General Information

The Eiffel Tower is 300-metre tall wrought-iron tower in Paris. Designed and built by the French civil engineer, Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, the tower was first built as the centrepiece for the Paris World's Fair of 1889, showing the world of France’s dramatic recovery from its humiliating defeat by Germany in the war of 1870. Today, it merely serves as a landmark and an early example of metallic construction on a gigantic scale from just after the Industrial Revolution.

The Eiffel Tower was an instant hit at the World Fair. However, its proclamation as the tallest man-made building lasted only forty years when it was topped by New York’s Chrysler Building (319 metres), quickly followed by the Empire State Building at (381 metres). Although taller buildings are commonplace today, the Eiffel Tower remains a significant landmark that distinguishes Paris from the many other European cities and will continue to do so in the future.

Description

The lower section of the building consists of four immense arched legs set on masonry piers. The legs curve inward until they unite in a single tapered tower. The tower, constructed of about 6300 metric tons of iron, has stairs and elevators that can take tourists up to get an excellent view of Paris. Platforms with observation decks can be found at the three levels. The first level holds three glass-enclosed structures. One is a museum, the Cinemax, which shows films about the tower, the second is two restaurants: Le Parisien and La Belle France and the third facility is the Salle (hall) Gustave Eiffel, which provides space for business conferences, expositions, cultural events, and social gatherings. On the smaller second level there is a souvenir shop and a snack bar. The third floor is used primarily for the tourist observation deck.

A meteorological station, a radio communications station, and a television transmission antenna, as well as a suite of rooms that were used by Eiffel, are located near the top of the tower.

Fun Facts

• Two and a half million rivets were used to build the Eiffel Tower
• Tourists must climb 1652 steps in order to reach the top of the tower