Eiffel Tower in Paris

In 1889, when the Tour Eiffel was completed, it was the tallest building in the world at just over 300 meters tall. The Eiffel Tower was originally built as a temporary structure to commemorate the centennial of the French Revolution. Thankfully, the tower was never torn down and since, the Eiffel Tower has become an enduring symbol of the city of Paris.

The tower was originally built for the 1889 World's Fair exposition. It's steel construction defied all traditional rules of architecture, and was considered quite bold at the time. Today the tower is the main television transmitter for the city of Paris.

Construction of the Eiffel Tower

Each of the 18,000 pieces used to build the tower was calculated specifically for the project and prepared in Eiffel's factory on the outskirts of Paris. The wrought iron structure is composed of four immense arched legs, set on masonry piers, that curve inward until joining in a single, tapered tower.

Building the tower required 2.5 million thermally assembled rivets and 7,300 tons of iron. To protect the tower from the elements, workers painted every inch of the structure, a feat that required 60 tons of paint. The tower has since been repainted 18 times.

Eiffel Tower fun facts

• Gustave Eiffel used latticed wrought iron to construct the tower to demonstrate that the metal could be as strong as stone while being lighter.
• Gustave Eiffel also created the internal frame for the Statue of Liberty.
• Construction of the Eiffel Tower cost 7,799,401.31 French gold francs in 1889.
• The Eiffel Tower is 1,063 feet (324 meters) tall, including the antenna at the top. Without the antenna, it is 984 feet (300 m).
• It was the tallest manmade structure until the Chrysler Building was built in New York in 1930.
• The tower was built to sway slightly in the wind, but the sun affects the tower more. As the sun-facing side of the tower heats up, the top moves as much as 7 inches (18 centimeters) away from the sun.
• The sun also causes the tower to grow about 6 inches.
• The Eiffel Tower weighs 10,000 tons.
• There are 5 billion lights on the Eiffel Tower.
• The French have a nickname for the tower: La Dame de Fer, "the Iron Lady."
• The first platform is 190 feet above the ground; the second platform is 376 feet, and the third platform is almost 900 feet up.
• The Eiffel Tower has 108 stories, with 1,710 steps. However, visitors can only climb stairs to the first platform. There are two elevators.
• One elevator travels a total distance of 64,001 miles (103,000 kilometers) a year.

Visitor Hours

From January 1 to June 18: 9:30 am - 8:30 pm (11:00 pm via lift)

From June 19 to August 29: 9:00 am - midnight

From August 30 to December 31: 9:30 am - 8:30 pm (11:00 pm via lift)

Last entrance: 1 hour before closing.