gives a better view of the city.
Eiffel Tower lights up post sunset, every hour; the lights go up in a sparkling manner, making the entire experience surreal and fascinating. At around 9.30 PM, the crowd tends to be lesser than usual. Going in the winter season gives you stunning views of the city, with less jostling for space. Alternatively, early morning visits to the Eiffel Tower also helps you benefit from less crowd. The best view from a photographic point of view is west side with River Seine in the background. The light show is every hour from 8 PM to 2 AM for 5 minutes.
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